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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 09/13/2007 APPROVED MINUTES HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2007 7:00 PM, 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Human 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, Jacqueline Clevette COMMISSION STAFF: Molly Koivumaki, Staff Liaison Angie Perschnick, Recording Secretary I. ROLL CALL Commission Chair Maguire called the meeting to order at 7:08 PM. Vice Chair Barra and Commissioner Piumbroeck were absent. Abraira arrived at 7:11 PM. All Student Representatives for this term were present, including Karner, who arrived at 7:33 PM. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Maguire added a couple of items to the New Business section of the agenda: A) An update on the proposed cuts and what the role of the commission is or should be in responding to them through communications to the City Council B) Decorating and designing posters for the library for each month of the year to represent specific groups (women, minority groups, disabled citizens, etc.) C) How the group can get involved with the Faces of Change exhibit, which is coming to the Eden Prairie library in November Maguire added a brief review of this year's International Festival to Old Business also. Strate also noted that he would add two items that he will add during the Commissioner Reports part of the meeting. MOTION: Beckmann moved, seconded by Strate, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM JUNE MEETING Beckmann noted a few changes were noted for the June 14 meeting minutes: On page 2 under VILA. (SHISG), the name should be changed from "John" to "Julia." Where "Morgan" is referred to, the "he should be changed to a "she." Paragraph two in that Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission September 13, 2007 Page 2 section should read "Beckmann said that Morgan said her job was difficult and time- consuming because immigration laws keep changing and now all information on forms must be verified." In the second sentence of the second paragraph, the sentence should start with "One example of this..." instead of"One reason..." Spera also noted that, on page 4 under VILBA. (International Festival), the reference to ballroom dancing should be removed since there was no ballroom dancing at the International Festival. MOTION: Strate moved, seconded by Abraira, to approve the minutes from the June 14 meeting. Motion carried 5-0. IV. NEW BUSINESS A. UPDATE ON PROPOSED CUTS TO HUMAN SERVICES Maguire led a conversation regarding the Commission's role in advising the City Council regarding the proposed cuts to human services in the 2008 & 2009 budget. Koivumaki, who was at the Council workshop on August 4,briefed the group on the relevant discussions at that meeting. Council members Nelson and Butcher spoke in favor of retaining the two positions that have been considered for elimination and in favor of keeping the current levels of giving to Human Services funds in the upcoming budgets. Mayor Young indicated that, if the City would be expected to provide these services if the community groups/charities did not provide them, then he would support the City continuing to fund the groups. He shared some concerns. Council members Aho and Duckstad said they needed more information to make a decision in these matters. Jeremiah said they will revisit this issue at the City Council workshop on October 16, and the policy direction questions will be more definitive at that workshop. Jeremiah said the Mayor has "mixed emotions" about these issues and about the Immigrant Services Technician position. He was not in favor of having a City employee whose role included helping immigrants fill out VISAs, which is part of the Immigrant Services Technician's role currently. He said he believes the City should help all immigrants to know how they can access City services. The Council is still awaiting the Human Services Review Committee meeting next Tuesday, which will review the version 2 budget and make their recommendations in response to it regarding the proposed Human Services cuts. Hennepin South Services Collaborative (HSSC) will be funded for 2008 since the City has already committed to funding that,but they may or may not be funded in 2009. HSSC is a collaborative that includes Eden Prairie, Bloomington, and Richfield, and they provide planning assistance related to human services (help the community decide where the needs might be based on trends, provides planning services for funding, and social programs). They also provide a funding source for dollars from the federal and state governments. Since the money is given through the collaborative to the City, Eden Prairie could lose money for Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission September 13, 2007 Page 3 these services if they were not in the collaborative any longer. Eden Prairie and the other cities fund a director and staff assistant position in the collaborative. Koivumaki clarified that the City has not yet decided which groups will or will not be funded in the upcoming budgets. After an interview process, the Human Services Committee for Eden Prairie uses criteria to make recommendations to the Council regarding which programs they think the City should fund. Then the Council decides which groups to fund or not fund; with enough votes, the Council could override the Human Service Committee's recommendations. Maguire stated that the Council has set a maximum tax levy that is high enough to put all of the proposed cuts to Human Services back into the budget. Strate noted that it seems to him that the Mayor and Council members are flexible enough to revise their positions after new information is presented. Maguire agreed that, while the initial planned cuts were drastic, it now seems that there may be enough Council support to keep Koivumaki's position and reduce the proposed cuts to the grants as the Council has thought about the issues and gathered more information. If the LCTS grant were lost, Koivumaki noted that the valuable FamiLink connection would be lost also. LCTS money is managed by the school district, and the program will be stable for about two years since money has already been committed to it previously. Jeremiah noted that Neal called the HSSC Board to let them know the funding they receive from the City of Eden Prairie could get cut going forward, depending on the outcome of the budget decisions to be made by the Council. Beckmann stated that she has concerns about the lack of information received from HSSC. The last annual report they published was in 2004 but for fiscal year 2002. Beckmann thinks that at least a printed report should be received to show us what they have done for the City since we provide them$23,700 of funding annually. Koivumaki said their auditor's opinion was that, instead of putting together an annual report, they could put their outcomes in other reports to Board meetings (so the information Beckmann would like is available, but a person would need to dig for it in different reports). Maguire thinks the Human Rights & Diversity (HR&D) Commission should have a role in advising the City Council before cuts to Human Services are agreed to or made. She is concerned that the Council has not requested input from the Commission yet, and she thinks it would be appropriate to prepare a letter communicating with the Council. Strate thinks policy matters for the City should work as they do at the State level (they set the policy and pass resolutions from the advisory committees, then go through the ways and means committees, and then go through the budget committees). He thinks the City has not completely decided on a process for using the Budget Advisory Commission yet while still including input from other existing commissions. Spera thinks it would make sense to have the Budget Advisory Commission equal to the other commissions, Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission September 13, 2007 Page 4 and all commissions should have equal say in the proposed budget cuts. Jeremiah clarified that the Budget Advisory Commission's recommendation for Human Services was specifically modifying the version 2 budget Neal proposed, and they were interested in removing duplicated services or nonessential services. Jeremiah said this is a perfectly appropriate opportunity for the HR&D Commission to have its voice heard on proposed cuts. The Council workshop and meeting on October 16 is a time when the Council will be challenged on their proposed budget plans. Beckmann expressed concern that the HR&D Commission was not involved with the Teens Alone program after a meeting where support was asked for last year. Maguire said that this seems like a different situation and, whether or not the right decision was made at that time, supporting funding for Human Services in the City's budget is core to the mission of the HR&D Commission. Maguire suggested that the HR&D Commission prepare and present a letter to the City Council that would reflect possible impacts of the proposed cuts, the importance of communicating any cuts well and sensitively, but not to say which groups should or should not be funded. The group decided to have a subcommittee prepare a letter that the entire Commission will review at the next meeting. The subcommittee members include Maguire, Strate, and Spera. Also, the HR&D Commission decided that, in budget years, they would plan to meet during the summer months. Ideas for what to include in the letter include: expressing that the HR&D Commission is a helpful resource that the City Council can utilize, suggesting how the HR&D Commission could be included in the process earlier during the next budget cycle, and asking the Council to consider the possible effects of any cuts and how those cuts would be communicated to affected Eden Prairie residents. Strate noted that the HR&D Commission has a very narrow mission in its charter,but he does agree this is an instance where the Commission should speak up. B. DESIGNING LIBRARY POSTERS FOR DIVERSE GROUPS Maguire led the discussion about the library poster displays. One or two people from the HR&D Commission are needed to take each month's group and develop a poster for the library to display. The groups, months, and current volunteers are as follows: September: Hispanic Heritage (mid-Sept. —mid-Oct.) Maguire October: Disability Awareness (late Oct. —early Nov.) Students November: Native American Heritage Maguire December: None January: Martin Luther King, Jr. Strate & Spera Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission September 13, 2007 Page 5 February: Black History March: Women's History April: None May: Asian Heritage C. FACES OF CHANGE EXHIBIT AT LIBRARY Maguire stated that the Faces of Change Exhibit would be at the Eden Prairie library in November. It is a photograph display that shows what it has been like to have diverse populations to move into predominately white communities. This display is at the Bloomington Oxboro library in September and at the St. Louis Park library in October. V. REPORTS OF STAFF A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC) Koivumaki said the HRSC will meet on Tuesday, and they will prepare recommendations for the City Council regarding the grant funding. B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS Koivumaki was not made aware of any bias-related activities over the summer. The Somali teens at the Eden Prairie High School are working with the library staff on a DVD showing what it is like to be a Somali teen in Eden Prairie. Koivumaki has a copy of the DVD, and she would like to show it at a future meeting. There is a Human Rights Conference at Casino Mille Lacs that takes place on Sept. 28-30. The Human Rights Day Conference will be on December 71h. It is at River Center, and Koivumaki will put out more information on that for the group soon. Koivumaki requested that everyone check the Commission roster and let her know if any updates should be made. Abraira requested that people cross out his actual home phone number (which is marked as his work phone on the roster), and his cell phone is the best to use (which is marked as his home phone number on the roster). VI. OLD BUSINESS A. INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL REVIEW Spera reported on the International Festival, which took place in August, and it went well overall. There was a shortage of food,partly because two of the food places backed out at the last minute. Also, Indian Palace was very expensive, so Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission September 13, 2007 Page 6 that was somewhat problematic. Spera was able to watch some of the entertainment, and a lot of the people were dancing. Maguire noted the Festival was very well attended, and at one point in time over 500 people were counted. Spera noted that Sherri Butcher was there. Several people sang, and it started to get crowded as time went on. Next year they will have pizza included in the food options too, and Abraira noted that Gina Maria's would be happy to provide food for the event if they have some advance notice. Maguire said that there could be more push with the International food places in the future. It would be best if they commit in advance and notifying them sooner will likely increase participation. Spera said they need to get deposits from participating food places earlier next year. Maguire led games for kids, and they had a good time. Beckmann was happy to see how proud people were to put pins on the map showing where they and their kids were born. The event was a lot of fun. VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS A. SOUTH HENNEPIN IMMIGRANT SERVICES GROUP (SHISG) Beckmann reported on this meeting from Sept. 10, 2007. Anna Poteryakhina from Hennepin College gave a presentation on the Russian community in Eden Prairie. Most of the immigrants here are either Jewish or members of Pentecostal Christians who fled Russia and the former Soviet Union countries of Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Latvia and other countries. Russian is their dominant language. 45,000 Russians live in Minnesota in 2006. The communities with the most Russians include Rochester, Pelican Rapids, Robbinsdale, Blain, and Osseo. The newest and fastest-growing communities of Russians are Shakopee, Savage, Burnsville, and Egan. Typically Russians move to Minnesota for employment opportunities, the climate, and good public schools for K-12. Also, Minnesota has well-developed support systems, and Minnesota residents are friendly and welcoming. In Russia, the schools are free and mandatory for ten years; most students go for twelve through high school and then to five years of college. The schools have very high standards, and English is the most popular foreign language taken by students fourth grade and higher. College is free, but the spaces are limited. Special Ed students are screened early on and go to special schools. The most recent arrivals to the US have lower educational levels and are more likely to pursue technical careers. Sharing homework with classmates is considered normal. Some Russians are sensitive to being called Russians just because they speak Russian, and some even refuse to speak Russian. Overall they tend to be family- oriented, caring for their elders and showing them a lot of respect. They are often strict and sometimes tough on children. They tend to speak using loud voices. Education is very highly valued among the Russian immigrant population. They may hesitate to ask questions when they do not understand something, and they Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission September 13, 2007 Page 7 generally have limited experience with volunteering. Russians can be very diverse, depending on their age, religion, and country of origin. Other information from member updates: PROP reported 730 children received backpacks and school supplies. SHAPE classes are to start at Briar hills and Parkway starting October 1 through November 1 from 1-4 Mondays and Wednesdays, and volunteers are needed. The Minnesota workforce program has a new website: MinnesotaWorks.net. A client can now enter his or her own resume. B. ANY COMMISSION MEMBER MAY REPORT Strate noted that former Commissioner Dorothy Fifield died this summer, and he wants it recorded that she was a good resource for this Commission during her tenure. Strate talked to a person from the Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday, and he updated the group on the story. Mike Kabeya Kazadi was the point person for the camera crew who reported on the first election in Congo in forty-five years. Mike was hired to show the camera crew around, and he is in exile by the government of Congo because of his involvement with the show. He has been told he is not safe to return to Congo. Mike found out yesterday that his visitor's VISA would be processed, so he will have enough time to apply for political asylum. The program they worked on is available on the Internet, and the PBS series is called "Wide Angle." The specific show is called "Democracy in the Rough," and it can be found at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/watch. Strate noted that some of the Commission members have not attended many meetings recently, and he wonders how we should deal with this issue. He said they are great people, productive and bright, but we need to make sure the people on the Commission can be involved and present at most meetings. Koivumaki said there is a process for this, and she noted this is a new calendar year for the Commission. Maguire suggested she could have a conversation with the two individuals, Barra and Piumbroeck, to see what their plans are for involvement in the Commission going forward. Maguire mentioned that students sometimes give reports to the HR&D Commission regarding what is going on at the high school, so the students can feel free to do that in the future. Beckmann said she would like to ask the City Council to let students have a vote on the Commission too, and she wondered if they have been advised that this is a question. Koivumaki said they have been advised that this is a question, but the ability to vote would affect students on all commissions. Also, students are on the commissions for short time periods. Maguire said she likes input from students, but she thinks on a close vote, she would want individuals voting who are on the Commission on an ongoing basis. Maybe there are other ways that the students Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission September 13, 2007 Page 8 could be more involved. It was noted that the students are included in the Commission group pictures now. VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next meeting will be on October 11"' at the same time and place. IX. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned informally at 9:04 PM.