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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.02.24 HRRC Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS & RELATIONS COMMISSION February 24, 2015 7:00 PM City Hall – Community Room I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Seidman called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. II. ROLL CALL Answering roll call were Commissioners Arseneault, Bigbee, Gates, Kennedy, Chair Seidman, Weinert, and Winnick. Staff present: HRRC Staff Liaison MJ Lamon and City Management Fellow Lindy Crawford. III. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by Arseneault to approve the Regular Meeting Agenda of February 24, 2015. The motion was seconded by Kennedy. Motion carried. IV. APPROVAL OF January 27, 2015 REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Commissioner Kennedy moved to approve the minutes as presented to the HRRC. Commissioner Arseneault seconded. Motion carried. V. COMMUNITY COMMENT None. VI. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS A. Work Plan Initiative Updates a) Community Outreach (Bigbee, Davis) Commissioner Bigbee shared that a meeting was held on February 17th but no one was in attendance. The working group has cancelled the meeting scheduled for February 25th. There are two meetings scheduled for March. Depending on the turnout of those meetings, the working group may have to schedule more meetings for April or later, and the project’s target completion date might have to be changed to later in 2015. The working group co-chair, Commissioner Davis, will update the HRRC about next steps in following meetings. b) Human Rights City Designation (Kennedy, Sanders) Commissioner Kennedy has a working group meeting scheduled for March 16th to work through the general scope of the project. She has talked with stakeholders about having presentations at City venues and public spaces in hopes to reach many people in the community. c) Days of Remembrance/Genocide Awareness (Seidman, Kennedy, Arseneault) Chair Seidman, Kennedy, Arseneault, and former Commissioner Cashmore have been working on this project. They completed a public service announcement which will be released in March. They are working with Staff Liaison Lamon on the schedule for the event and other details. The event will be held on Sunday, April 19th from 1:00-3:30pm at City Hall. The working group has requested marketing pieces from the Edina Communications and Technology Services department to be used for advertising. d) Affordable Housing (Winnick) Commissioner Winnick shared that the City of Edina currently has two affordable housing projects that are pending, 66 West and 7200 France. The 66 West lawsuit has been dismissed. At this point, the plaintiffs in the case have been anonymous. Winnick would like the HRRC to ask City staff if we can find out who the plaintiffs are in the case. Motion was made by Winnick to ask Staff Liaison Lamon to inquire with Scott Neal, City Manager whether it is possible to learn the identity of the plaintiffs. Bigbee seconded. Motion carried. Winnick shared that 7200 France may be back for consideration, so the HRRC needs to stay informed about this potential project. Winnick has been in contact with the developer, architect, and the City of Edina Planning department. e) Body Image and Sexuality Awareness (Student Commissioner Gates, Seidman, Arseneault) Student Commissioner Gates would like to interview supportive parents and grandparents of teens to discuss how they feel about the their children / grandchildren’s identifying with sexuality. Gates’s goal is to put the interviews online to help and teach other parents and hopefully change their view on body image and sexuality awareness. Gates met with the Edina High School GSA club for ideas and support. She has emailed various organizations and is hopeful to get support from them as well. f) Human Trafficking (Student Commissioner Weinert, Seidman, Arseneault) Student Commissioner Weinert advised that the Human Trafficking Committee has met and set the date for an event on April 9th from 6:30-8:30pm at City Hall to raise awareness about human trafficking. Weinert is working with Against Modern Day Slavery Club at Edina High School as a co-sponsor; the event will involve both students and adults. The plan is to ask Breaking Free for a speaker on sex trafficking in Minnesota for the first part of the program, then there will be a panel discussion afterwards. Weinert is in the process of contacting various organizations to identify panelists for the program. B. Revisit 2015 Meeting Schedule Commissioner Arseneault shared that three new HRRC members will be starting in March and we will want them to feel and be engaged in our work as soon as possible, so it does not make sense to have them wait until May for the next meeting. Motion was made by Winnick to reinstate the HRRC regular meeting on April 28, 2015. Kennedy seconded. Motion carried. C. Tom Oye Vote There were seven nominees for the 2015 Tom Oye Award. Three of those nominees were rolled over from the previous year. Commissioners each shared their top two nominees in two rounds of comments. Motion was made by Arseneault to award the Tom Oye Award to Jessi Kingston. Kennedy seconded. Motion carried. Motion was made by Arseneault to have the HRRC provide funds to pay for one guest selected by the Tom Oye Award recipient to the Volunteer Awards Reception. Winnick seconded. Motion carried. The 2015-2016 Tom Oye Committee will be charged with reviewing the award process and making recommendations by the June meeting of the HRRC for guidelines, changes and / or improvements on the following: ● How to honor all of the nominees ● Roll over ● Timeline (date applications are due) ● Criteria for award ● Individual vs group nominees ● HRRC members as nominators ● HRRC members (past or present) being nominated D. Response to Community Correspondence The HRRC discussed the response to community correspondence letter template in the meeting packet. Following concerns about the length of the letter and the message it conveys, Commissioner Winnick proposed revised language. The HRRC responded positively to the revised language. There was consensus to utilize the letter template as revised by Winnick as an appropriate response to community correspondence. VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITION The HRRC addressed correspondence received in the meeting packet. Kennedy noted that she would sit on the League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions if the HRRC decided to become a member. Motion was made by Winnick that the HRRC become a member of the League of Minnesota Human Rights Commission for 2015. Arseneault seconded. Bigbee abstained. Motion carried. Commissioner Bigbee advised that in researching the Day Without Violence correspondence, he was not able to find a contact. At this time the HRRC will not take up this issue. VIII. CHAIR, COMMISSION MEMBER, AND STUDENT COMMENTS Chair Seidman stated that the next HRRC meeting is March 24, 2015. The HRRC will have three new members at that time. Seidman thanked Bigbee for six years of service to the HRRC including his two years as chair, and she thanked the HRRC for her time serving as Chair. Commissioner Bigbee shared that the support from City Council, City staff, and other boards and commissions has been honorable over the past six years. He shared a few things he has learned during his time on the HRRC. Kennedy has a meeting with legislators (Senator Pappas and Representative Allen) and the Executive Director of the Indian Affairs Council tomorrow to discuss Indigenous People’s Day legislation to be proposed this legislative session. She is planning to recruit a law student for the Human Rights City Designation working group. Student Commissioners shared what they have gained through their service on the HRRC. IX. STAFF COMMENTS Staff Liaison Lamon shared that all new boards and commission members have orientation tomorrow evening. The Volunteer Awards Reception is Wednesday, April 29 at 5:30pm. The Boards and Commissions Annual Meeting is Monday, April 20, 2015 at 5:30pm. X. 2015 ANNUAL ELECTION Commissioner Winnick reported that the nominee for Chair is Commissioner Arseneault and the nominee for Vice Chair is Commissioner Kennedy. Chair Seidman opened the floor for nominations. Motion was made by Winnick that nominations be closed. Bigbee seconded. Motion carried. Winnick moved to approve the slate of nominations of Arseneault for Chair and Kennedy for Vice Chair. Bigbee seconded. Motion carried. XI. ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Commissioner Arseneault to adjourn the February 24th meeting, Winnick seconded. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:08pm. Respectfully submitted, ____________________________________ MJ Lamon, HRRC Staff Liaison Minutes approved by HRRC March 24, 2015 ____________________________________ Pat Arseneault, HRRC Chair