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6 <br /> <br /> Mr. Nana Ghartey said he arrived in Charlottesville in 1998 from Winneba which <br />is also a university town. He said many citizens from Charlottesville have made trips to <br />Ghana. He said a delegation from the City went to Winneba in April of 2009. He said U. <br />Va. is exploring Winneba for their Semester at Sea program. <br /> <br /> Mr. Joseph Baiden-Amissah, Chair of the Sister City Commission in Winneba <br />and a member of the royal family of Winneba, said history is in the making and the <br />relationship will unit different societies. <br /> <br /> Mr. Norris said a young man from Westhaven went to Winneba and his <br />documentary was shown. Mr. Norris noted that the trip to Winneba was supported by <br />private donations. <br /> <br /> Responding to questions from Dr. Brown, Mr. Norris said Winneba has both a <br />traditional and civil government (Mayor and 50 members of the District Assembly) and <br />has a population of 70,000. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said he thinks the sister city relationship is a great idea and suggested <br />that formal ceremonies be held in Charlottesville and Winneba. <br /> <br /> Mr. Baiden-Amissah said a memorandum of understanding for the sister city <br />relationship will be worked out. <br /> <br /> The public hearing was opened. <br /> <br /> Ms. Lilly Williams, a member of the African-American Festival and Chihamba, <br />presented petitions collected at the Festival in support of the sister city relationship with <br />Winneba. <br /> <br /> Ms. Karen Waters, 1014 St. Charles Avenue, Executive Director of the Quality <br />Community Council, said she is pleased to see the first African sister city and encouraged <br />acceptance by Council. <br /> <br /> Mr. Peter Kleeman, 407 Hedge Street, said he is delighted to support the sister <br />city relationship. He said he is not opposed to some tax dollars going to exchanges. <br /> <br /> Ms. Danielle Fitzhugh from the Chamber of Commerce who was part of the <br />exploratory committee that went to Winneba in April, said there is a tourist connection <br />with Winneba and an entrepreneurial spirit there. She encouraged Council to support the <br />sister city relationship. <br /> <br /> Rev. Dale Johnson said she traveled to Winneba with the delegation in April and <br />has traveled to Ghana many times. She said she met with the faith and cultural <br />community in Winneba and talked about pastoral exchanges. <br /> <br /> A resident of Anderson Street thanked Council for making the effort to establish <br />the sister city relationship with Winneba. He noted that Winneba is in central Ghana and <br />Charlottesville is in central Virginia. <br /> <br /> As there were no further speakers, the public hearing was closed. <br /> <br /> Mr. Huja said he is excited about the opportunity. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said he thinks it is a great idea and highly appropriate to have a <br />relationship with Ghana. He said there is support in the community for the relationship. <br />He said we should not rule out using tax dollars for our sister cities. <br /> <br /> Ms. Edwards made a motion to accept the recommendation to adopt Winneba as a <br />sister city and initiate the drafting of a memorandum of understanding regarding the <br />terms of the relationship, Mr. Huja seconded the motion, and it was approved by the <br /> <br />