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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 01/10/2008 APPROVED MINUTES HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY,JANUARY 10, 2008 7:00 PM, 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Community Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Cari Maguire (Chair), Melissa Barra(Vice chair), Daniel Abraira, Larry Piumbroeck, Jeff Strate, Gerry Beckmann, and Pam Spera. STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Nelum Madanayake, Kevin Karner, and Laura Hoffman COMMISSION STAFF: Molly Koivumaki, Staff Liaison Katie Hood, Recording Secretary GUEST: Richard Hoffman I. ROLL CALL Commissioner Strate called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Cari Maguire, Melissa Barra and Larry Piumbroeck were was absent. All Student Representatives for this term were present. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Strate added Project for Bloomington Human Rights under old business. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM JUNE MEETING was changed to III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM DECEMBER MEETING. The group informally approved the meeting agenda. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. MEETING HELD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2007 The approval of the November minutes will be tabled until the third to the last paragraph of Item VIIL B. can be reviewed with the recording sectratery. B. MEETING HELD THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2007 Clarification was added to paragraph one under B. Bias Crime Activity Status "Keating stated the woman was given information about the next step she could take." Page four, lsr paragraph seventh line "Spera" was changed to "Strate". Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes January 10, 2008 Page 2 Page four, fifth paragraph, last sentence change from "He read the speech,but the presentation worked because he is a great talker." To "He read the speech,but the presentation worked because the speech had great substance, and the actor was a great speaker". Page five, seventh paragraph, second sentence was change from "presentation was" to "presentation,in commissioner Strate's opinion, was". "Beckmann stated she thought the price was $3.50 for adults" was added on page six, paragraph three, after the fourth sentence. Page six, paragraph three, fourth sentence change to "Beckmann stated the Community Center will take her insurance card if she would go again. Beckmann stated she hasn't been to the community center in a couple of years." MOTION: Abraira moved, seconded by Spera, to approve the minutes of the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting held on Thursday, December 13, 2007, as corrected. Motion carried 4-0. IV. NEW BUSINESS V. REPORTS OF STAFF A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC) Koivumaki reported on the Human Services Review Committee meeting held on January 71n The Human Services Review Committee reviewed the upcoming Community Development Block Grant funding process. Each year, the City of Eden Prairie receives an allocation from Housing and Urban Development(HUD), which is used to fund human services programs, affordable housing initiatives and housing rehabilitation projects. HUD will notify the City within the next two weeks what the amount of our 2008 funding allocation will be. Last year the City received $267,766, we anticipate a reduction in the amount,probably about 4 percent this year. According to HUD rules, only 15 percent of the allocation can be spent on human services providers. In 2007, the human service providers who received funding were: PROP $13,000 JVS Child Care $ 2,265 HOME program $ 8,000 HomeLine $ 5,000 Veh Repair $12,000 Approximately $227,500 was used to fund rehab housing, affordable housing acquisition, fair housing initiatives and program administration. Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes January 10, 2008 Page 3 Applications for funding are available on the City's website, or by calling the Housing & Community Services office, 952-949-8394. The Official Publication appeared in the Sun Current on January 10, 2008. The Human Services Review Committee will review the applications and make the funding recommendations on January 29. The City Council will hold a public hearing on March 4 to approve the funding. B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS No updates. C. PROPOSED CHANGE TO THE AGENDA FORMAT The City Clerk has suggested changing the agenda format under VII Reports from Commission Members, by eliminating the "Any Commission Member May Report" item, since it is redundant to the title of this section. This will still allow Commission Members to report on any item they so choose, and will only be reflected in a formatting change. D. OTHER REPORTS FROM STAFF A resident named Zina Nur has asked for another Gathering to be held. Zina attended both previous Gatherings and felt they were a very valuable way for immigrants and non immigrants to meet and freely talk about life in Eden Prairie. Koivumaki agreed to bring it forth to the HRDC. Strate asked if Koivumaki has a recommendation. Koivumaki stated there could be a gathering in the spring. It would be very important to include the school district and the police department. Strate suggested a motion for Koivumaki to look into planning another Gathering. Beckmann stated the idea needs to be flushed out more prior to the recommendation. Koivumaki stated she has enough information to look into having a Gathering in the spring and there is enough to get the discussion going. Beckmann asked what topics were talked about. Koivumaki stated it was a listening opportunity with an open forum and was not facilitated. Spera stated the library event was a kind of gathering. Could ideas be pulled from the library event? Maybe if a topic was suggested and a movie could be shown about the topic. There could also be a photo exhibit about the topic. It would be easier if there was some structure. Spera agrees there should be a Gathering,but there should be some structure for the event. It may be a good idea to use the library event as an example, and maybe a smaller event would be good. Strate stated good things came from the two events. Right now the details are not being looked into. The purpose now is to let the Eden Prairie School District and the Police Department know the Human Rights and Diversity Commission is looking Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes January 10, 2008 Page 4 forward to having a Gathering. Beckmann stated Eden Prairie reads in February will involve more youngsters. Maybe there could get some speed after Eden Prairie reads. Strate told the commission the motion does not need to be a plan. Koivumaki stated she will look into holding a new Gathering. MOTION: To authorize Molly Koivumaki to contact the school district and the police department to plan a 3rd generation of a Gathering meeting. Motion passed 4-0. Foreclosure Prevention Pro-gram Koivumaki reported the mortgage foreclosure prevention program she presented to the HRDC in November cannot be funded with Community Development Block Grant(CDBG) housing funds, only with CDBG public service funds. Funding it with public service funds would severely cut or even eliminate those funds to be used for other public service programs like HOME, PROP, etc. Beckmann asked if another agency was found for childcare. Koivumaki stated there is money set aside. This year the YMCA was used. Many families use the before and after care at the YMCA in Eden Prairie. Many families who use the YMCA meet the income requirements. Koivumaki received a call, a few years ago, from the YMCA before and after program about a family including a mom and three children. The YMCA hoped the funding could be used for this family. The family had been living in an apartment complex and at the time of the call from the YMCA the family was no longer living there. Even though the family didn't live in the apartment complex, the children were still picked up and dropped off by the bus. The children were very young, around 3, 4, and 6 grades. The children were left in the lobby until their mom picked up the children. Madanayake stated she used to be in the Y program. Spera stated her children went to the Y program. Beckmann asked if there was an update on the foreclosures in Eden Prairie. Koivumaki will have an update later in the meeting. Beckmann asked if letters can be sent to Washington explaining the situation. Last month the foreclosure situation was reported on in Eden Commons. What does the foreclosure situation do for the tax situation? There should be some lobbying done. Strate stated Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, when he was speaking on television about foreclosed homes in a neighborhood where he was standing, commented on foreclosures and said if the foreclosure problem isn't solved property values will decrease and homes remaining vacant will have vandalism increase and neighborhood spirit would decline. Beckmann asked if a letter from the Human Rights and Diversity Commission would help. Koivumaki stated she will look into it. It doesn't mean we can't try. It is a cycle,homes get foreclosed on and then buyers buy and then rent out the homes. Then the homes aren't taken care of. Beckmann stated it is scary about the number of foreclosures. Eventually the citizens will start asking about it. Strate stated Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes January 10, 2008 Page 5 Koivumaki will inform the commission what the city needs to do and then the commission can help where needed. Hennepin Technical College "Green" House Project HTC Construction Trades Department wants to work with the City to build a "green"house, using best ecological practices. The City is trying to locate a site for the project. Koivumaki stated HTC Construction builds homes every year, and they would like to build in Eden Prairie. Koivumaki stated she is excited about the project. Beckmann asked why this didn't go the Conservation Commission. Koivumaki stated she is reporting on it and it doesn't directly impact the Human Rights and Diversity Commission. Strate asked if the floor plans are made and if they are adaptable. Strate suggested the possibility of the project working with the Camp Eden Wood, in Eden Prairie. The camp is looking to renovate their cabins. Community Service Technician (Immigrant Services) Update At the December 18, 2007 City Council meeting, the Council directed the Community Services Technician who serves the immigrant population serve no more than 20 hours per week in the position. The City is exploring positions in other departments to make up the other 20 hours which will not be devoted to serving immigrants. 2008 Board & Commission Application Process Applications are now being accepted for positions on all City boards and commissions. Applications will be accepted until February 15. An Open House will take place on January 29, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for residents to learn more about the commissions. The candidate interviews will take place February 25 & 26. Strate recommended the commission members talk to people they know about the need for commission members. Koivumaki stated the commission members do not need to attend the open house. The staff liaisons will be there. Beckmann asked if the Budget Commission has openings. Koivumaki stated she didn't think so. VI. OLD BUSINESS VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS A. SOUTH HENNEPIN IMMIGRANT SERVICES GROUP (SHISG) B. ANY COMMISSION MEMBER MAY REPORT Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes January 10, 2008 Page 6 Beckmann stated, at the library, she enjoyed the board on Native Americans. She stated whoever made the display did a good job. She wrote down some of the sayings. Three or four different sayings could be put in the newspaper one at a time. The statements make people stop and think. Koivumaki mentioned the incident at the Eden Prairie High School involving Facebook and pictures. Madanayake stated she had heard a disk of pictures was sent to the school. There were minors drinking with bottles and red cups. The school took action and 13 students faced disciplinary action and were suspended. Then the media was involved and the facts were possibly exaggerated. Koivumaki asked the student commissioners if any of the Eden Prairie students involved in the suspension or discipline thought their rights were violated. Hoffman stated some parents, of the students, contacted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The students who were disciplined were High School League athletes. Spera asked if the pictures were sent anonymously. If it was the individual who sent the pictures could be selective about which pictures were included. Madanayake stated if the school was to look on Facebook for pictures of students drinking, in Madanayake's opinion, half of the school could be suspended for drinking in pictures. Strate asked if the school has looked on Facebook. Spera stated the school is setting a precedent by how they handled the pictures. If the school gets a disk with pictures on it sent by an anonymous person, the disk could have pictures with minority students or another group of students. The precedence was set is potentially a Human Rights issue. Spera stated she believes the person who sent in the pictures had an agenda. Hoffman stated if the school gets a disk they could be obligated to get involved. Madanayake stated the school had to take action and couldn't ignore the issue. Spera questioned what if the disk was all minority students. Spera questioned where does the obligation come from? Did another high school have an agenda? Were the pictures investigated or was disciplinary action given right away? Spera stated a boy in the newspaper stated the pictures were from two years ago. Spera stated the disciplinary action resulted from a pledge being signed,but what about the legal laws. Speara believes there is a dangerous precedence being set. Strate stated the power is still with the school. Spera stated she wouldn't have the school do what they did. Beckmann stated the Minnesota State High School League was involved in the discipline. Madanayake stated parents, students, and the organization all signed the pledge. Spera stated she doesn't know what the individual's agenda was and a scary precedence was set. Koivumaki stated the press knows the Human Rights and Diversity Commission has students on the commission. The press may ask the students for a comment. Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes January 10, 2008 Page 7 Koivumaki reminded the student commissioners if they choose to respond to the media, they need to clarify the response is their own response and not a response from the Human Rights and Diversity Commission. Nelum said the school didn't have a choice when looking into the disk. Spera said in order to be fair, if the school were to look into where did the disk come from and then the school should go on Facebook and look at everyone. Beckmann stated not everyone involved was punished. Madanayake stated there is a lot of speculation. Strate stated it can be assumed the school district was careful. Beckmann stated the action of the students was not a very good thing to do. Spera clarified she is against underage drinking. Spera stated Strate, Maguire, and Spera met to discuss the writing of a letter. Spera asked if this should this be tabled until the next meeting. Strate stated he didn't think this letter was going to be a commission issue. Spera thought it was going to be a commission issue. Strate stated he thought it was going to be from a citizen and not the commission. Spera indicated if it was a non commission issue then there needs to be clarity that it is a non commission issue. VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC Meeting will be on Thursday, February 14, 2007 at the Eden Prairie Center room 125. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Abraira moved to adjourn the January 11, 2008 meeting of the HRDC, seconded by Spera. Motion carried 4-0. Strate adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m.