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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 05/13/2021APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021 7:00 P.M., VIRTUAL MEETING Virtual Participants via Zoom COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Leeper (Chair), Shahram Missaghi, (Vice Chair), Katherine Lucht, Leslie Philmon, Sana Elassar, Philip Skeie, Asad Aliweyd, Tyler Aman, Anjali Limaye, Samuel Griffin, Michael Mullins, John Urbanski, Susan Weaver STUDENT MEMBERS: Ifrah Edow, Jillian Pearson, Nadiah Johnson, Rashmi Acharya, Sehan Adan, Serena Jain COMMISSION STAFF: Megan Yerks, Staff Liaison Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Leeper called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. Commission Members Aliweyd and Limaye and Student Members Edow, Pearson, Johnson, Acharya and Adan were absent. Commission Member Missaghi arrived during the Staff Report. II. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS There were no guests in attendance this evening. Chair Leeper wanted to take this opportunity to have Commissioner Mullins introduce himself. Mullins said he joined the Commission because he said he wants to be more involved and help with racial inequality. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Mullins, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 10-0. IV. APPROVAL OF THE APRIL 8, 2021 MEETING MINUTES MOTION: Weaver moved, seconded by Urbanski, to approve the April 8, 2021 minutes. Motion carried 10-0. V. LOCAL NON-PROFIT PRESENTATION There was no presentation. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES May 13, 2021 Page 2 of 5 VI. STAFF REPORT – MEGAN YERKS A. COMMUNITY NEWS Yerks wanted to take an opportunity to acknowledge Eid. B. OHCS NEWS Yerks mentioned the application process is open for new student commissioners for next year. She stated this will be open through May 28 on the City’s website, and there is a link available on Facebook. It is open to all juniors and seniors who attend school in Eden Prairie. Generally the Commission gets 4 to 6 students and they will start in September. C. HRDC NEWS There was a meeting with Friends of Frederick Miller Spring. Commissioners attending were Elassar, Philmon and Lucht, along with Yerks. In summary, the Pulte Homes is looking to build 50 single family homes on the 27 acre property. This property is currently zoned rural, but would be rezoned for low density residential. There was a group of community members, both Eden Prairie and non-Eden Prairie residents, who were concerned about the impact of the project on local biodiversity and the nearby Frederick Miller Spring site, where many of them come for drinking water. The spring is a local Heritage Preservation site, which is owned by the City and includes protections written in City Code and is not directly affected by the development. Community members and activists are concerned that the development will impact the water quality. Lucht commented the group was very passionate about the water quality. Elassar concurred with Lucht and also stated they brought up the Land Acknowledge Statement. Philmon also added the group referenced the burial mounds that were in the area and also the concern about potential damage to the spring and the area. Yerks said the spring consists of a pull-off area with a faucet to obtain drinking water. The refresh area is not in the area and the City does not think this development will have an impact on the springs and she said the project will move forward. Weaver asked if the opposition was from the Indigenous Community. Yerks confirmed it was in part and said they are concerned with the safety of the water and land. Lucht said this piece of land is being sold by an individual owner to a developer and in that case the City does not have a lot of input. Chair Leeper mentioned that if any of the media reaches out to a commissioner about issues with the HRDC have them speak with Yerks. D. UPCOMING MEETINGS OR OPPORTUNIES HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES May 13, 2021 Page 3 of 5 1. The quarterly local commission meeting with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MNDHR) will be on Monday, May 17 at 5:30 pm. All commissioners are invited and Yerks will send out the meeting invite. 2. The HRDC will have a joint meeting with the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) on Monday, May 17th at 7 pm. They will discuss the Land Acknowledgement Statement and Mohamed Duale (from Yerk’s office) will be in attendance to discuss the Somali community in Eden Prairie. 3. Native Governance Center Online Event: Beyond Land Acknowledgement. This is available online. Instagram: @nativelandnet 4. Tentative Commissioner Banquet on July 15th – save the date. More details to come. 5. Yerks polled the Commission as to meeting preference. Yerks stated if the Commission meets in person it would most likely be in a conference room at Eden Prairie Center or the City Center. The poll results were favored to meet in person. A majority of people said they could go either way. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. RECOGNITION OF STUDENT COMMISSIONERS Chair Leeper commented this is the time of year we have to say goodbye to our student commissioners. He expressed thanks to each of them and said the Commission appreciated all of their hard work throughout the year. Elassar concurred with Chair Leeper. Yerks also agreed with Chair Leeper and Elassar and also said she looks forward to seeing everyone at the Student Banquet. B. EDEN PRAIRIE RACE EQUITY INITIATIVE UPDATE Yerks pointed out 3 of the 4 World Cafes and been completed. The fourth one will be completed tomorrow evening, May 14. This will be a virtual café with Aliweyd hosting the event. Yerks asked if Chair Leeper or Elassar had additional updates. Elassar commented that she feels the recruitment of participants could not have happened without the assistance from the liaisons. She also felt this was a good diverse group of individuals. Yerks pointed out for the World Café tomorrow evening there will be three facilitators; Aliweyd, Mohamed Duale, and a community member. All participants will be Somali and commented there should be 10 to 12 individuals and they should all be able to speak English. In regards to the Race Equity Initiative, Yerks, the City Manager Rick Getschow and Human Resources Manager Christine Ruzek, are working on a timeline. The preliminary report should come out in mid-June and the three of them will review this and then it will come before the Commission in July for review and revisions. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES May 13, 2021 Page 4 of 5 Once that is complete, the Initiative will go back to the consultants and they will make the final revisions. When those revisions are complete if will go to the City Council and a workshop session will be set up for their review and discussion. After that is done, it will be presented at the City Council meeting. C. EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP PRESENTATION Yerks said this workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 18th from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at the City Center. There will be a dinner at 5 pm; if you plan to attend please let Yerks know by May 17th. This event will also be held virtually and a link will be sent out with that information. Yerks will be doing the presentation on the Race Equity Initiative project and it will consist of the process that the project has followed so the Council has an understanding of the work that has been done prior to the release of the final report this summer. The consultants will also be in attendance if any questions need to be addressed to them specifically. D. EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS This will also be held on Tuesday, May 18th from 7 to 9 pm at the City Center. The Commission will be presenting the Human Rights Awards to the recipients at the City Council meeting. Yerks said she will need 4 commissioners at the meeting to help host and present the awards during the meeting. The HRDC is always the first to present so commissioners should arrive at 6:45 pm. For the Non-Profit Award recipient, Hope Speaks, they will not be in attendance but have sent a note to read so one of the volunteers will have to do that. The other three award recipients will be there in person to accept their award. The volunteer will act as host for each group and accompany them to the podium. Skeie said he would be the volunteer for Southwest Prime. Griffin said he will be the volunteer for Hope Speaks and Philmon said she will be the volunteer for Joan Howe-Pullis. Yerks will reach out to the student commissioners for a volunteer for the Youth Award. E. PEOPLEFEST! Yerks commented capacity will be a big issue for this event and will not be as it had in the past. The events will take place both in person and virtual. There will be many new events also. One of these events consist of a local artist who connects with immigrants in Eden Prairie and does portraits depicting their stories. Yerks asked the Commission what they would like to do for this event and reiterated they discussed spotlighting local restaurants while also working with Kathy Case and Jennifer Prince of the EP Historical Society and Molly Patil, from EP Schools who are working on historical sites in Eden Prairie and they could merge the two and call it “Guide to Eden Prairie”. Yerks said she would like three commissioners to volunteer for this event. Mullins said he would volunteer. Elassar asked what the volunteers would be doing. Yerks said they would be meeting with the graphic designer and also Molly, Jennifer and Kathy to get this HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES May 13, 2021 Page 5 of 5 activity organized. Elassar said she would volunteer. Chair Leeper asked if this will be a digital guide or printed. Yerks said it will be both. F. STOP THE TRAFFICKING 5K Yerks said there are currently 350 participants registered for this event. She speculated that approximately 80% of all the participants will run at Purgatory Creek and the remainder 20% will run on their own. She is looking for volunteers for packet pick-up which will take place on June 11 at Grace Church and will be a drive up distribution. Time slots will be 1:30-5, and 5-8. Please contact Yerks if you can volunteer. She is also looking for volunteers on the race day, which is June 12th. If a Commissioner or City employee would like to participate there is a 50% discount. Weaver asked what the entrance fee is. Yerks said it is $20 for youth and $30 for adults and you do receive a t-shirt. Chair Leeper asked what the goal would be for this year. Yerks commented there is not a specific goal. Urbanski asked about the Commissioner Focus Group and when that would be taking place. Yerks stated for those Commissioners interested in participating in this group to stay after the meeting this evening and they will pick a date and time for next week to meet. This needs to be completed by May 21st. IX. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. X. UPCOMING MEETING A. JUNE 10, 2021 XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Urbanski, to adjourn the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting. Motion carried 11-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:52 p.m.