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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.24.19 HRRC_Minutes_Approved_Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 10/22/2019 Minutes City Of Edina, Minnesota Human Rights & Relations Commission Edina City Hall, Community Room, Sept. 24, 2019, 7 p.m. I. Call To Order Chair Nelson called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. II. Roll Call Answering Roll Call: Chair Nelson, Commissioners Arseneault, Beringer, Edwards, Epstein, Kennedy, Meek, Ross and Stringer Moore. Staff Present: Heidi Lee, Race & Equity Coordinator, and Jennifer Garske, Executive Assistant. Absent: Student Commissioners Iyer and Waldron. III. Approval Of Meeting Agenda Chair Nelson requested moving the Advisory Communication up on the agenda. He also asked that the Commission permit the participation in the meeting of Jessi Kingston, a former Human Rights & Relations Commissioner and a member of the City’s Racial Equity Task Force, for the Advisory Communication discussion. Motion by Chair Nelson to move the Advisory Communication item on the meeting agenda and permit Jessi Kingston to participate in the meeting for the Advisory Communication item, Commissioner Arseneault seconded. Motion carried. Chair Nelson also asked to add a new item to the agenda, a recap of the Commission’s participation in Open Streets. Motion by Chair Nelson to add the Open Streets Participation item to the agenda, seconded Commissioner Kennedy. Motion carried. Motion by Commissioner Arseneault to approve the Sept. 24, 2019 meeting agenda as amended, seconded by Commissioner Kennedy. Motion carried. IV. Approval Of Meeting Minutes Motion by Commissioner Kennedy to approve the Aug. 27, 2019 meeting minutes, seconded by Commissioner Arseneault. Motion carried. Commissioner Meek arrived at 7:07 p.m. V. Special Recognitions and Presentations Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 10/22/2019 A. Welcome to new Student Commissioner Mythili Iyer a. Student Commissioner Iyer was not in attendance B. Presentation by Edina High School student Arjun Maheshwari, “Edina’s Inclusionary and Exclusionary History.” a. The Presentation included a brief history of Edina, including African-American families moving to Edina, and the high involvement of this group in the City in the late 1800s. Frank Wheaton from Edina was the first black man elected to the Minnesota State Legislature. Wheaton, first elected in 1898, represented a district that was overwhelmingly white. Maheshwari then discussed a transformation that happened in the City. Segregationist policies, such as black covenants on housing documents, particularly in the Country Club neighborhood, came into practice. Maheshwari talked about a study done on Edina’s racial history by Chad Montrie, a professor in the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Montrie’s article provided some of the information for Maheshwari’s presentation. The presentation continued with a look at the schools in Edina, particularly Edina High school, and Maheshwari’s own observations as a student at EHS. He indicated the school is very diverse, but not socially integrated. He also touched on income inequality and how the City is working on affordable housing projects to address that. He also mentioned the role of Edina Police in making Edina an inclusive community. Finally, Maheshwari asked for the cooperation of the Human Rights & Relations Commission, along with the Heritage Preservation Commission—on which he is a student commissioner, to raise awareness about this issue. One idea he hoped to implement is educating children. He suggested that when Edina sixth-grade students are learning about Minnesota history, they have an “Edina History” day, where there are speakers about Edina’s past. The Commission commented on the presentation and their willingness to partner on education and informing the public about the history of the City. The Commission said they were appreciative of a concrete idea to educate students. They talked about how most racism is learned at home. The Commission wondered if Maheshwari was going to give the presentation to other groups, and he indicated yes. They asked what else Maheshwari would like from them, and he stated he would like concrete suggestions on educating residents about the history of the City. The Commission suggested looking at ways to share the presentation information on social media and the City website. They also discussed seeing where this would fit into their 2020 Commission Work Plan and how it ties into initiatives already on their Work Plan. VI. Community Comment—None VII. Reports/Recommendations Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 10/22/2019 A. Advisory Communication—Graffiti incidents in the City a. Moved to the top of the Reports & Recommendations portion of the agenda b. The Advisory Communication was discussed. Jessi Kingston was asked to attend the meeting and talk with the Commission about this topic. She had sent a list of graffiti incidents in the City over the past year, and discussed that the incidents needed to be addressed in a proactive way. Kingston shared information from the Racial Equality Task Force about Police response and including a welcoming statement for residents. The Commission discussed the list Kingston had compiled, and if the incidents are increasing in the City. The Commission discussed the City’s response to these incidents, and which departments are involved with the response. Kingston discussed restorative justice and how that could be part of the process in Edina. The Commission discussed how we make people comfortable reporting these incidents and what avenues are available for that reporting. i. The Commission discussed with Kingston what things can be done in the City going forward, including sending a resolution to the City Council that Edina is a welcoming city, and that the City is taking steps to address these incidents. The Commission discussed the wording in the Advisory Communication, and how strong the language should be. ii. The Commission discussed other options for deterring these incidents in the City, such as prosecution, cameras in parks and having community conversations about the incidents, and other ideas. They talked with Kingston about the Council’s response to the incidents and to her communications with Council and staff. iii. The Commission talked about if there was a need for two separate advisories to Council—one for the welcoming city statement and one condemning the racist acts, and what could be accomplished tonight vs. over the next weeks. They discussed having the Bias Offense Working Group look at the Advisory Communication, and work on the wording and possibly splitting the Advisory into two separate documents. Motion by Chair Nelson to table this Advisory Communication and refer it to the Bias Offense Committee to bring back to the group at the next meeting, second by Commissioner Kennedy. Motion carries. B. 2019 Commission Work Plan a. Initiative #1—Applying a Race and Equity Lens to Communication Content i. Working group will look at the protocol from CTS and bring it to the October HRRC meeting for action. ii. Staff Liaison Heidi Lee will let CTS know the working group is reviewing the protocol. iii. CTS had a feedback group of Edina residents look at the protocol. 1. The Commission asked to look at that feedback as they are doing their review. Staff Liaison Lee will coordinate getting that to Working Group. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 10/22/2019 b. Initiative #2—Naming of a Public Facility in the Grandview Area after BC and Ellen Yancey i. Commission talked to members of the Edina Grange about this topic at the Open Streets event Sept. 22. The Grange had a lot of ideas. ii. Commission discussed building a community garden and name it after the Yancey family. 1. The Commission talked about liking the permanence of naming a park or building after the Yanceys instead. iii. The Commission said the Working Group would reconvene and make a recommendation to the Parks & Recreation Commission. 1. The two parks suggested at this time are Wooddale Park or Garden Park. Both are close to the Grandview area, where the Yancey homestead was located. c. Initiative #3—Ensure City Facility Artwork and Décor Reflects Diversity of Race and Culture i. Staff Liaison Lee indicated she was creating an Advisory Communication for Council, using and revising the document approved at the Aug. 27 HRRC meeting. The document indicated the City Hall atrium and Mayor’s Conference Room would be the first areas looked at. 1. The Commission discussed what would be some of the next City facilities on the list 2. They would like to use this as a template for going forward for other facilities. 3. The Commission talked about how you measure success with this initiative. d. Initiative #4—Identify Barriers for Participation in Programming i. No update since last meeting, since the Commission has not heard from the Parks & Recreation Commission. 1. Commissioner Stringer Moore will follow up with them again. ii. Staff Liaison Lee brought up the charge for this initiative is review and recommend and the challenge of getting feedback from people who are not participating in the programming. The Commission discussed creating a framework—the steps leading up to the plan and what it looks like after. They also discussed the challenges of not collecting the data needed to identify barriers. e. Initiative #5—Race and Equity Policy Statement Developed by City Staff i. No update on this initiative. f. Initiative #6—Bias Offense Response Plan i. Staff Liaison Lee have an update on work being done 1. Meeting was held with all the departments about how they respond to each bias offense report, including Administration, Communications & Technology Services, Parks & Recreation and Police. 2. Commission discussed the Work Group meeting with the City Manager, Police Chief and Staff Liaison Lee soon to discuss the process g. Initiative #7—Days of Remembrance Event i. Commissioner Arseneault asked for a working group for this initiative on the 2020 Work Plan to be approved at October HRRC meeting in order to have it posted. A greenprint is used to call for the working group. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 10/22/2019 Motion by Commissioner Arseneault to approve a greenprint as a call for a working group for the 2020 Days of Remembrance event, seconded by Commissioner Beringer. Motion carries. h. Initiative #8—AARP City Designation i. Chair Nelson shared he had a meeting with the Health Commission Chair and another member of the Health Commission 1. There is reluctance on part of EHC because the approval is the easy part, the hard part is all the follow up staff will have to do ii. Chair Nelson also met with resident Arnie Bigbee, who has been working on AARP MN to get ideas going forward iii. The Commission talked about continuing this to the 2020 Work Plan i. Initiative #9—Tom Oye Award i. One nomination so far, deadline is Oct. 11 ii. Gave bookmarks out at Open Streets event Sept. 22 iii. Commissioners talked about whether they can nominate someone for the award. It was established they can, and have in the past. iv. Commission discussed purchasing another social media push for the award and if the information was not straightforward enough. v. Nominations will be part of the packet for the Oct. 22 HRRC meeting to pick the winner. Motion by Commissioner Arseneault to approve another social media boost for Tom Oye Awards, seconded by Commissioner Edwards. Motion passes. j. Initiative #10—Sharing Values, Sharing Community i. Event postponed due to another climate change event happening the same month in the City ii. Commissioner Meek discussed being in touch with the Energy & Environment Commission, who put her in touch with Edina League of Women Voters regarding their Earth Day event next spring and the chance for the HRRC to partner with them. iii. Commission discussed leaving the climate change event to the LWV, and doing another event in 2020, perhaps around the topic “Getting Real about Race.” iv. Commission discussed also partnering with EEC on an event in 2020, since they have already reached out to EEC, and EEC has added the event to their proposed 2020 Work Plan v. Commissioner Meek will follow up with the LWV to see what role HRRC would play in their event. k. Initiative #11—Public Art Program i. The public art plan that was brought to the August HRRC meeting was shown to Council by the Arts & Culture Commission at their joint Work Session. C. Work Plan Initiative #9 Update a. Discussed during previous agenda item D. 2020 Work Plan Development Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 10/22/2019 a. Staff Liaison Lee shared what would already be on the 2020 HRRC Work Plan based on discussion and events that carry over each year i. 2020 Work Plan already has seven initiatives on it ii. Most commissions only have three to six items on their work plans b. Commission discussed what they want to include and not include next year, and what initiatives may be completed by the end of 2019. i. Chair Nelson shared that 2020 will be the 50th year of HRRC and the 10th year of the Days of Remembrance event. The Commission discussed ideas for celebrating those milestones, and if this should be on the 2020 Work Plan as an initiative. 1. A display in the City Hall atrium was proposed. 2. A logo and 50th-year theme for the Commission was discussed. They talked about incorporating the theme into all the HRRC events next year. c. Event with EEC was again discussed, and Commissioner Meek said she would follow up with them. The Commission discussed that a cross-commission event could be added to their 2020 Work Plan by Council, even if they do not include it. E. Participation in Open Streets Sept. 22 a. Added to agenda. b. The Commission discussed the event and how it was definitely worth their time. They talked about being more prepared next year. VIII. Chair and Member Comments A. Commissioner Arseneault discussed her objection to the adoption of the City Council saying the Pledge of Allegiance at meetings. She thought it was the opposite of being a welcoming community, and wondered if City staff was consulted. Commissioner Arseneault was encouraged to write an email to Council with her concerns. IX. Staff Comments X. Adjournment Motion by Commissioner Arseneault to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Ross. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.