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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Draper Community Committee Meeting - October 15, 2025

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, October 15, 2025

BodyDraper, Utah

SessionMeeting Portal

DateWednesday, October 15, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 43:51

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Welcome friends.

0:01

Thanks for being here tonight on Zoom or in person on this rainy night.

0:07

We have just enough people to start, so we're just gonna do roll call real quick to make sure we know everyone who's joined us right now.

0:15

Um let's see Melanie Morris and Lucy, I'm forgetting her last name.

0:21

Is it Twilight?

0:22

Oh okay.

0:22

Williams, yeah.

0:23

And then Amitala, Ray Baluni, and I Balgani, how do you pronounce your last name?

0:33

Yeah, yeah.

0:34

Melanie was uh yeah, okay.

0:38

And and then we have Jenny asked.

0:43

And Tara Batchini and Linda Peterson, and Bryan Johnson, and Kelly Taller.

0:52

Okay, so we should have gonna go back and do the minute.

0:56

Who was that?

1:00

All right.

1:00

Um okay, and then um Amitava is gonna share an inspirational thought with us.

1:07

Sure, okay.

1:10

Should we start with that right away?

1:11

Yes, sure.

1:13

Okay, okay.

1:14

Okay.

1:15

Hi everyone.

1:17

Um yeah, sorry, I wanted to be there in person but couldn't do it today.

1:22

Um so I I recently, just a couple of weeks ago, I um had a group of friends from college who traveled to Utah for a photography trip, and they wanted me to join them.

1:36

So I was very busy, but uh and I also had not done photography in a while.

1:42

So I felt kind of reluctant to go along.

1:45

But eventually I was very guilty that I had not seen them for over five years, and this would have been a great time to bond.

1:52

So I quickly bought a camera and learned to how to use it and all that, and then I joined them.

2:00

So I I'm glad I did that because it was the best time of my life visiting places that I had probably I would have never thought about going alone and uh ended up shooting about 600 landscape pictures.

2:16

Which still needs editing.

2:18

So it's all sitting on my uh hard drive law.

2:22

But um so one of those readings as we were camping in a remote area in the um in a reservation.

2:29

Um I found out that one of my friends, one of them had gone through a very tough time last year with an L.

2:36

So I felt bad that I had not known about it and had not reached out to him.

2:42

So when I asked him why he didn't tell me earlier, he simply said, uh I didn't want to bother you, you are quite busy.

2:50

So that stunned a little bit because not that I was upset with uh that he did ask, but because I realized that he didn't see me as someone he could lean on.

3:03

Right.

3:04

So that got me thinking about friendships and how we need to nurture them.

3:09

So I had a quick thought about that.

3:11

So I wrote down a few lines to share with you guys.

3:15

Um we don't build trust by offering help.

3:20

We build it by asking for it.

3:23

So I'll repeat that we don't build trust by offering to help.

3:28

We build it by asking for help.

3:30

So it sounds a little backward, uh, but most of us have been taught that being helpful makes us trustworthy.

3:39

And uh but think about what really happens when we ask someone for help.

3:45

So we as a Draco City, we talk about so many projects where we are helping others and helping uh our neighborhood and community and so on, right?

3:53

So we really think that helping others is really important, right?

3:58

But then sometimes we need to step back and think about it in a different way.

4:02

So when we do, when we ask someone for help, we are saying I trust you.

4:07

I trust your time, I trust your judgment, I trust your kindness.

4:12

Um we are kind of letting our guard down and and acting a little vulnerable in that moment.

4:20

That that's what's renders the bond with another person.

4:25

So maybe next time you need help, we need help, even with something small.

4:31

Maybe we should try asking.

4:33

We often hesitate to do that.

4:35

Um give someone the chance to show up for you.

4:39

It doesn't make you weak.

4:41

It tells them, tells others that you trust them enough to let them in.

4:47

Um because real trust isn't built by constantly giving.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Community Engagement██████████████████████████████████████████42%

Public Engagement██████████████████████████26%

Procedural████████████████16%

Arts And Culture████████████12%

Historic Preservation████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Draper Community Committee Meeting - October 15, 2025

The Draper Community Committee convened on the evening of October 15, 2025, via Zoom and in person, to discuss community engagement, upcoming holiday recognitions, festival retrospectives, and volunteer opportunities. The meeting featured an inspirational opening by Amitava regarding the importance of vulnerability in building trust, followed by a review of past events and planning for future initiatives including World Kindness Week and the America 250 celebration.

Consent Calendar

Adjournment of the previous meeting's minutes was deferred pending review; committee members agreed to review the minutes separately and contact the chair if questions arose. No formal vote was cast to approve the minutes immediately.

Public Comments & Testimony

Amitava: Delivered an inspirational thought emphasizing that trust is built by asking for help rather than solely offering it, citing a personal experience where a friend's reluctance to seek support highlighted the need for mutual vulnerability.
Bryn: Shared personal experiences with volunteering, expressing strong support for committee-led involvement with organizations like the Second Coalition and the Utah Food Bank; specifically suggested the committee organize as a group to provide dinners rather than just volunteering shifts.

Discussion Items

Holiday Recognition & Communications: The committee discussed the successful Indigenous Peoples' Day video regarding the Sokani Preserve and planned for upcoming Diwali and Day of the Dead spotlights. It was decided to potentially partner with the Miller Library for the Diwali celebration if a video cannot be produced immediately.
World Kindness & Extra Mile Hero Proclamations: Members discussed the upcoming proclamation for World Kindness Day (November 8-15) and the Extra Mile Hero recognition. There was strong support for tangible actions beyond a simple proclamation, including community gatherings with music and food (donuts, hot cider), signage projects, and social media campaigns. A subcommittee led by Jenny, Lucy, and AmyTaba was formed to plan activities for the week.
America 250 Committee: The committee discussed celebrating the nation's 250th birthday in 2026, noting potential events such as a "Potluck Day" on July 5th, children walking in the Draper Days Parade, and tree planting initiatives. A call for committee members was made.
International Arts and Crafts Festival: The committee reflected on the recent festival, noting perfect weather and full staffing but expressing concern that attendance felt lighter due to competing regional festivals (e.g., Swiss Days, Italian Festival). Suggestions included refreshing prizes, restructuring band locations to focus on the main stage, and bringing in school groups to boost crowd size.
Volunteer Opportunities: The committee exchanged contact information for Meals on Wheels and discussed potential volunteer shifts with the Utah Food Bank and Second Coalition. Members expressed a willingness to participate in winter shelter dinners and support local food pantries.
Christmas Card Contest: A photo contest for the 2025 Christmas card was announced, with prizes ranging from $25 to $50, with images required to be taken within Draper city limits.

Key Outcomes

Proclamation Schedule: It was confirmed that the Mayor will read the World Kindness Week and Extra Mile Hero proclamations during the next regular council meeting on October 21 at 7:00 p.m. at Draper City Hall.
Subcommittee Formation: A subcommittee composed of Jenny, Lucy, and AmyTaba was authorized to plan World Kindness Week activities and report back to the main committee.
Event Planning Directives:
- The committee will coordinate with Kelly and Linda to organize activities for World Kindness Week, including potential social media contests with prize drawings.
- Future events (Veterans Day ceremony, Tree Lighting, Holiday Market) will involve committee members showing support, potentially through candy cane distribution or similar gestures.
Administrative Actions:
- A request was made to update the member roster with current email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses to facilitate communication and potential Christmas card mailing.
- Contact information for Meals on Wheels was agreed to be distributed to all members for those interested in volunteering.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome friends. Thanks for being here tonight on Zoom or in person on this rainy night. We have just enough people to start, so we're just gonna do roll call real quick to make sure we know everyone who's joined us right now. Um let's see Melanie Morris and Lucy, I'm forgetting her last name. Is it Twilight? Oh okay. Williams, yeah. And then Amitala, Ray Baluni, and I Balgani, how do you pronounce your last name? Yeah, yeah. Melanie was uh yeah, okay. And and then we have Jenny asked. And Tara Batchini and Linda Peterson, and Bryan Johnson, and Kelly Taller. Okay, so we should have gonna go back and do the minute. Who was that? All right. Um okay, and then um Amitava is gonna share an inspirational thought with us. Sure, okay. Should we start with that right away? Yes, sure. Okay, okay. Okay. Hi everyone. Um yeah, sorry, I wanted to be there in person but couldn't do it today. Um so I I recently, just a couple of weeks ago, I um had a group of friends from college who traveled to Utah for a photography trip, and they wanted me to join them. So I was very busy, but uh and I also had not done photography in a while. So I felt kind of reluctant to go along. But eventually I was very guilty that I had not seen them for over five years, and this would have been a great time to bond. So I quickly bought a camera and learned to how to use it and all that, and then I joined them. So I I'm glad I did that because it was the best time of my life visiting places that I had probably I would have never thought about going alone and uh ended up shooting about 600 landscape pictures. Which still needs editing. So it's all sitting on my uh hard drive law. But um so one of those readings as we were camping in a remote area in the um in a reservation. Um I found out that one of my friends, one of them had gone through a very tough time last year with an L. So I felt bad that I had not known about it and had not reached out to him. So when I asked him why he didn't tell me earlier, he simply said, uh I didn't want to bother you, you are quite busy. So that stunned a little bit because not that I was upset with uh that he did ask, but because I realized that he didn't see me as someone he could lean on. Right. So that got me thinking about friendships and how we need to nurture them. So I had a quick thought about that. So I wrote down a few lines to share with you guys. Um we don't build trust by offering help. We build it by asking for it. So I'll repeat that we don't build trust by offering to help. We build it by asking for help. So it sounds a little backward, uh, but most of us have been taught that being helpful makes us trustworthy. And uh but think about what really happens when we ask someone for help. So we as a Draco City, we talk about so many projects where we are helping others and helping uh our neighborhood and community and so on, right? So we really think that helping others is really important, right? But then sometimes we need to step back and think about it in a different way. So when we do, when we ask someone for help, we are saying I trust you.

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