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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 04/10/2008 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY,APRIL 10, 2008 7:00 PM, 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Community Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Cari Maguire (Chair), Pam Spera (Vice Chair), Daniel Abraira, Gerry Beckmann, Marcy Harris, Mohamed Duale, and Kelly Brandon STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Nelum Madanayake, Kevin Karner, and Laura Hoffman COMMISSION STAFF: Molly Koivumaki, Staff Liaison Katie Hood, Recording Secretary I. ROLL CALL Commissior Maguire called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. was excused. Kelly Brandon was excused. Student Representative Nelum Madanayake was excused. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Gerry Beckmann added Three Motions about Minutes to Item VII. B. Reports From Commission Members. The group informally approved the updated meeting agenda. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM MARCH MEETING The approval of the March minutes was tabled until the May meeting. IV. NEW BUSINESS A. INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMISSIONERS The new Commissioner members were introduced. All Commission members introduced themselves. B. PRESENTATION BY MR. PROOPS Mr. Proops was not in attendance. Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes April 10, 2008 Page 2 C. STRATEGIC PLANNING Maguire asked the Commission what they would like to be involved with during the next year. Maguire passed out a draft spreadsheet of the 2007 Human Rights and Diversity Strategic Plan to the Commission. The following were discussed as major tasks: Human Rights Award, Representation in Community, Library Displays, International Festival, Library Displays/Events, and Column. The Human Rights Award includes publicity and recruitment of nominees. The Representation in Community includes Immigrant Services Groups, Solution Finders, and the Partnership Breakfast. Gerry Beckmann and Mohamed Duale attend the Immigrant Services Groups. The Human Rights and Diversity Committee (HRDC) facilitated the Partnership Breakfast during 2007. During 2008, the HRDC will not facilitate, but will be in attendance. The Library Displays included a different display each month during 2007. The International Festival includes Committee Meetings and Planning and Volunteering at the Festival. The Library Displays/Events includes Display on notice board in the entrance, Organization of Event, and Attending the Event. The Column includes forming a committee to make recommendations. Maguire said the Human Rights Award was decided on last month and will be presented in May. This task will not take time until next year. Harris inquired what the Solution Finders group was about. Koivumaki said Solution Finders is a group of Somali High School students. They lead or direct looking into problems and how to solve the problems themselves. This program was strong for one to one and one-half years. Maguire said that the group became much less active after the departure of police officer Randy Thompson from the police department. Maguire said Solution Finders made a video and the video was shown at the library event. Maguire said it has been decided the library displays will not be done again, but it can be discussed. There are several HRDC members on the International Festival Committee. The International Festival will be August 10 and there are other ways to volunteer. The "Gathering" which was held at the library was about immigration and showed the Solution Finders video. A number of years ago there was a column in the paper. Getting columns to put into the paper was difficult. Beckmann said she wasn't involved in the Column, but her idea of placing small quotes related to diversity in the paper would have been one way to at least get in the paper, without a column. She said her idea never took off. Maguire asked what the HRDC members will do and asked for ideas for additional ideas. Maguire said the International Festival, Immigrant services, Human Rights Award are tasks which will be worked on during 2008. Beckmann said Human Rights State Meetings could be added. Spera has attended these, and these meetings could be seen as a task. She said it is helpful to hear what is going on in different cities by attending the State. Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes April 10, 2008 Page 3 Maguire asked Koivumaki to report on two upcoming events; the Science Museum exhibit "Deadly Medicine, Creating the Master Race" and screening of the film"The Devil Came on Horseback." Science Museum Event Koivumaki distributed a sample of the invitation which was mailed to invited guests to the Science Museum event the HRDC is co-sponsoring with the Bloomington Human Rights Commission on April 26, 2008. Koivumaki said invitations had been sent to the City Council, MN State Representatives, School District Officials, Hennepin Tech officials, Police Commander, Historical Society Chair, Eden Prairie Ministerial Association Chair, and to local a representative from Supervalu, Inc. Invitations were extended to people who hold similar positions in each community. Koivumaki said Commissioners need to let her know if they are interested attending. Screening of Film—The Devil Came on Horseback Koivumaki distributed a flyer for the screening event which will take place on April 30, at the Bloomington Civic Plaza. Volunteers are needed to help take tickets,pass out box lunches and other similar tasks. Koivumaki advised anyone who wanted to volunteer should contact her. Koivumaki said the film has to be requested for a showing and costs around $300. The film has been shown two times in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. At the film screening there will be tents set up showing how people live in the Congo, Sudan, and Darfur. Spera asked if the film isn't recommended for those under the age of 15 would it be appropriate for high school age students. Maguire said she took her 11 year old daughter to view the exhibit at the Science Museum, and her daughter did not experience difficulty. Maguire said the exhibit is about human breeding experiments in addition to the Holocaust. Spera said the event at the library was great. It would be nice to try to plan some smaller events, not only the Gathering. The informal conversation was good. Maguire said people coming out of the Gathering wanted to meet and talk with people different than them. Beckmann mentioned a previous event in Chaska. The event presented questions which answered in a group setting. The questions were on topics where everyone could make a comment on and where everyone felt comfortable. Harris asked how many people attended. Beckmann said that people were placed in discussion groups and that there were several groups containing six to eight people. Beckmann suggested the idea of having an event every six to eight weeks. The people who attended the events would then be able to leave and talk to their friends and family. If there were events more frequently, Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes April 10, 2008 Page 4 the friends and family would be able to attend the event the next time instead of waiting another year. Beckmann suggested a card game. The card game was developed for families and gives people something to talk about. They would help community members get to know each other. Beckmann said she would be willing to serve on the committee. Duale said he would be willing to serve on a committee. Harris suggested the idea of hosting a house party to continue momentum and discussion. Ten—fifteen people could meet to continue discussions. Maguire said a subcommittee could meet to discuss ideas. Spera said it is hard to come up with ideas on what other events could be held and it is easier to come up with ideas as a group. Maguire said there are a lot of ideas,but not always follow through on the ideas. The Library Event is an example; Maguire did most of the work. Maguire said she doesn't have extra time until next fall to lead something. There needs to be a commitment from someone to be a leader. A committee would need to be committed to seeing an idea through to the end. Beckmann said it is difficult for a committee to come up with ideas. The committee could then come back to the Commission and the Commission may not like the ideas. Koivumaki said Beckmann, Duale, and herself will meet and bring back ideas to the HRDC meetings to discuss them. Maguire said arranging the event at the library took a lot of time and the Commission Members need to be realistic on the amount of time they have to offer. Harris said she doesn't have extra time until June for volunteering. Faith based community and house party are two ideas. Maguire said Duale, Beckmann, and Koivumaki will meet. V. REPORTS OF STAFF A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC) The Human Services Review Committee met on April 7, 2008. No Report B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS No Report C. OTHER REPORTS FROM STAFF HRDC Presentation at the Boards & Commissions Banquet Koivumaki advised the Commission the City Manager's Office has requested the HRDC make a presentation at the Board & Commission Banquet which will be held on April 28, 2008. Since the HRDC was established 40 years ago, the presentation to be given by the Chair& Vice Chair, will highlight the work of the Commission over those years. Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes April 10, 2008 Page 5 Koivumaki distributed a proclamation the City of Golden Valley did to celebrate the 40"' anniversary of their Human Rights Commission. Koivumaki inquired if the HRDC would like a similar proclamation made by the Eden Prairie City Council. The group agreed to ask the City Council to make a similar proclamation using the Manifesto. Koivumaki read some highlights of the history of the HRDC gathered from historical documents. Koivumaki advised Commissioners the City Clerk will be making a presentation to Commission Chairs & Vice Chairs and staff liaisons addressing the protocol for meeting minutes and other procedures. No date was given as to when the presentation would be made. Koivumaki informed the Commission she is adding an educational component to each upcoming meeting, to give Commissioners additional insight into human service needs and resources in Eden Prairie. VI. OLD BUSINESS VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS A. SOUTH HENNEPIN IMMIGRANT SERVICES GROUP (SHISG) Beckmann reported on the SHISG. The Topic was summer programs for young people in Eden Prairie: Eden Prairie Community Education, Eden Prairie Parks and Recreation, Eden Prairie Library, and Southdale YMCA. All presenters handed out printed information on their programs. Beckmann was impressed by the collaboration and planning that had gone on to present many of the programs, so Eden Prairie Summer School students could take city programs and vice versa. Many students will be able to access transportation via school buses to recreation programs. Passport for Fun program was explained and again Beckmann's thinks the staff has been very respectful and helpful to residents and their financial consideration. Beckmann said the range of programming is so very interesting. There are many art classes, acting classes, science classes, robotics, leadership camps, and even a beginning pilot program. Beckmann said the most important things to remember are to register as early as possible, apply for financial help if needed early, and if you register and receive financial help attend the classes. Those who register and don't attend maybe Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes April 10, 2008 Page 6 taking the space of a child who really wanted to attend and couldn't because the classes were full. Beckmann passed out the information on the classes. Duale said he has been attending the SHISG meetings since 2004, and they are the most effectively run meetings in his opinion. Duale said he plans to present the information about the summer programs at a meeting with Somali residents. The registration is May 16, so there still is time to register. Koivumaki said transportation is always tried to be incorporated into the planning. Beckmann said a bus was offered years ago,but the children didn't like it and didn't want to ride it. Duale said many children don't ask their parents to be involved in an activity. Beckmann spoke about the Passport to Fun program. Beckmann received information from Brenda Uting about the Passport to Fun program. During 2007, there were 126 people in the program. 43 percent of the applicants did not use any of the money; instead they may have used the free access to open swim and skate. The need for the Passport to Fun did not surpass the funds set aside for 2007. For 2007, there were $5,000 budgeted and $4,545 was spent. During 2007, there were no households turned away who met the qualification or expressed the need. The City has received a new software system which will help track the information better. Currently, the City only knows how much money was used, and doesn't have the ability to track how people may use the free access benefit. B. GERRY BECKMANN— THREE MOTIONS ABOUT MINUTES Beckmann said she will wait on the motions until further discussion on the minutes is concluded. Beckmann suggested distributing the last set of minutes to outgoing Commission Members, when their terms are up. Beckmann said it would be respectful to the previous Commission members. Koivumaki said the minutes are a public document and anyone could request them. Spera said it is good to bring suggested changes for the previous minutes in writing to the HRDC meetings. C. DANIEL ABRAIRA REPORT Abraira attended the Somali Family and Education Night gathering on March 26, 2008. Abraira passed out a summary of the event. The event was very interesting. One of the speakers, Paul, spoke about the differences in health care. An individual was fitted with a traditional plaster cast,but then later removed it himself and replaced it with an open `Somali' arm sling. The event was very well organized. Duale said he knows Paul and had traveled with him. VIII. FUTURE MEETIGS/EVENTS Human Rights and Diversity Commission Minutes April 10, 2008 Page 7 The next HRDC Meeting will be on Thursday, May 8, 2008, 7:00 p.m. at the Eden Prairie Center room 125. IX. ADJOURNMENT Maguire adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m.