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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 01/14/2021APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2021 7:00 P.M., Virtual Meeting via WebEx COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Leeper (Chair), Shahram Missaghi (Vice Chair), Katherine Lucht, Leslie Philmon, Sana Elassar, Philip Skeie, Asad Aliweyd, Tyler Aman, Anjali Limaye STUDENT MEMBERS: Ifrah Edow, Jillian Pearson, Nadiah Johnson, Rashmi Acharya, Sehan Adan, Serena Jain COMMISSION STAFF: Megan Yerks, Staff Liaison Christine Ruzek, Human Resources Manager Jodie Fenske, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Leeper called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Commission Members Philmon and Limaye and Student Commissioners Johnson, Acharya, Adan, and Jain were absent. II. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Anna Peters, Jill Lipski, and Moira Gaidzanwa of the Improve Group and Karen DeYoung and Christopher Jones of DeYoung Consulting were in attendance. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Missaghi moved, seconded by Aliweyd to approve the agenda. Motion carried 7-0. IV. APPROVAL OF DECEMBER MEETING MINUTES MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Aliweyd, to approve the December 10, 2020 minutes. Motion carried 7-0. V. LOCAL NON-PROFIT PRESENTATION There was no presentation. VI. STAFF REPORT- MEGAN YERKS A. COMMUNITY NEWS HousingLink will be hosting “The New Jim Crow: Housing Barriers and Solutions for Residents Returning from Incarceration” webinar on February 10 from 11:30 HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 14,2021 Page 2 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Registration is required for this webinar which will provide tips for landlords on how to build successful renting relationships with formerly incarcerated tenants. Jason Sole, co-founder of “Humanize My Hoodie,” will share stories of returning from incarceration back to society in 1997, 2002, and 2005. He has had housing stability for over a decade and seeks to help landlords and formerly incarcerated community members have successful and stable housing relationships. Aliweyd encouraged the group to participate in the webinar if possible. He also suggested looking into HousingLink with whom he works closely and is a good organization and voice for tenants. B. OHCS NEWS 1. MLK Jr. Day Contest Winners. Four winners and three additional finalists were selected from fifteen total submissions for the Words in Action contest. Participants were asked to select one of Dr. King’s quotes and express what it means to them through creating a piece of art, writing, or audio/video. Yerks stated it was obvious participants put lots of time and energy into their submissions. Winners and finalists will receive a cash prize and be featured on the City’s social media platforms. All participants will receive a letter from Mayor Case. Winners will be attending the City Council meeting on January 19. Aliweyd and Leeper (and possibly Elassar), along with Student Representative Pearson, will present the awards. Other Commission members are welcome to attend the Council meeting virtually. Each student will be introduced, recognized, and given the opportunity to read and display their winning submission. Yerks will prepare a PowerPoint presentation for Council to view all winning submissions. Yerks will finalize the documents for the City Council packet and will then follow up via email with Aliweyd, Leeper, Elassar, and Pearson regarding timing and presentation details. The Martin Luther King Proclamation will be presented. An announcement of the opening of nominations for the annual HRD Awards will be announced at the City Council meeting. Principals from both the high school and middle school expressed excitement and interest in participating this year but the timeline was difficult with several transitions taking place due to COVID-19. Both schools look forward to a joint partnership with the Commission in 2022. 2. Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Municipality Equality Index (MEI). The HRC released final results of the MEI for 2020, and Eden Prairie received a final score of 51 out of 100. This is a slight increase from the HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 14,2021 Page 3 final score of 49 in 2019, leaving opportunities for growth. Yerks stated there are a few items the City is doing that perhaps do not fit the HRC definition or there was a miscommunication in the work the City is doing. She is already working with Joyce Lorenz, the City’s Communication Manager, to make sure the assessments are reviewed prior to the 2021 report. Yerks will also watch throughout 2021 for growth opportunities to raise the City’s future scores. Surrounding metro communities on the list include Minnetonka with a rating of 43, Bloomington with a rating of 77, and Minneapolis and St. Paul both scoring 100. Elassar asked for background information on the index. Yerks displayed the HRC MEI scorecard document and explained how each year MEI examines how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ people who live and work there. Cities are rated based on non- discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and the city leadership’s public position on equality. The foundation rates 500 municipalities nationwide, based on population, and publishes the results online. C. HRDC NEWS 1. 2021 Calendar. The November HRD Commission meeting falls on Veterans Day in 2021. The group discussed keeping the date as is or rescheduling. Leeper and Skeie suggested keeping the date as is. Since there were no objections, the meeting will remain on Thursday, November 11, 2021. 2. 2021 Commission Recruitment. The City’s 2021 Commission recruitment is currently taking place. Applications are open online and due February 8 and interviews will take place February 23. Appointments will be made at the March 2 or March 16 City Council meeting. Commission member orientations will take place in late March either in person or virtually. The positions of HRD Commission Members Leeper, Elassar, and Aliweyd are up for renewal in 2021. Yerks stated she hopes all three members are interested in reapplying and encouraged them to complete the reappointment forms that will arrive via email. VII. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 14,2021 Page 4 VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. EDEN PRAIRIE RACE EQUITY INITIATIVE (REI) Leeper welcomed the attendees from Improve Group and DeYoung Consulting. Ms. DeYoung shared the agenda including meeting objectives: prepare for community engagement phase by reviewing and discussing stakeholder identification, review research questions and guiding prompts for each of the six focus areas, brainstorm criteria to select interviewees for internal scan, and begin to prepare for best practices review by identifying initial benchmarking criteria. Ms. DeYoung displayed the most recent purpose statement and asked for input. Aman requested the final draft (including grammatical changes), previously emailed from Mr. Jones, be incorporated into the final purpose statement. Ms. Lipski reminded the group the December meeting covered what the deep listening phase will involve. She acknowledged it was a great deal of information to go over and Commission dedication, thoughtfulness, and feedback were appreciated. The input allowed Improve Group to follow up with clarity and specificity regarding roles and responsibilities and to develop a spreadsheet of stakeholder groups including who may potentially serve as community liaisons. She explained tonight Ms. Gaidzanwa will review which populations were previously provided and ask for Commission input on confirming the scope. It is a good time in the planning process to discuss the feasibility for community engagement and to help prioritize regarding involving as many populations as possible or digging deeper into specific populations. Ms. Lipski asked the group to share any general questions or clarifications they had about community engagement and to express their feelings about each type of community engagement. Elassar shared concern about how to perform community engagement during a pandemic, while physically socially distanced, as well as digital accessibility and limitations in meeting virtually. Ms. Lipski responded although people are burned out with virtual meetings at this point in the pandemic, there has also been an increase in civic engagement since more meetings are virtually accessible. She added the community engagement for this project will be done virtually due to safety protocols. Recruitment will involve asking liaisons to use social media and making telephone calls more often than in non-COVID times. Ms. Lipski stated they are well versed in the use of Zoom technology, managing breakout groups, and organizing the flow of the engagement. Their previous technology knowledge will ensure a smooth experience for the REI. Commission members will be leading the engagements but will be provided technical assistance and coaching for facilitating virtually. Should the City’s WebEx platform not be HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 14,2021 Page 5 ideal, the HDC is welcome to use DeYoung Consulting’s Zoom account. Ms. DeYoung added they have facilitated several listening groups and even phone users are able to participate via Zoom and partake in polling using interactive applications. Yerks stated any participants experiencing a technology barrier are welcome to use the City’s public access computers or the computers available at the Eden Prairie library. Aliweyd shared concern virtual community engagement may not produce a very authentic first-time experience for the immigrant community as far as translation and interpretation. He suggested holding a few sessions in person following the Governor’s social distancing requirements. Leeper reiterated the contract with DeYoung Consultants is for facilitating virtual engagements, and the Commission would need to take the lead for any in-person gatherings. Skeie inquired and Leeper confirmed the consulting group would be providing training and facilitating some meetings while commissioners attend, and Commission members will be facilitating some meetings without the consultants. Missaghi inquired if Aliweyd has any experience with translation services on Zoom. Aliweyd responded he does have experience and does not think there will be a problem providing translation. Ms. Lipski added community liaison providing translation services is a good alternative to a paid interpreter. Aliweyd shared he is confident he and the City’s Community Services Technician Mohammed Duale and other colleagues will be able to provide translation services. Elassar shared concern closed captioning would be necessary for the sessions, and Ms. DeYoung clarified their Zoom account does provide closed captioning services. Ms. Lipski stated after determining the groups tonight, options can be discussed, and input will be provided by the consultants later to determine the best most accessible mode to reach those groups. Ms. Gaidzanwa shared a spreadsheet with the group to review different areas of inquiry including recruiting, hiring and retention; emergency response; community experience; culture and connection to community; and facility and program accessibility. She stressed outreach should extend to the Native American, Asian, Latino, and traditional African American communities. She asked the group for input and reactions. Leeper reiterated Ms. Lipski’s point about breadth and depth is important as is Skeie’s point about scope of the initiative, especially considering limits on time and resources, and asked for the consulting group’s guidance. Aman added he would like the consultants’ advice on where to focus efforts to achieve the most impact. Missaghi inquired what language can be used for the most impact but not excluding anyone. Ms. Gaidzanwa responded recruitment would be targeted to everyone but to different areas of inquiry, to ensure an even distribution and variety of people, to be as inclusive as possible. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 14,2021 Page 6 Ms. DeYoung suggested a strategy of tapping into communities who are already congregating and using community liaisons to make connections to use fewer outreach resources. Ms. Peters suggested keeping track of demographics and if a gap is found midway, focus on that group. Skeie suggested leveraging one large group for all topics. One session can cover recruitment and hiring, emergency and facilities, rather than separate meetings for each area of inquiry. Leeper agreed and Ms. Gaidzanwa concurred by using different breakout rooms and keep rotating until all parties have a say in all the different areas. Elassar stated one-fourth of the United States’ population identifies with a disability and we have an aging community in Eden Prairie; therefore, the initiative should not neglect to address that community. Ms. DeYoung suggested thinking of the initiative as a phased approach which is now quite extensive focusing on race. The process, tools, and training can become a template and then used in the future to expand beyond the racial focus. Yerks stated the list is a good starting point but it needs to be condensed to a few groups deemed as priority. The groups can be reassessed throughout the process, gaps identified, and other groups introduced as needed. Ms. Lipski inquired in what way the consultants could assist the Commission at this time in determining to which groups to reach out. Yerks stated one of the Commission’s strength is the brainstorm phase. Refinement is needed to prioritize and create a concrete plan of action. A firm concept of the outreach plan needs to be determined and a smaller group may be beneficial. It was decided Ms. Lipski and Ms. Gaidzanwa will meet with Yerks separately to discuss logistics and to sketch out a refined plan which will be reported back to the group. Ms. DeYoung displayed broad research questions and asked for a brief discussion to determine if the specific questions under each focus area are appropriate. Within the assessment plan, there are separate topic areas and research questions from which interview questions will be developed. Commission members provided input and asked questions and Ms. DeYoung took notes on how to change the questions. Skeie recommended asking a question regarding perception since most people do not have experience with emergency management services. Lucht suggested asking what emergency response providers perceive as well since it may be different from what the public perceives. Student Representative Jillian Pearson suggested asking questions about how often community experience opportunities are taken and to what degree. Ms. DeYoung explained the next step is to determine the best way to obtain the information to the questions. Ms. Peters asked for input for the next step of reviewing documents and interviewing key informants (staff or leaders within the City). No names are HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 14,2021 Page 7 needed right now but criteria to use to help determine the individuals would be helpful. The budget allows for fifteen interviews for three areas (emergency response, connection to the community, and recruit, hiring, and retention). Skeie suggested police officers and firefighters and leaders of those departments. Leeper referred to Human Resources Manager Christine Ruzek for guidance. Ruzek asked for the document and questions developed tonight to be emailed to her and she will provide input with the assistance of Yerks. Lucht recommended some frontline workers be interviewed about what are they seeing and feeling when responding to emergencies. It is important to be conscious of what leaders say and what employees actually do, which may or may not align. Ms. DeYoung stated the next phase will be setting up interviews. She thanked the Commission for their input tonight. The DeYoung Consulting group members left the meeting. Yerks asked for clarification of next steps for the Commission and sub- committees. There were no comments or questions from the Commission. She clarified it was negotiated as part of the contract with DeYoung that the Commission would maintain a leadership role. Intentionally built into the contract for the primary reason to ensure pathways being built during this project were those the Commission could maintain once entering the implementation stage. Leeper requested clarification of the community outreach piece would be helpful. Yerks agreed and stated she has a meeting scheduled with Ms. Lipski and Ms. Gaidzanwa to create a template for implementation. B. WORK PLAN 2021 Leeper reiterated the Work Plan is a snapshot of all the work City Commissions plan to do throughout the coming year, as well as a brief retrospect of the previous year. He will present the HRD Commission 2021 Work Plan to the City Council next Tuesday evening, January 19. A majority of the HRD Commission’s time will be spent on the Race Equity Initiative. The work plan also illustrates legacy events the Commission has committed to and partnered with other organizations in previous years. The purpose tonight is to finalize the work plan and not necessarily make any additions or overhauls. Yerks displayed the 2021 Work Plan and Leeper reviewed each month and asked for input from the group. Elassar suggested work on the Land Acknowledgement Statement (LAS) will take place more than just in November (Native American Heritage month). Since no official timeline has been determined, it was decided to indicate “ongoing” at this time and finalize dates later. Elassar stated the importance of mentioning to Council the work is ongoing, and the One EP team is working beyond a written LAS. Yerks will add the LAS to the 2021 Initiatives slide as an ongoing project. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 14,2021 Page 8 Elassar suggested there may be an opportunity for outreach during Ramadan (April 13-May 12, 2021). She also asked if the feminine hygiene initiative could be added as a 2020 highlight on the Work Plan. Eden Prairie is one of the first cities to provide free feminine hygiene products in City facilities. Yerks shared the PowerPoint that will be presented to Council to illustrate structural changes City Manager Rick Getschow requested regarding the Race Equity project. She shared new slides recently added to include the project statement, landmark dates, and six areas of inquiry. Input of the additional slides was positive and will be beneficial to new City Council Member Lisa Toomey. IX. UPCOMING MEETING A. FEBRUARY 11, 2021 – ENTIRELY VIRTUAL X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Lucht moved, seconded by Aman, to adjourn the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting. Motion carried 8-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.