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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 02/12/2009 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2009 7:00 PM, 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Human Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Cari Maguire (Chair), Pam Spera (Vice Chair), Daniel Abraira, Gerry Beckmann, Marcy Harris, and Kelly Brandon STAFF: Molly Koivumaki, Staff Liaison Heidi Wojahn, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Nelum Madanayake, Adam Liter, and Ummul Kathawalla GUESTS: Sandy Werts, Recreation Coordinator—City of EP Basil Wissner, Elizabeth Tary, and Caltlyn Moldenhauer I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Maguire called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm. Brandon and Kathawalla were excused. Beckmann was absent. Tary and Moldenhauer attended on school assignment for a student government class. IV. NEW BUSINESS A. 2009 International Festival— Sandy Werts, Park and Rec Department Werts distributed a synopsis of the 2009 International Festival. This will be the sixth year the festival has run. In the past, the committee has been made up of members from HRDC, Arts and Culture Commission, school district and community. Werts is requesting similar support for this year's event which is scheduled Sunday, August 9 at Staring Lake Park. The committee's role is to suggest food vendors and entertainment, help with promotion, and find spots for volunteers the day of the event. They meet 6-7 times to plan the event and once afterwards for evaluation purposes. Similar to attendance in previous years, last year's event drew about 650 people. Maguire said she would attend committee meetings as her schedule permits and help with children's activities. The Art Center coordinator is putting together some art projects for kids as well, so Maguire will work with her. Spera and Harris volunteered to serve on the committee, and Harris will have a booth at the event. There was agreement last year's location was an improvement as it provided areas of shade and better acoustics. MOTION: Harris moved, seconded by Spera, to support the 2009 International Festival. Motion carried Human Rights & Diversity Commission Minutes February 12, 2009, 2009 Page 2 by informal consent. Werts anticipates the first meeting will take place sometime during the latter half of March and will send email regarding further details. She thanked the commission and then departed. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Maguire added Item IV.B. Public Comment - Basil Wissner to the agenda. Updated agenda approved by informal consent. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES January minutes were tabled until the March meeting. IV. NEW BUSINESS B. Basil Wissner Basil Wissner stated his address and introduced himself as an Eden Prairie resident since 1968. He thanked Chair Maguire for a fine job Saturday evening adding he thought the "Daughters of Africa" event was the best thing he's seen come out of HRDC in many, many years. He said the show brought back memories for him having grown up in the south and also having lived in South Africa when segregation was prevalent. He explained he witnessed the disappearance of segregation on two continents which very few people can say. In particular, he commended Maguire on a good job introducing everyone and covering for Tori Hill during an awkward and embarrassing moment when she apparently lost her place while addressing the audience. He commented on how beautiful the show was and thanked the commission and whoever else was responsible for putting the program together. He thought the whole event was fantastic from the performance to the food. He also thanked United Methodist Church for opening its doors. He estimated there were over 200 people in attendance and noted other communities are producing similar events. Wayzata hosted an event including dinner with a suggested donation of$5.00 per individual and $20.00 max for families. Wissner noted he tracked down the location of tonight's meeting with some difficulty and was unaware HRDC met at the shopping center. He was unable to locate the commission at City Hall in person; he then called City Hall and was told there wasn't a commission meeting tonight(information desk didn't have it on the calendar). He also called Koivumaki but didn't leave her a voicemail or check the website. Koivumaki explained the reason they meet where they do is because the commission chose to do so at the time her office opened in the mall and HRDC periodically revisits this to determine if they want to continue meeting in their current location. She believes the meetings are posted in the newspaper and the website. Wissner suggested adding HRDC meeting information to the TV monitors at City Hall even though the meetings don't occur there, and informing the front desk staff as well. Madanayake and Maguire stated they had not been able to find the meetings on the City website calendar before, despite Koivumaki Human Rights & Diversity Commission Minutes February 12, 2009, 2009 Page 3 having submitted requests for such in the past. Wissner told the commission he appreciates the work they do and then departed. V. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. Human Services Review Committee (HSRC) — Koivumaki HSRC met to discuss funding for the Community Development Block Grant. The exact amount of the grant is unknown,but it is estimated to be $250,000. Koivumaki will attend a public hearing on March 3rd as to how the funds will be allocated. HSRC's recommendation is for the Council to approve funding for 10 human services programs. New this year is a Jewish vocational program providing services to higher-level income earners who've been displaced. The complete list of agencies was published in today's newspaper. If the actual grant varies from the estimated amount, appropriate adjustments will be made to the allocations. B. Bias Crime Activity Status No update. C. Other Reports from Staff— Koivumaki HRDC Positions: HRDC is looking to fill 3 spots, yet Koivumaki knows of only one interested person to date. Positions will be vacated by Maguire and Beckmann as their terms are expiring; Mohamed Duale has resigned as a result of moving. The appointment process will take place before City Council in March. Koviumaki believes the application period has closed, but Maguire thinks perhaps it is still open for a bit longer. Application details are posted on the website. Abraira has a PDQ customer who may possibly be interested. She is a former resident of Des Moines and served on the human rights commission there. Human Rights Awards Timeframe: Koivumaki asked commissioners to consider moving the Human Rights Awards process to another time of the year. The process was tied to the scholarship which made it necessary to take place in the beginning of the year. Now that the scholarship is no longer awarded by HRDC, they are free to move the awards. Moving the timeframe will allow newly appointed commissioners an opportunity to get comfortable with the commission before having to make important decisions. The awards have always been tied to the previous calendar year. Maguire thought March would be the best time from a standpoint of tying it into the previous year,however there tends to be attendance issues at the March meeting;perhaps September or October would be better,particularly if the awards are not tied to the calendar year. Spera agreed fall might be convenient for the commission but not for applicants; keeping it tied to a calendar year makes more sense. Maguire suggested an application timeframe of January 1-February 15 Human Rights & Diversity Commission Minutes February 12, 2009, 2009 Page 4 which would allow time for applications to be copied so a selection could be made in March adding there is the benefit of tying it in with Martin Luther King Day. Koivumaki thought shortening up the application period and kicking it off sooner in the fall might help. Maguire recommended a change in wording to include work occurring one year with a beneficial impact not being seen until the following year. Koivumaki's concern is then a lag occurs and people tend to forget over time. Maguire suggested adding the awards as a regular agenda item so a running list can be maintained throughout the year—that way they're kept track of and a "year in review" can be done when the time comes. Spera asked if HRDC can recognize people without actually presenting them an award. Koivumaki replied yes,but it should meet a certain criteria. The question arose of how to handle awards for 2008. With new commissioners coming on board, Koivumaki thought it best to wait. Maguire wrapped up the discussion with consensus a regular agenda item would be added to ask for suggestions of candidates throughout the year. Nothing will be done about 2008 at this time,but the new commission may want to consider awards for 2008 and 2009 in 2010 and perhaps the awards will become a biennial event. HRDC can revisit the discussion at the end of this year and make a decision at that time. VI. OLD BUSINESS None VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS A/B. Best Buy Grant/Outreach Subcommittee Update Koivumaki reported she received a packet in today's mail from Commissioner Beckmann. The packet contained copies of a report covering information about the Best Buy grant and the "Daughters of Africa" event which were distributed to commission members. Spera departed the meeting at 7:43 pm and said she planned to return after picking up her daughter at the bus station. Koivumaki explained Mary Keating had also prepared a subcommittee report covering logistics from choosing an event and space to publicity, refreshments, volunteers, and donations. Spera returned at 8:05 pm. After commissioners reviewed Beckmann's document, it was recommended it not be accepted as an events subcommittee report. Maguire expressed what a wonderful affair"Daughters of Africa" was, and she thanked Beckmann for all the hard work and time she put into bringing this event to fruition. Human Rights & Diversity Commission Minutes February 12, 2009, 2009 Page 5 MOTION: Harris moved, seconded by Abraira, to accept Keating's Outreach and Events Subcommittee report. Motion carried by informal consent. Maguire suggested Beckmann submit her receipts for reimbursement if she wished to do so. C. South Hennepin Immigrant Services Group (SHISG) — No report D. Events Committee Update— No update V. REPORTS FROM STAFF C. Other Reports from Staff(cont.) — Koivumaki Passport to Fun: The Park and Rec Commission will have a presentation on the "Passport to Fun" scholarship program at their March 2nd meeting. This item is related to a concern raised by HRDC last year regarding the increased membership fees at the newly remodeled community center. The presentation is expected to show how membership has been impacted. Koivumaki will update HRDC at a subsequent meeting. Koivumaki stated it has been her pleasure to work with the outgoing commissioners and thanked Chair Maguire for being a great leader. She apologized for not being able to provide treats since her budget has been trimmed. VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS Maguire reminded HRDC of the February 22nd event, "Dr. King's Dream" taking place at United Methodist Church. She also addressed an error in the newspaper for which she took responsibility: the paper stated HRDC was sponsoring both this event and the February 71h event. She sent a correction to Karla Wennerstrom clarifying this,but it did not get published. The February 22nd event is part of the church's Music and Fine Arts Series; HRDC's only role is to promote it. The next HRDC meeting will be Thursday, March 12, 2009, 7:00 pm at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. Koivumaki is not able to attend the next meeting and doesn't have a staff person she can send in her place since Mary Keating is retiring. IX. ADJOURNMENT Chair Maguire adjourned the meeting at 8:21 pm.