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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 03/13/2025 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2025 7:00 P.M., EDEN PRAIRIE CITY CENTER Heritage Rooms 3 & 4 COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Leeper (Chair), Asad Aliweyd, Shana Bates, Zaheer Khan, Jody Knight, Jessica Oaxaca, Brenda Pfahnl, Savannah Riese, Kuhu Singh, Philip Skeie, John Urbanski, Susan Weaver STUDENT COMMISSION MEMBERS: Jude Lambal, Ayanna Arora, Kayna Aneja, Alisha Shah, Melody Li, Swara Halbe, Tamia Hassan, Zahara Umar COMMISSION STAFF: Paja Xiong, Community Services Manager & Staff Liaison Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Vice Chair Khan called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Commission Members Leeper, Oaxaca, and Riese and Student Commission Members Lambal, Arora, Aneja, Shah, Li, Halbe, Hassan, and Umar were absent. II. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Xiong introduced Amy Markle, Parks and Recreation Director and Lori Brink, Recreation Manager to the Commission. They will be doing a presentation of the Eden Prairie Parks and Recreation Department and how their programs and events create more accessibility and inclusion. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Xiong added an additional item to the Agenda; PeopleFest under Old Business. MOTION: Urbanski moved, seconded by Bates, to approve the amended Agenda. Motion carried 9-0. IV. APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY 9, 2025 MEETING MINUTES AND THE FEBRUARY 13, 2025 MEETING MINUTES MOTION: Urbanski moved, seconded by Bates, to approve the January 9, 2025 Meeting Minutes. Motion carried 9-0. MOTION: Pfahnl moved, seconded by Aliweyd, to approve the February 13, 2025 Meeting Minutes. Motion carried 9-0. HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES March 13, 2025 Page 2 of 6 V. COMMUNITY PRESENTATION A. CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE PARKS AND RECREATION Xiong stated they will be doing these quarterly City presentations to update the HRDC members on how the other City Departments are doing. Amy Markle introduced herself and Lori Brink. She started out by stating in regards to the Race Equity report the Parks and Recreation Department has established a lot of goals and initiatives. Lori Brink said she will be discussing Access and Outreach this evening and presented a PowerPoint. She pointed out the theme of this topic is how we can serve our community as a welcoming environment for all and eliminate barriers such as; access to information and transportation, financial barriers, an inability to participate and a sense of not feeling welcome. Some of the ways the City will build outreach is to have free community wide events, pop-up events in specific neighborhoods, free weekly adult/child activities at the Outdoor Center, Fitness in the Parks, free access to recreation equipment, free daily activities at the Senior Center, and transportation services. Ms. Markle said in regards to the Outdoor Center, one of the amenities they offer are free kayaks. This year they will have more watercraft and accessible kayaks. Ms. Brink said in regards to addressing financial barriers, the Park and Recreation Department has established the following programs; fee-based offerings, Passport to Fun, partnerships with PROP, payment plans, County partnerships, subsidized summer playground camps, and “Pay What You Can” theater performances. Ms. Markle pointed out the Passport to Fun program allows families who qualify access to the Community Center open gym, skate and swim. It also give them a $200 balance to use towards subsidized paid programming. There are also programs for individuals with special needs. These programs include adaptive recreation, inclusion services, sensory-friendly programs and event spaces and community partnerships. Ms. Markle said they are also looking at creating a quiet center at the Community Center and also looking for different options for the 4th of July. Ms. Brink said in regards to July 4th they already have a SparkleFest event on July 3rd that invites individuals with special needs to come and participate and hour prior to program start time. The will also be continuing the drone show on July 3rd at the SparkleFest. Ms. Brink pointed out the Park and Recreation Department also offers programs for individuals with unique needs. These consist of fitness and wellness programs such as, MS aquatics classes, Walk with Ease program that is for individuals dealing with arthritis, Parkinson’s “Delay the Disease” and “Functional Living” programs. Also offered is TREK, which serves individuals undergoing cancer treatment and lastly the Fun with Fitness program that is designed for individuals with special needs to help them workout. The next type of programming offered is the Culturally Specific Programs. These programs consist of PeopleFest, which is a community celebration of culture, Starring at HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES March 13, 2025 Page 3 of 6 Staring Concert Series, which showcases a variety of cultural groups and traditions. Other programs consist of supporting emerging sports, such as cricket and badminton and showcasing public art. Other programs are “Who is Your Neighbor” at the Senior Center, Party for Pride and women’s only swimming at the Community Center. Ms. Markle added they are creating new spaces for badminton courts this summer. She also commented that Party for Pride is put on by the Fitness Center at the Community Center, with Megan Munoz heading the event. Ms. Brink said they have also been working on Youth Development and Youth Employment by supplying such programs as Leaders in Training, Internships, Training and Mentoring and Job Fairs. She also pointed out there are approximately 250 part-time workers that are hired during the summer months. Ms. Markle said they do a lot of mentoring individuals with such programs as Climate Core and Green Core. She also stated they have 45 of the 70 camp counselors returning this summer. Parks, Trails and Facilities are also opportunities to add to access and outreach. Ms. Brink shared there are such amenities as a barrier-free playground at Miller Park, accessible elements and universal design concepts at all new playgrounds, family/gender neutral restrooms, accessible community garden beds, Miracle Field, free WIFI at Round Lake Park, and lastly developing “welcome” signage at each of the City’s facilities. One of the special events consist of the 4th of July Celebration, which includes free community-wide events, sensory space, an addition of the drone show, and strategizing accessibility in regards to paths, layouts, and parking. The inclusion practices the Park and Recreation Department has are gender-specific and gender role references, and printed material and website accessibility. The new initiatives the Park and Recreation Department are adding for 2025 are adaptive watercraft, growing the Pride event, Inclusive Day of Play, new activities at PeopleFest, diversity of concert and food offerings, expansion of free equipment rental and expansion of cricket at the Flying Cloud fields. Additional initiatives include outdoor badminton courts at Round Lake Park, addressing the increased demand for both badminton and cricket to be offered year round and lastly initiating growing partnerships with Community Education for summer and non-school day youth program outreach. Ms. Brink said their commitment is to listen, learn and grow. This will provide ongoing professional development in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. They also are looking to find and serve community members not currently accessing services. And the Park and Recreation Department will also continue to provide high-quality parks, trails, recreation facilities and programs for area residents. Singh asked if the Parks and Recreation Department had any federal funds taken away. Ms. Markle said the federal funding the City receives is for public safety but they do receive state grants. Skeie asked if the internships were paid positions. Ms. Markle responded that they were paid positions. Urbanski inquired if there were metrics to show how many people participate in the events. Ms. Brink responded they do use metrics to HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES March 13, 2025 Page 4 of 6 show participation. Weaver asked what are the affective ways of promoting events. Ms. Brink said they use digital and social media, also word of mouth. Aliweyd inquired if there are free or fee-based swimming classes for the Somalia community after the drowning death of the Somalia youth last year. Ms. Markle responded they do offer adaptive swimming lessons at the Community Center and the information to promote this is now in Somalia language. Ms. Brink also added they are offering drop in swimming lessons at the Community Center. That information is included on the Park and Recreation website. Ms. Markel pointed out Mohamed has videos regarding swimming lessons he can share with any individuals that are interested. Xiong said after the tragic drowning that happened last year with the Somalia youth, Ms. Markle, the EP Police Chief and Fire Chief created a video in Somalia language to discuss swimming and connecting with families. Xiong pointed out that Mohamed has been an advocate for the community to make them more informed of the services offered by the City. Vice Chair Khan stated in regards to certain classes, he does send that information to other groups, such as the women’s only swim and pointed out at times no everyone follows social media so it is best to tell them face to face. He asked if the Park and Recreation Department is doing anything different based on the Race Equity Report. Ms. Brink responded by stating in regards to hiring young people she found it to be effective to use the face and voice of young people to get the information out there. She also said in regards to life guards, there is a fee to get certified and after they have been with the City for a bit, they will then get reimbursed. Ms. Brinks commented they partner with school districts to get information out to the different cultures and stated they are trying to be more inclusive and to promote activities. VI. STAFF REPORT – PAJA XIONG There was no staff report this evening. VII. OLD BUSINESS A. IFTAR CELEBRATION DISCUSSION Xiong said the Iftar celebration will take place on Wednesday, March 19th at 6:45 pm in the Garden Room. Afro Deli will be doing the catering and it will be buffet style for 100 people. Costco will be supplying water, tea and dates and Xiong thanked Knight for reaching out to them to supply these items. The guest list has been finalized and the invitations will go out the week of March 10th. Xiong asked the volunteers to come between 6-6:15 pm to help with refreshments and name tags and to prepare to stay until the end of the event to help with clean-up. She asked the Commissioners attending to make an effort to float during the periods of socialization and have only 1 or 2 Commissioners at each table. Xiong stated she would like volunteers for the event and is looking for 4 greeters, 1 volunteer to help with buffet delivery and setup, and 1 volunteer to help with buffet support. Pfahnl said she could assist with buffet support. Vice Chair Khan said the greeters could also assist with the HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES March 13, 2025 Page 5 of 6 buffet. Xiong said the Iftar subcommittee will meet one more time and that will be next week and asked the Commissioners to email her if they can assist with the event or if they will also be attending. B. PEOPLEFEST! UPDATE Urbanski gave an update on PeopleFest and said the HRDC has an open slot on Wednesday, July 30th if the Commission would like to host a Community Conversation event. He also said the PeopleFest Committee would like the restaurant guide completed by July 1st. Urbanski said he would like to have the Commission complete this in June, prior to the deadline. He asked if the Commissioners could reach out to restaurants for a $20 gift card and said he would like a script completed by April or May at the latest and a list of restaurants the Commissioners can reach out to for participation in this event. He would like each Commissioner to reach out to 3 restaurants. Xiong said she will connect with Urbanski for information in regards to reaching out to the restaurants. Knight suggested when reaching out to the restaurants to bring last year’s copy with them to show them what the flyer will look like. VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD DISCUSSION Xiong asked Weaver to update the Commission on the Human Rights Awards. Weaver said she previously presented the questions to Xiong for feedback and they decided the questions needed to be a little more user friendly and not so technical. The last three questions have been modified as their hope was to get stories out of these questions. Xiong shared an update in regards to the asks from the subcommittee in regards to the application process. The asks from the subcommittee are as follows: • Encourage HRDC Commissioners to post the application on their personal social media. • Encourage City staff, employees, and City Council to nominate persons or businesses. • City Communications will appeal to the public via social media. • Invite other commissions to make nominations. • Extend the outreach to City non-profits and community clubs, such as, Rotary and Lions clubs. • Reach out to churches and the Chamber of Commerce. • The selection process will be anonymized. Names of nominees and nominators be invisible to the panel. The timeline for the Human Rights Awards are as follows: • The HRA will launch on March 17th • This will close on Monday, April 7th HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES March 13, 2025 Page 6 of 6 • The rubric and scoring sheet will be sent out to the Commission on April 11th • HRDC will independently score and return the scoring sheet to Xiong by May 5th • HRA recipients will be announced to the HRDC at the May 8th meeting • HRA recipients will be notified on May 9th and invited to the City Council meeting for recognition • The HRA recipients will be presented at the May 20th City Council meeting Xiong shared the promotional flyer with the Commission. This flyer includes the QR code linking it to the nomination page. She asked the Commissioners to share the flyer with businesses, non-profit organizations, community clubs, EP schools, after school programs, places of worship, and the Chamber of Commerce. There will be a social media blast that will occur on March 14th and a second one on April 4th. She asked the Commissioners to nominate and promote nominations, and to share with all of their connections. IX. UPCOMING MEETINGS A. April 10, 2025 X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Pfahnl moved, seconded by Weaver to adjourn the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting. Motion carried 9-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:39 p.m.