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Record of Proceedings

LGBTQIA+ Commission Meeting - March 19, 2026: Pride Planning and Community Events

Common Council & Commissions — Thursday, March 19, 2026
BodyMiddletown, Connecticut
SessionCommon Council & Commissions
DateThursday, March 19, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Okay, it is 704.

0:06

Uh on Wednesday, March 18th.

0:09

Uh, we will begin our um LGBTQIA plus commission meeting.

0:16

Um first order of business.

0:20

Oh, uh actually we have for the record uh the commissioners Dolly, Katie, Annika, Derek, Angela, Shine, and Laura.

0:32

Um first order of business is to approve the minutes for the February 18th, 2026 regular meeting.

0:40

Do I have a motion?

0:42

Motion.

0:43

I'll second.

0:45

Okay, Chine makes the motion.

0:48

Derek seconds.

0:50

Uh any discussion.

0:53

All those in favor.

0:55

Aye.

0:58

Any opposed abstentions?

1:02

Motion passes unanimously.

1:06

Um next is to approve the minutes for the March 2nd, 2026 special meeting of the commission of a motion.

1:15

Motion.

1:16

Onica motions.

1:18

Oh second.

1:18

Katie seconds.

1:20

Any discussion?

1:22

I didn't, I don't even know if I got them.

1:24

So I'm gonna have to abstain from that.

1:26

I never reviewed them.

1:27

Uh okay, they will be in, they are in the packet that we received on the last page.

1:32

You can check them out.

1:34

But that's okay.

1:35

All right.

1:35

All those um So I have a question.

1:37

Yes.

1:37

I have a question.

1:38

So I did not attend the meeting, so I'm not gonna be able to say myself.

1:44

Okay.

1:45

Yep.

1:45

Yep.

1:45

So when it's time to abstain, just uh um call out.

1:50

Okay, thank you.

1:51

All right.

1:52

Um, okay, all those in favor.

1:55

I need opposed abstentions.

2:02

Yes.

2:02

Okay, and I also will as I was not there.

2:05

So um council passes right.

2:09

Yeah.

2:10

Um we have Sine, myself, Dolly, and Laura abstaining, but the motion passes.

2:18

Okay, uh public session on agenda items.

2:22

I do not see anyone from the public here.

2:25

So unless somebody comes in, I'm just gonna move on.

2:29

Uh new business.

2:31

There are no submitted applications for proposed events this month.

2:35

So we'll move on from there.

2:38

Item 4b, yearly events, pride month, June.

2:42

We're all hands on deck right now.

2:44

Um, everybody's kind of knows what we're doing.

2:47

Um we'll go down.

2:50

Nothing else is really coming up other than uh we'll talk about Transgender Day of Visibility when we get to our um to our event that's coming up.

3:02

All right.

3:03

Any um, does anybody have anything they want to talk about there?

3:08

With the yearly events?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement████████████████████████████████████████40%
Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████33%
Public Health Awareness████████████████16%
Procedural███████████11%
Summary of Proceedings

LGBTQIA+ Commission Meeting - March 19, 2026: Pride Planning and Community Events

The Middlesex (Middletown) LGBTQIA+ Commission convened on March 19, 2026 (transcript states Wednesday, March 18 at 7:04 PM) to approve minutes, discuss Pride Fest 2026 logistics, and receive updates on upcoming community events. All commissioners present participated; Commissioner Kai joined at 7:08 PM. Multiple motions passed, with some abstentions for the special meeting minutes.

Consent Calendar

  • February 18, 2026 Regular Meeting Minutes: Approved unanimously. Motion by Commissioner Shine, seconded by Commissioner Derek.
  • March 2, 2026 Special Meeting Minutes: Approved with abstentions from Commissioners Shine, Dolly, Laura, and the Chair (who were not present at the special meeting). Motion by Commissioner Annika, seconded by Commissioner Katie.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public attended; no public comments were offered.

Discussion Items

  • Pride Month Rally Theme: Commissioner Shine proposed centering the rally on people of color and international voices, citing the current political climate and her own experience as a former grand marshal. She requested guidance on coordinating with performers. Commissioner Laura noted the importance of intersectionality, referencing New Haven’s separate Black Pride event. It was suggested that Shine collaborate with Derek and Bree (lead organizer).
  • Pride Fest 2026 Performer Invitations: Commissioner Derek reported that 31 invitations were sent to returning performers/hosts (from last year's weather-affected event); 29 have confirmed. Because only two spots remain, Derek and Bree closed applications to avoid turning away a large number of applicants. Commissioner Shine asked about filling the remaining slots with performers fitting the rally theme; collaboration was encouraged.
  • Vendor and Sponsor Applications: Haley confirmed that vendor, sponsor, and participation applications are open on the Pride website. The Red Cross recently reached out to participate; Haley offered to connect them with the health department coordinator.
  • Parade Marching Band: Commissioner Angela reported the previous band (Catnip Junkies) is unavailable. Commissioner Katie recommended the Queer Big Apple Corps, a marching band from New Haven Pride, and offered to share contact information.
  • Game Night Recap: Approximately 28 people attended the game night despite rain. Some mobile registration issues occurred due to a website problem, but drop-ins were allowed and turnout was solid.
  • Transgender Day of Visibility 5K Fundraiser (March 29): Commissioner Annika noted that non-Wesleyan participants must sign a waiver before entering the track. The commission discussed creating a WesNest community event for registration/RSVP, though formal pre-registration was deemed too late. Commissioner Katie reminded that ASL interpreter funding was approved and coordination should occur through Nick Dion.
  • TDOV Event at Wesleyan (April 2): The commission added agenda Item 5B3 to receive an update on this previously approved event. Motion by Commissioner Angela, seconded by Commissioner Laura, passed unanimously. The event will take place April 2 at 4:30 PM at the Daniel Family Commons and will feature four panels.
  • Connecticut Pride Summit: Commissioner Katie reported on her attendance at the summit in New Haven, which brought together Pride leaders statewide. She highlighted ideas for fundraising and cross-promotion, and again recommended the Queer Big Apple Corps.
  • Good of the Order: Commissioner Shine asked about having a DJ open the rally; Commissioner Kai offered to bring equipment for an "open decks" setup and expressed interest in performing. Commissioner Laura noted an intersex conference in Bristol, CT in July and shared a list of state Pride events for distribution.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved minutes for February 18 and March 2 meetings (with noted abstentions on the latter).
  • Added agenda item 5B3 for the TDOV event at Wesleyan; no further vote required.
  • Performer and host applications closed; 29 of 31 invited performers confirmed.
  • Next steps: Shine to coordinate with Derek/Bree on rally performers and DJ; Haley to connect with Red Cross; Katie to send Queer Big Apple Corps info; Annika to set up WesNest event; Lisa to add TDOV events to city website calendar; Laura to distribute CT Pride event list.

Note: The transcript indicates the meeting was held on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, while the supplied timestamp is March 19, 2026. The date discrepancy is noted per instruction.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, it is 704. Uh on Wednesday, March 18th. Uh, we will begin our um LGBTQIA plus commission meeting. Um first order of business. Oh, uh actually we have for the record uh the commissioners Dolly, Katie, Annika, Derek, Angela, Shine, and Laura. Um first order of business is to approve the minutes for the February 18th, 2026 regular meeting. Do I have a motion? Motion. I'll second. Okay, Chine makes the motion. Derek seconds. Uh any discussion. All those in favor. Aye. Any opposed abstentions? Motion passes unanimously. Um next is to approve the minutes for the March 2nd, 2026 special meeting of the commission of a motion. Motion. Onica motions. Oh second. Katie seconds. Any discussion? I didn't, I don't even know if I got them. So I'm gonna have to abstain from that. I never reviewed them. Uh okay, they will be in, they are in the packet that we received on the last page. You can check them out. But that's okay. All right. All those um So I have a question. Yes. I have a question. So I did not attend the meeting, so I'm not gonna be able to say myself. Okay. Yep. Yep. So when it's time to abstain, just uh um call out. Okay, thank you. All right. Um, okay, all those in favor. I need opposed abstentions. Yes. Okay, and I also will as I was not there. So um council passes right. Yeah. Um we have Sine, myself, Dolly, and Laura abstaining, but the motion passes. Okay, uh public session on agenda items. I do not see anyone from the public here. So unless somebody comes in, I'm just gonna move on. Uh new business.

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