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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 09/12/2019APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 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 7:00 p.m. Commission Members Aliweyd, Missaghi and Sumra and Student Member Halm De-Souza were absent. II. INTRODUCTION OF STUDENT COMMISSIONERS AND GUESTS The guest speaker for the evening was Ken Rodgers, Disability Advocate. He stated he currently works at the Department of Transportation and has previously been a registered nurse and school teacher. Steidle shared she is a senior at Eden Prairie High School and joined the Commission because she would like to learn more of Eden Prairie. Mayer said she is also a senior and this is her second year on the Commission. She stated she sees a lot of clicks and because of that would like to celebrate diversity. Ali said she is a senior and wants to do something different within the community. Bhakta is also a senior who is fascinated with meeting different people and wants to do his part with diversity in the community. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Lucht moved, seconded by Skeie, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 6-0. IV. APPROVAL OF THE JULY 11, 2019 MEETING MINUTES HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES September 12, 2019 Page 2 MOTION: Elassar moved, seconded by Philmon, to approve the July 11th, 2019 minutes. Motion carried 6-0. V. LOCAL NON-PROFIT PRESENTATION – KEN RODGERS, DISABILITY ADVOCATE Elassar introduced Mr. Rogers and pointed out he has been a mentor, philosopher and guide to her in regards to disability issues. Mr. Rodgers stated he lost his sight as an adult. He started out his career as a math teacher but felt there was more out there that he could be doing. He started designing computer labs but left to get into the nursing field and that is when he moved from California to Minnesota to go to school at St. Kate’s. After graduating he worked at Abbott Northwestern Hospital as a cardio nurse. After 6 years he found out he had a retinal disease and became blind within a year. He stated it was a very difficult time and he became a recluse for a year until a nurse friend came and told him of Re-habitation Service-Blind Focus, that was a program that helped him learn to do everyday tasks again. After he learned the basic life skills again he decided to go to massage therapy school but felt because he wanted to make systemic changes he decided to go to grad school for leadership management and he minored in disability policy. He currently is working for the State as an ADA Coordinator. He gets to educate supervisors on how to do things differently. He helps people realize they are not going to lose their jobs. He stated that he travels across the state to do his part of the job. The office he works in is called Equity and Diversity. There are 16 people in the office and half of them respond to discrimination issues and the other half teach on diversity and inclusion issues. Mr. Rodgers said in his daily world he exists in the disability community. He also said he tries never to use the word disabled as it means broken and pointed out terminology is very important. At the state level they recognize the person first and then disability or explanations afterwards. He said he also never uses the word handicapped. It is an old word that they do not use anymore but rather the word disability. Metro Mobility exists because they accommodate any fixed route. In working with disability and inclusion, there are limitations. He pointed out if traveling at night you have to make sure there is a fixed route, if not then they can’t take Metro Mobility. He said when people are planning events, they need to be mindful of this. It is important when you plan things so make sure everyone can be included. Skeie asked if they use Uber or Lyft. Mr. Rodgers said a lot of people with disabilities do not have a lot of money so that is not an option. Para-Transit/Metro Mobility is subsidized and that is the way people with a disability can travel. It is a door to door pickup and a shared ride so you are not the only one on it and given that, it can be a long time to travel. People with disabilities have to be very patient. Metro Mobility supplies 8000 rides a month. Chair Leeper said Mr. Rodgers story was inspiring and the work he does is very helpful and deepened his knowledge of the subject. Lucht said her sister is deaf and felt Mr. Rodgers presentation was very helpful. Philmon said she would like to connect with him and learn more. Elassar asked him to talk about what happens when winter comes. Mr. Rodgers said the snow and ice can be a barrier, especially on HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES September 12, 2019 Page 3 sidewalks and streets. It is important to have the snow cleared. This is a big problem and these are important things to talk about. V. STAFF REPORT – MEGAN YERKS A. COMUNITY UPDATES: 1. There is an RFP open for General Fund. This is $300,000 for over 2 years for non-profits. Yerks said they will be reviewing this over the next few months as the applications are coming in. 2. Dean Phillips – Yerks said there is an annual allotment for housing. There has been a lot of new inquires because of information Dean Phillips had put out. This $250,000 comes from HUD and is given out annually. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. HUMAN LIBRARY Chair Leeper asked what went well and what could be approved from the Commission members that were in attendance. Skeie said he was disappointed with the attendance as there were only about 5 people attending. Lucht said the low attendance could be attributed to the time of day it was happening and the fact there were two other events that were happening at the Community Center at the same time. Aman said it was a good forum but more people need to attend. Yerks said the low attendance is an issue the steering committee is talking about because there were numerous events happening at the same time. Philmon commented on the positive side, she got to talk to the new Commissioners. Elassar said she was also disappointed because of the low attendance. She said what could be improved upon is the marketing of this event. B. PEOPLE FEST! Chair Leeper asked for feedback from the Commissioners. Elassar said she would highly recommend the Interfaith Tour. She also pointed out she was the “green” police at this event; she was in charge of recycling. She stated this was a failure to get rid of the recycling but educating people at the event was a success. Lucht said she maned the booth and there was double the people there from last year. She would suggest having another person at the booth. She also said to make sure questions are age appropriate. Aman said there were a lot of people who came up right away to help with the setup. Yerks stated next year there may be structural changes. She also said for the Prairie Brew Fest Grant they received $600 in addition to the $10,000 from the State Art Board for next year’s PeopleFest! The Prairie Brew Fest grants given out were at follows; Meals on Wheels- $2,000, HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES September 12, 2019 Page 4 Early Childhood - $1,000, HRDC - $600, Rain Garden $400. Elassar said Brew Fest was a great event; Lucht concurred. 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 it and decide what they want to do. Chair Leeper said the wheel is a success. Aman said he also has a Plinko board that would be fun. Chair Leeper said Yerks will send out an email on this event and will be looking for 3 volunteers. Elassar said she will be there for all three hours. B. EP CULTURE ‘N MOTION (SPEED ‘N PRAIRIE) Chair Leeper said this event, with is a multi-cultural mixer, is on Friday, October 4th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the East Commons at Eden Prairie High School. This is an event the Commission is partnering with Mark Weber. There are a handful of tables representing the largest populations in Eden Prairie. The idea is there is a table host that will share something from their heritage, talking for about 7 minutes. Yerks said they are looking for volunteers to help out. Missaghi, Chair Leeper, Lucht and Elassar said they can be there; Aman cannot be there. Chair Leeper and Yerks asked for student volunteers. Steidle and Mayer said they could be there. IX. UPCOMING MEETING A. OCTOBER 10, 2019 – Yerks said the presenter for this meeting with be Robert Ellis from Public Works and will be discussing Right of Way accessibility and requested that Commissioners review the plan and be ready to give feedback on all the information in the document. X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Lucht moved, seconded by Aman, to adjourn the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:02 pm