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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 10/10/2019APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019 7:00 P.M., Eden Prairie Center Office of Housing and Community Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Leeper (Chair), Shahram Missaghi, (Vice Chair), Katherine Lucht, Leslie Philmon, Rehmatbai Sumra; Sana Elassar, Philip Skeie, Asad Aliweyd, Tyler Aman STUDENT MEMBERS: Caprice Steidle, Najma Ali, Nicole Mayer, Stavan Bhakta, Winifred Halm De-Souza COMMISSION STAFF: Megan Yerks, Staff Liaison Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Leeper called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Commission Members Missaghi, Philmon and Aman and Student Members Mayer and Halm De-Souza were absent. Sumra arrived at 7:30 p.m. II. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS The guest speaker for the evening was Robert Ellis, Director of the Eden Prairie Public Works Department. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Lucht moved, seconded by Aliweyd, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0. IV. APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 MEETING MINUTES MOTION: Elassar moved, seconded by Aliweyd, to approve the September 12th, 2019 minutes. Motion carried 5-0. V. LOCAL NON-PROFIT PRESENTATION – ROBERT ELLIS, EP PUBLIC WORKS Chair Leeper introduced Robert Ellis, Director of the Eden Prairie Public Works Department and stated he has been with the City for 8 years. Mr. Ellis said he would like to get feedback on the ADA Transition Plan for the Right of Way. Mr. Ellis pointed out HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES October 10, 2019 Page 2 ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act. Title II of ADA pertains to Right of Way. He stated they want to remove barriers from existing or reconstructed facilities; mainly sidewalks, trails, curb ramps and signals. A part of this plan consisted of where all the sidewalks, curb ramps, trails and traffic signals are located. There was a condition assessment of the problem areas that happened in 2018. The results were: A. Sidewalks and Trails  Cross Slope (140 locations)  Drainage (116 locations)  Driveway Interruption (117 locations)  Obstruction/Obstacle (7 locations)  Running Slope (76 locations) B. Curb Ramps (2,462 total)  Rating 1 = No facility exists (3)  Rating 2 = Most ADA standards not met and no truncated domes (1,746) – in the 1990’s truncated domes were not required and a lot of Eden Prairie’s development occurred then so that is why there are so many now.  Rating 3 = Some ADA standards met and truncated domes present (512)  Rating 4 = All ADA standards met or proper documentation provided (201) C. Traffic Signals (16 total)  Non-compliant Push Buttons, Indicators, Signage, etc. (15) These are the priority areas for improvements:  Half mile from Transit Stations  Half mile from Community Facilities  Half mile from High and Medium-High Density Housing  Half mile from Southwest Transit Bus Stops The Improvement Schedule consists of: A. Ten Year Capital Improvement Plan, including  Sidewalk and Trail Reconstruction  Pavement Management Projects  Roadway Reconstruction  Grant Opportunities B. New Development Projects C. Total Cost Estimate $13M over 26 years ADA Coordination: A. ADA Coordinator for ROW  Public Works Director B. Staff Training  Design, Inspection and Construction C. Grievance Procedure  ADA Coordinator HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES October 10, 2019 Page 3  HRDC  City Manager Mr. Ellis said the next steps will be recommendations from the HRDC this evening, then it will go to City Council for approval and once it is approved it will be implemented. Lucht asked if just the red zones on the map will be done. Mr. Ellis said they will be done first but they will be doing all zones. Chair Leeper asked, in regards to the time frame, it is quite extensive, being 26 years at $13M, if Mr. Ellis could discuss the expanded time frame. Mr. Ellis said they looked at other cities and most were at 80 percent in 20 years, so they wanted to be at the standard. He pointed out it was more expensive to rebuild then it is to have it new, hence the $13M. Lucht asked if Mr. Ellis was concerned that technology would change in the 26 years. Mr. Ellis said technology will change but the Department of Justice will give the City reprieves. Chair Leeper commented there should be a review period. Elassar said that is included in the document on page 9. Mr. Ellis said the document will not change but the appendix will change quite often. Chair Leeper said he recommends it to be reviewed every 1-2 years. Aliweyd said he would like to make this document/project public to everyone. Chair Leeper said appendix 1 addresses public hearings. Yerks asked Mr. Ellis when this will go to City Council for their review and approval. Mr. Ellis said it will hopefully be by the end of the year. Sumra commented if there is a construction project going on it would be nice if there was a hotline number residents could call with questions. Chair Leeper said he would like re-easement included in the document and to also include ramps. Elassar commented that the grievance process should be made available to the public. Sumra asked if on the ‘Grievance Form” could it be listed as the complainant name and not just name. Mr. Ellis said the form is drafted by the Department of Justice so they would not be able to change that. Elassar stated she was happy to see it was written in plain language. Mr. Ellis said the League of MN Cities developed the standard for that. Chair Leeper requested a motion to give this plan their recommendation to the City Council. MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Sumra, to recommend approval of the ADA Transition Plan to the City Council. Motion carried 6-0. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES October 10, 2019 Page 4 V. STAFF REPORT – MEGAN YERKS A. COMUNITY EVENTS: 1. General Fund Grant – The RFP deadline has passed for this grant. 10 applications were submitted and presentations will be made next week. $286,760 will be awarded for 2020-2021. B. COMUNITY EVENTS: 1. Becoming Nicole – This will take place on October 24, 2019 from 6:30- 7:15 pm at the Eden Prairie City Center. Eden Prairie Reads hosts book and panel presentation by people from the transgender community and their families. 2. Interfaith Circle’s Thanksgiving Community Celebration – Pax Christi Catholic Community with host this event on Saturday, November 23rd at 7:30 pm. 3. Navigating the Waters – This will take place at St. Andrews Church on November 8th fro 9 am – 12 pm. This will focus on disability awareness, etiquette and accessibility (including digital accessibility). 4. Health and Wellness Workshop: Nutrition & Your Health – Thursday, November 7th from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. This will be at the City Center in the Heritage Room and is hosted by PROP, OHCS and NAMI. 5. Health and Wellness Workshop: Physical Activity for Health – Thursday, December 5th from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. This will be at the City Center in the Heritage room and is hosted by PROP, OHCS and NAMI. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. EP CULTURE ‘N MOTION Chair Leeper said he would like feedback from everyone. Steidle feels there should have been more promotion for this. Chair Leeper said it would be great if the Student Commissioners could handle this as it is much easier for them. Yerks said Molly, who works at the high school, suggested talking to teachers to get extra credit for students. Lucht said she thought it was well attended. Aliweyd said he thought it was successful. He also suggested that people that did not attend should be able to read about it. Elassar said she was approached by a reporter and said she would be willing to talk to her. Chair Leeper and Aliweyd said they can also speak with her. Ali commented that it was a good event. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES October 10, 2019 Page 5 Steidle thought it was very interesting. Elassar said she really enjoyed this event and said it was very interactive. She also said it would be nice if the table hosts could be able to mingle. Chair Leeper thanked Elassar and Aliweyd for being table hosts. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. EDEN PRAIRIE OPEN HOUSE This will take place at Eden Prairie Fire Department #1 on Saturday, October 12 from 11-2 pm. Yerks said they need a few people to staff this event. Elassar said she could be there from 12:30-2pm. Skeie said he could help out from 11-12:30 pm, as did Aliweyd. Sumra said she will also be there. Yerks said she has a spin wheel and diversity books and will have supplies for this. B. NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH - NOVEMBER Chair Leeper said he would like to highlight this event. Yerks said there is a packet that includes history of Eden Prairie residents. Aliweyd said he would like to hear a speaker come and give us a highlight of living here; he said he knows a Dakota Sioux professor. Lucht asked if there was an event we could partner with someone for this. Yerks said she can ask if we can post a PowerPoint on this topic on the HRDC site, otherwise they can post the Land Acknowledgement statement. Aliweyd suggested we get information out to people and get a speaker into the Commission. Chair Leeper said in regards to the Land Acknowledgement statement, he would like this focused on Eden Prairie and have feedback from a Sioux representative. Yerks asked in general for social media, for Native American Heritage month, what the Commission would like to do. Chair Leeper said for sure something online and also look for someone to give feedback and check history. Sumra said she could do that and Chair Leeper and Lucht said they would also help. Chair Leeper said the statement should just be a few sentences long. C. LOOKING FORWARD: 2020 WORKPLAN PREP Yerks said for everyone to look at the guide for the work plan and they will discuss it next month. She also stated if any member is not going to be at the meeting next month to have the sheet submitted prior to the meeting. D. LOOKING FORWARD: STUDENT COMMISSIONER PROJECT Chair Leeper talked to the Student Commissioners about brainstorming for a Commissioner project and to bring the ideas forward next month to talk about it. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES October 10, 2019 Page 6 Yerks said it does not have to be an event; it could be a speaker or something in writing. IX. UPCOMING MEETING A. NOVEMBER 14, 2019 X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Lucht moved, seconded by Skeie, to adjourn the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:59 pm