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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 04/14/2016APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 7:00 P.M., 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Human Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: PG Narayanan (Chair), Sana Elassar (Vice Chair), Greg Leeper, Leslie Philmon, Shahran Missaghi, Ann Martinka, Joan Howe-Pullis STAFF: Patricia Fenrick, Staff Heidi Wojahn, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Tanvi Mehta, Tala Alfoqaha, Sarah Mason, Adrienne Retzlaff, Turner Gunderson I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Following an opening by Jim Morrow from the Eden Prairie Police Department, introductions and an ice-breaker, Chair Narayanan called the meeting to order at 7:43 p.m. Howe-Pullis and Student Representatives Mehta and Mason were absent. II. INTRODUCTIONS III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Leeper moved, seconded by Martinka, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 6-0. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Elassar moved, seconded by Leeper, to approve the March 10, 2016 minutes. Motion carried 3-0-3 with Philmon, Missaghi, and Martinka abstaining. V. COMMISSIONER OATH OF OFFICE Fenrick administered an oath of office to the Commissioners. VI. REPORTS OF STAFF - Fenrick A. STUDENT COMMISSIONER APPLICATIONS The deadline for student commissioner applications is Friday, May 27. HRDC members are encouraged to spread the word. Narayanan asked about publicizing this at school. Fenrick said she would check into City advertising for all HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 14, 2016 Page 2 commissions. Alfoqaha offered to post information on the school newspaper’s website. B. BEST BUY GRANT $5.10 remaining. VII. OLD AND NEW BUSINESS A. HRDC BANQUET The annual Board and Commission Banquet will be held May 11 at 6 p.m. Invitations have been sent. Commissioners can RSVP to Fenrick and advise her of any dietary restrictions. B. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS PRESENTATION The Human Rights Awards presentation will take place Tuesday, May 24, 7-8 p.m. Fenrick asked for volunteers to present the awards. Retzlaff agreed to present the individual award while Leeper and Gunderson volunteered to present the business awards to World Auto and Brunswick Zone respectively. C. STUDENT BAND FUNDRAISER Fenrick reported a conflict with the proposed date for the student band fundraiser and asked for an update from the students. Retzlaff stated there has been discussion about moving the event to sometime in May or June. Fenrick said she already inquired about a May 20 date with Immanuel Lutheran Church (ILC) but has not received a reply yet. Alfoqaha said they still need ideas for bands. Fenrick said she will also follow up with a City staff person about the sound system. She explained to the new Commissioners the fundraiser’s purpose is to help homeless youth in the Eden Prairie area. Eden Prairie does not currently have a shelter for these individuals and they are bussed to school from a shelter in Bloomington. ILC is looking to serve as landlord for a local shelter with Oasis for Youth providing case management and support. Money from the event would be donated to support that initiative. Discussion followed about different options for paying admission. Elassar recommended promoting the event at the 5K in June. Narayanan suggested including information about it in the packets participants would receive. Retzlaff expressed concern about trying to pull the event together in the next month. Perhaps summer would be better. Alfoqaha agreed saying it would be ideal to get a commitment from bands or individuals for a later date prior to school letting out for summer. Retzlaff said May is a busy time for students. Getting commitments now for a date further out is questionable. She also has other commitments which prevent her from putting the amount of planning into HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 14, 2016 Page 3 the event she would like to. Discussion ensued about the ideal window to recruit student performers and the pros and cons of holding the event in May, summer, or early fall. Narayanan suggesting branding the event similar to PeopleFest. Shahran recommended getting local personalities involved to help publicize the event. Fenrick said she checked into the Battle of the Bands event in Hopkins which raises funds for Teens Alone and was told they are having trouble recruiting Eden Prairie bands. Elassar suggested partnering with them rather than holding a separate event locally would still support the cause of youth homelessness. Fenrick asked the students to make a decision in the next week whether or not to move forward with the May 20 date and let her know. There is no shame in postponing the event if now is not the right time. D. 5K REPRESENTATIVE Elassar gave an overview of the connection between homelessness and youth sex trafficking as well as HRDC’s involvement in the Stop the Trafficking 5K the past two years. Fenrick said if anyone was interested in replacing former Commissioner Jenny Buckland as the HRDC representative for this event, to please let her know. E. 5K VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP The following people have volunteered to assist with packet pick-up: Friday, June 10, 2:00-5:15 p.m. Narayanan, Connie Iacovelli, Mehta, Missaghi Friday, June 10, 5:15-7:45 p.m. Jenny Buckland, Philmon, Martinka, Elassar Elassar said she will forward a link to sign up for day-of-race help. F. REVIEW OF WORK PLAN Fenrick explained she created a grid for purposes of determining what Commissioners need to do in the way of educating themselves and connecting with the community in order to be well-informed for the purposes of advising Council on human rights issues. More specifically, HRDC reports to Council on Eden Prairie successes and challenges in the following human rights categories: civil, political, economic, social, and cultural. She reviewed current activities and where they fall in each of those categories. These categories are the focus of making sure there is a real connection in the community and will help the HRDC provide the best advice to Council about what’s working and what’s not. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 14, 2016 Page 4 G. “TRACKS IN THE SNOW” – LEFTOVER GRANT IDEAS Fenrick reported the Commission has $650 remaining from the “Tracks in the Snow” exhibit grant and asked Commissioners to brainstorm ideas for how to use the leftover funds to continue to work on bridging differences that divide us. Fenrick said one idea is to broaden the scope by highlighting what different faiths are doing to promote human rights and find common ground in making our world a better place. Elassar said it ties in with unconscious bias so an interactive approach like the human library would be a good choice. Martinka mentioned the StoryCorps format. Narayanan suggested videotaping stories and putting them together in a 15-20 segment of Faces of Eden Prairie. Fenrick said because this falls under preserving Eden Prairie’s historical story, it might be possible to join forces with the Heritage Preservation Commission or Eden Prairie Historical Society. Missaghi suggested getting support from community television with videotaping. Alfoqaha said there is a young filmmakers club at school that might be able to help. Retzlaff said one of her teachers teaches a digital imaging class, and the students could be involved in putting something together. Narayanan also suggested college-level students. Fenrick asked Commissioners to think about who should be highlighted in video and what the focus should be. One idea is to use a Humans of New York approach where the individual determines the story they want to share. Another route is to use a more scripted approach. Elassar asked if someone else wanted to take over the EP Human Rights Twitter account. Martinka suggested connecting the Facebook and Twitter accounts. H. CHANGE IN MEETING DATE Upon discussion, a decision was made to move the June meeting date to June 16 due to a conflict. VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 12, 2016, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. Retzlaff said she is unable to attend. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Elassar moved, seconded by Philmon, to adjourn. Motion carried 6-0. Chair Narayanan adjourned the meeting at 8:58 p.m.