Agenda Memo

City of Boulder City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: November 6, 2025 Agenda Title Consideration of a motion establishing a new sister city relationship with Vinnytsia, Ukraine; authorizing the Mayor to sign a statement of cooperative agreement with the city of Vinnytsia, Ukraine and a letter of acknowledgment to Sister Cities International; and appointing Council Member Wallach as the liaison to the new sister city relationship of Vinnytsia, Ukraine.

Staff Contact • •

Elesha Johnson, City Clerk, City Manager’s Office Emily Richardson, Deputy City Clerk, City Manager’s Office

Draft Motion Language Staff requests council consideration of this matter and action in the form of the following motion: Motion establishing a new sister city relationship with Vinnytsia, Ukraine; authorizing the Mayor to sign a statement of cooperative agreement with the city of Vinnytsia, Ukraine and a letter of acknowledgment to Sister Cities International; and appointing Council member Wallach as the liaison to the new sister city relationship of Vinnytsia, Ukraine

Executive Summary The purpose of this agenda item is to present for Council a new sister city relationship with Vinnytsia, Ukraine. This memo provides background regarding the application and the report of the Boulder Vinnytsia Sister City Foundation (Attachment A).

The City Clerk’s Office thoroughly reviewed the application and deemed that it met the criteria for council consideration under City Council Resolution No. 631 establishing the Sister City affiliation policy for the City of Boulder. The complete application for Sister City status is Attachment A of this memo. The Sister City affiliation process is defined in City Council Resolution 631. The draft cooperative agreement that has been reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office is Attachment B of this memo which includes Resolution 631.

Council Action Options Option

Outcome

Approve motion language as drafted

If the motion is approved Vinnytsia will become the Boulder 11th Sister City.

Define and adopt a modified motion

Council would need to define any modifications or amendments to the draft agreement and motion language. The item can be approved as amended.

Deny the motion or take no action

If this motion is denied Vinnytsia would not become a Sister City for the City of Boulder.

Refer back to staff

If council refers this item back to staff, clear direction would be needed from Council on next steps for this application.

Alignment with City Plans and City Council History Sustainability, Equity and Resilience (SER) Framework and Citywide Strategic Plan Alignment SER Framework Goal Area Responsibly Governed, and Healthy and Socially Thriving Citywide Strategic Plan N/A Staff Notes While not tied directly to the Citywide Strategic Plan, new sister city relationships present an opportunity for cultural and educational exchanges to benefit the community through a wide range of possibilities.

Alignment with Additional City Plans N/A

City Council History 

Boulder has ten sister city relationships: • Dushanbe, Tajikistan • Jalapa, Nicaragua • Kathmandu, Nepal • Kisumu, Kenya • Lhasa, Tibet • Mante, Mexico • Nablus, Palestine • Ramat HaNegev, Israel • Yamagata, Japan and; • Yateras, Cuba,

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In 1992, Council passed Resolution No. 631 establishing the criteria for existing and future sister city relationships (Attachment B). Resolution 631 emphasizes Council's wish that sister city relationships focus on people-to-people exchanges and interactions, a commitment to human rights, and community (vs. government) responsibility for creating and maintaining each relationship. In February 2024, Mayor Brockett held an introductory phone call with Mayor Vinnytsia Mayor Sergei Morgunov. In December 2024, city council received the application for formal consideration of the new Sister City relationship from Vinnytsia Sister City Foundation.

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At the October 9, Special City Council Meeting, staff provided information regarding the pending Sister City application from the Vinnytsia, Ukraine Sister City Foundation and council discussed the process for potential approval at an upcoming meeting. Council elected to move forward with the application schedule for an upcoming meeting on consent. Both Council Members Speer and Wallach expressed their interest in being appointed as the liaison to Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Council Member Marquis expressed interest in being the “back-up” liaison. Council member Wallach was selected.

Analysis The City Clerk’s Office thoroughly reviewed the Boulder-Vinnytsia Sister City application to determine if it meets the requirements of City Council Resolution No. 631. The Vinnytsia Sister City Foundation meets all requirements, including: 1. Having and maintaining Section 501 (c)(3) status. 2. Having and maintaining a Boulder-based board of directors, with the board elected by the membership, and with no member of the board being a part of any commercial venture in the sister city. 3. Establishing membership criteria, but membership may not be denied based upon race, religion, nationality, membership in a minority group, membership in a particular social group or because of the expression of unpopular political opinion. 4. Having and maintaining an annual budget, a work plan, and a fund-raising report. If approved, the Vinnytsia Sister City Foundation will be required to: 5. Annually submit a status report to the City Council by the 1st of March of each year which shall show compliance with the above. 6. Make the elements required in 3, 4 and 5 available to the public. 7. Accept policy guidelines regarding human rights and the expenditure of City funds

Equity Analysis No formal equity analysis was conducted given the nature of our existing policy and procedure.

Climate, Resilience, and Sustainability Considerations Staff do not anticipate any direct material impact of the initial decision to approve or deny this application. However, the Vinnytsia Sister City Foundation notes in their application, that one opportunity for partnership may be an exchange of knowledge regarding “promoting energy efficiency, regenerative agriculture, and sustainable building materials to aid post-war reconstruction.”

Community Engagement No city-sponsored community engagement has occurred. However, the Vinnytsia Sister City Foundation’s application, Attachment A, details community efforts from 2022 to date to build relationships between Boulder and Vinnytsia focused on supporting mental health.

Next Steps for City Council N/A

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Attachments Attachment A - Boulder-Vinnytsia Sister City Application Attachment B - Draft Cooperative Agreement