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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Fitchburg Community Equity Advisory Committee First Meeting - November 20, 2025

Common Council & City Boards — Thursday, November 20, 2025

BodyFitchburg, Wisconsin

SessionCommon Council & City Boards

DateThursday, November 20, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 44:18

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

0:00

Hi, I'm Jeremy Crosby.

0:01

And I'm Nick Boucher.

0:02

We're your host for the program that's all about your city.

0:05

Talking Pittsburgh.

Speaker 2

0:06

Every weekday, we pull together the news, events, and information you need to stay on top of what's happening in the city of Pittsburgh.

Speaker 1

0:12

Find Talking Fitchburg on Cable TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and our live stream on the web.

0:18

Plus, you can find all our headlines and stories on Facebook, YouTube, and our video on demand service.

Speaker 2

0:23

This is your city.

0:24

Keep up with Talking Fitzburg and the issues affecting you and your neighbors.

Speaker 3

0:32

Get notify me messages from the city of Fitchburg.

0:35

Visit Fitchburg WI.gov on your computer or mobile device and select the big notify me button on the left.

0:41

Enter your email and or phone number, whichever is best for you to get notifications.

0:46

Scroll down the list and select all the topics you're interested in to receive email or text messages about.

0:51

You'll be notified every time one of your topics is updated.

0:54

Sign up for Notify Me.

0:56

One more way to keep up with your Fitchburg government.

Unassigned speaker

1:20

All

Speaker 4

1:21

right, done.

Unassigned speaker

1:24

I

Speaker 5

1:24

didn't it was that a go ahead?

Unassigned speaker

1:26

Yeah.

Unassigned speaker

1:27

Go

Speaker 5

1:27

ahead.

1:27

Okay.

1:28

So the time is now 5 03 on uh Thursday, November 20th, 2025, and we'll call this meeting to order.

1:36

Agenda item number two is approval of the minutes, and we don't have any minutes as this is our first official meeting of the year.

1:44

So we will jump to um item number three, which is public appearances for non-agenda items, and I don't see anyone online.

1:52

Is there anyone in the room that I can't see?

Speaker 4

1:54

No, no, buddy.

Speaker 5

1:56

All righty.

1:57

So then we will jump right into our first agenda item, which is the welcome introductions and the selection of our chair of the committee.

Unassigned speaker

2:09

Is

Speaker 5

2:10

this you and this you, Sarah, right?

2:11

Or

Speaker 4

2:12

sure, yeah.

2:13

So I was hoping to go around the room and then we could just do introductions.

2:17

I know some of us know each other, but um

Unassigned speaker

2:19

uh

Speaker 4

2:20

we've got Colleen who is new into the team, and then Jessica, she'll be joining us in just a little bit.

2:25

So um online, do you want to get started?

2:27

Maybe Bill.

Speaker 6

2:32

Sure.

2:33

Um

Unassigned speaker

2:35

sure,

Speaker 6

2:35

I'm Bill Gillespie.

2:37

Uh I'm uh been on the committee now for uh better part of a year, and um grateful to be again on the committee.

2:45

Sorry, I'm dog dog shitting right now, and I've got a couple of these uh rowdy ones here.

2:50

Um anyway.

2:51

Um yeah, I'm I'm really glad to be back.

2:54

I'm I'm hopeful that uh we can see some um some things move forward and uh using you know all the information that we've gathered now, the policies that we put in place and all the uh mission and vision and everything that we've done.

3:08

Uh I think as a committee is is really um impressive.

3:12

And I'm look so again I'm looking forward to uh hopefully now making some real uh good uh uh strides towards uh moving Fitchburg forward and uh keeping it um

Unassigned speaker

3:23

I

Speaker 6

3:23

guess in the limelight of uh what we call uh social justice and and fairness in the world.

3:29

So

Speaker 5

3:30

cool.

3:30

That's

Unassigned speaker

3:31

me.

Speaker 5

3:31

Thank you, Bill.

3:32

Uh Colleen out the floor to fred you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████62%

Procedural█████████████18%

Racial Equity███████9%

Public Engagement█████7%

Strategic Planning███4%

Summary of Proceedings

Fitchburg Community Equity Advisory Committee First Meeting - November 20, 2025

The inaugural meeting of the Community Equity Advisory Committee was held on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at 5:03 PM. Members introduced themselves, elected a chair, reviewed the committee's scope, and unanimously approved a resolution recommending a land acknowledgement for ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

Discussion Items

Welcome and Introductions: Members shared their backgrounds and commitment to equity work. New member Colleen Butler was welcomed. Committee members: Bill Gillespie, Colleen Butler, Donald Dansler, Christopher Paguero, Janice Hughes.
Election of Chair: Christopher Paguero was nominated and unanimously elected as the inaugural chair.
Meeting Reminders: Staff contact Sarah Olson outlined that meetings will be the fourth Wednesday of each month from 5:15 to 6:15 PM, with the next meeting on December 15, 2025. Quorum is four members.
Team Scope and Work Parameters: The committee reviewed the mission, vision, and values developed by the ad hoc committee. The committee's role is advisory, focusing on reviewing city plans and providing input on equity matters.
Resolution R20725 – Land Acknowledgement: The committee discussed a resolution directing the city to include a formal land acknowledgement recognizing the Ho Chunk Nation at all ribbon-cutting ceremonies on city-owned property. Members expressed strong support, noting the importance of meaningful collaboration with the Ho Chunk Nation.
Future Agenda Items: The committee discussed a potential meeting with the city's employee resource group (ERG) in January 2026 and the upcoming GARE (Government Alliance on Race and Equity) membership and resources.

Key Outcomes

Election of Chair: Christopher Paguero was elected chair by unanimous voice vote.
Resolution R20725: The committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of the land acknowledgement resolution to the common council.
Next Meeting: Scheduled for December 15, 2025, at 5:15 PM. Future meetings will be the fourth Wednesday of each month from 5:15 to 6:15 PM.
GARE Membership: The city will sign up for GARE in January 2026, providing equity tools and resources to employees and the committee.

Meeting Transcript

Hi, I'm Jeremy Crosby. And I'm Nick Boucher. We're your host for the program that's all about your city. Talking Pittsburgh. Every weekday, we pull together the news, events, and information you need to stay on top of what's happening in the city of Pittsburgh. Find Talking Fitchburg on Cable TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and our live stream on the web. Plus, you can find all our headlines and stories on Facebook, YouTube, and our video on demand service. This is your city. Keep up with Talking Fitzburg and the issues affecting you and your neighbors. Get notify me messages from the city of Fitchburg. Visit Fitchburg WI.gov on your computer or mobile device and select the big notify me button on the left. Enter your email and or phone number, whichever is best for you to get notifications. Scroll down the list and select all the topics you're interested in to receive email or text messages about. You'll be notified every time one of your topics is updated. Sign up for Notify Me. One more way to keep up with your Fitchburg government. All right, done. I didn't it was that a go ahead? Yeah. Go ahead. Okay. So the time is now 5 03 on uh Thursday, November 20th, 2025, and we'll call this meeting to order. Agenda item number two is approval of the minutes, and we don't have any minutes as this is our first official meeting of the year. So we will jump to um item number three, which is public appearances for non-agenda items, and I don't see anyone online. Is there anyone in the room that I can't see? No, no, buddy. All righty. So then we will jump right into our first agenda item, which is the welcome introductions and the selection of our chair of the committee. Is this you and this you, Sarah, right? Or sure, yeah. So I was hoping to go around the room and then we could just do introductions. I know some of us know each other, but um uh we've got Colleen who is new into the team, and then Jessica, she'll be joining us in just a little bit. So um online, do you want to get started? Maybe Bill. Sure. Um sure, I'm Bill Gillespie. Uh I'm uh been on the committee now for uh better part of a year, and um grateful to be again on the committee. Sorry, I'm dog dog shitting right now, and I've got a couple of these uh rowdy ones here. Um anyway. Um yeah, I'm I'm really glad to be back. I'm I'm hopeful that uh we can see some um some things move forward and uh using you know all the information that we've gathered now, the policies that we put in place and all the uh mission and vision and everything that we've done.

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