Middletown LGBTQI Plus Commission Regular Meeting - July 29, 2026
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Middletown LGBTQI Plus Commission Meeting - July 29, 2026
The commission convened a regular hybrid meeting on July 29, 2026, with commissioners participating both online and in person. The agenda included routine approvals, event proposals for Pride Month, financial reports, a scholarship award, and an endorsement of a letter to a school superintendent.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes from the March 18, 2026 regular meeting, April 22, 2026 special meeting, and April 28, 2026 special subcommittee meeting of the Middletown Pride Scholarship Subcommittee. Motion by Dolly, second by Katie; passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made. Daly Stafford from the Chamber attended but declined to speak on the record.
Discussion Items
- Agenda amendment: Dolly moved to add a June game night to the agenda due to an oversight; motion seconded by Kai; passed unanimously.
- Drag Story Hour: Approved for June 6, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. at RJ Julia Booksellers, with a cost of $300 for performers. The event includes ASL interpreters and has historically been well attended. Motion by Dolly, second by Katie; passed unanimously.
- Crosswalk dedication and flag raising: Approved for June 4, 2026, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. on Main Street, at no cost; ASL and photography will be provided under existing Pride Fest contracts. Motion by Dolly, second by Angela; passed unanimously.
- Pride pop-up kickoff event: Approved for June 4, 2026, 4–7 p.m. at Clock Tower Shops, with a cost of $250 for refreshments. Motion by Dolly, second by Dolly; passed unanimously.
- Monthly game night: Scheduled for June 15, 2026 (third Monday), extending the established monthly series. Dolly explained the oversight in not submitting a separate event form. Attendance has ranged from 30–40 people, with 37 at the most recent event. Motion by Dolly, second by Angela; passed unanimously.
- Pride Fest rally list: Commissioner Fulton presented a rally list featuring diverse speakers, including State Treasurer Russell, with a focus on people of color and individuals with disabilities. Concerns were raised about ensuring Russell does not use the event to platform his re-election campaign, and about the MC’s timing. The list was approved unanimously.
- Pride Fest showcase list: Derek presented the tentative performer lineup. An amendment to allow minor adjustments was moved by Laura and seconded by Chine; after the amendment passed, the main motion was approved unanimously.
- Financial overview: The commission reviewed the Pride budget, noting that the city contributes only to the Chamber contract and all other expenses are self-funded via sponsors and grants. Last year posted a net loss of $4,000 on a budget of over $250,000. Angela moved to add a financial review as a standing agenda item; seconded by Beth; passed unanimously.
- Privacy policy discussion: Laura raised concerns about public disclosure of personal emails and suggested developing a privacy policy. The chair recommended consulting with legal and avoiding including email addresses in future submissions. No formal motion was made.
- Scholarship recommendation: The scholarship subcommittee received only one application this year, compared to four and three in previous years. The commission approved a $1,500 scholarship to Aisha Betach. Motion by Beth, second by Chine; passed unanimously. Discussion included outreach challenges, such as limited distribution to schools.
- Endorsement of letter to superintendent: The commission endorsed a letter concerning an incident at Beaman School involving gender identity discrimination. An amendment to recommend CC’ing the Board of Education was proposed by Angela, seconded by Chine. The amendment and the endorsement both passed unanimously.
- Pride Fest and event updates: Updates were provided on the rally, showcase, and march order. Game night continues to attract a consistent crowd. The Transgender Day of Visibility 5K fundraiser had about 40 participants and raised $500 in cash/checks, with digital donation totals pending. A recap of the TDoV visibility event noted roughly 20 attendees and a positive panel discussion. Grant program reports: Q Plus and Pure Pride terminate at end of June; a facilitator program is defunct; the “Taking Pride on Main Street” initiative could not be implemented due to IT limitations.
- Good of the order: Laura advised situational awareness given federal administration directives targeting “pro-transgender agenda” groups, clarifying that no individual investigations are directed. A donation of Pride-themed stickers from a former business owner will be coordinated with the Chamber. Commission members were reminded to march together at the front of the parade and to support each other’s efforts.
Key Outcomes
- All motions listed above passed unanimously, including the agenda amendment, four event approvals, rally and showcase list approvals, the standing financial review item, the scholarship award, and the letter endorsement with amendment.
- The commission adjourned at 8:02 p.m. unanimously.
Meeting Transcript
It is now 701, and I will call the regular meeting of the LGBTQI plus commission scheduled for May 18th, 2026, May 20th, 2026 to order. As we have folks online and at present, I'll just note that online we have Commissioners Timmons, Cartagena, Loomis Davis, and we have the commissioners on camera here in the room. All right. Let's start with item two. Hello, Commissioner Sapira. Approval of the minutes for the March 18th, 2026 regular meeting, the April 22nd special meeting of the LGBTQI Plus Commission. The April 28th, 2026 special subcommittee meeting of the LGBTI Plays Plus Commissions, Middletown Pride Scholarship Subcommittee. I will entertain a motion to approve those minutes. Make a motion. Motion by Dolly. I'll second Katie. Second by Katie. Is there any discussion or corrections on those minutes? Seeing none, I will ask everyone to vote. In favor of the approval. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Any. Commissioner Jarta has joined us online. Are there any nays? Are there any abstentions? Matter passes unanimously. Item three, public session on agenda items. We have one member of the public, Daly Stafford from the chamber. Haley, would you like to speak on the record? No. Okay. Very well. If I wanted to make a motion to make an amendment to the agenda, could I do that? Yep. Okay. Um I wanted to make a quick motion to amend the agenda to talk about potentially adding one game night for June because of an overlook on Katie and I's part. Um we did the events through May. Um, not realizing that this last one was our last game night, and we were hoping if we could just extend it into June without having submitted anything because it's an already established event. Um, and we don't want to miss okay. So we will not go we we cannot discuss the merits of the motion. We are just going to say we have a motion. Sorry to cut you off, Kai. Do you want to second it, Kai? No. Yeah, yes. Okay. So motion made by Dolly seconded. This is a procedural motion. All those in favor of adding um under new business for a new item for game night for June. Say aye if you're in favor of adding that agenda item. Aye. Anyone up anyone opposed?
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