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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 03/11/2010 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2010 7:00 P.M., 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Human Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Pam Spera(Chair), Marcy Harris (Vice Chair), Peter Huck, Linda Crawford and Lauren Juergensen STAFF: Molly Koivumaki, Manager- Housing and Community Services; Heidi Wojahn, Recorder STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Adam Liter, Muna Shire and Fardowsa Ali GUESTS: Anita Gibson I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Spera called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Commissioner Marcy Harris and Student Representative Fardowsa Ali were excused from this evening's meeting. Student Representative Muna Shire arrived at 7:41 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Agenda approved by informal consent. III. MINUTES Spera proposed the following change to the February 11, 2010 minutes: p. 3, first paragraph, second-to-last sentence—change "violations" to "voluntary compliance". MOTION: Spera moved, seconded by Crawford, to approve the amended minutes. Motion carried 4-0. IV. NEW BUSINESS A. ANITA GIBSON Spera welcomed Anita Gibson; introductions were made. Gibson addressed the Commission regarding her experience discovering racist graffiti on a trail near her home last fall. The graffiti she encountered was primarily of a white supremacy nature, and she was shocked to see this display in her community. She reported it to the police liaison at the school where she works and was told police take pictures of the graffiti, and then clean it up and/or paint over it. Because she was a reporting party rather than a victim, the incident did not trigger the normal reporting process to Koivumaki's office. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES March 11, 2010 Page 2 B. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS One business application was pulled. The act for which they were nominated was to have a percentage of its proceeds donated to People Reaching Out to Other People (PROP). Upon checking, Koivumaki discovered PROP had not received those funds to date. Council will present awards to the winners in a ceremony at a later time to be determined. MOTION: Juergensen moved, seconded by Huck, to accept two individual and two non-profit nominations for the awards process. Motion carried 4-0. Shire arrived at 7:41 p.m. V. REPORTS FROM STAFF - Koivumaki A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC) The Community Development Block Grant funding proposal went before City Council on March 9. Funding was approved as recommended by the City Manager. At his discretion, the City Manager declined to accept the proposal the Committee had made to fund $2,000 for the car repair program. Those funds were reallocated to the YMCA program as it had not been funded the amount it requested. B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS No report C. OTHER REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. Advisory Commission Recruitment and Selection Pam Spera, Gayle Sanders, and Robert Rozanski are the three candidates appointed to HRDC. Spera and Harris have been reappointed the positions of Chair and Vice Chair respectively. There were two other applicants not selected. 2. Partnering with Community Education The "Honoring Cultures" event will be held Thursday, April 29, 6-8 p.m. in the Heritage Room at City Center. Cost is $20.00. This particular event will focus on the Somali culture. Commissioners are needed to participate by facilitating discussion at each table. Plans include introducing the conflict resolution resource being developed by the Commission Shire and Juergensen will serve as emcees. Crawford has a school conflict and cannot attend. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES March 11, 2010 Page 3 3. Conflict Resolution Training Timeline Koivumaki proposed four training sessions, each one consisting of one hour or more, beginning in May with rollout planned for September. Sessions could coincide with HRDC meeting nights taking place prior to the meeting, or commission meetings could be shortened. Commissioners would need to meet in July and August when there are not normally HRDC meetings scheduled. The format will consist of discussion, role playing, and evaluation. Role players and scenarios have already been determined. Crawford expressed liability concerns and wanted assurance commissioners would be held harmless. Participants will be required to sign a waiver or release of liability. The goal of this process is to offer a calm, safe place to talk. No directives, advice, or orders will be given; rather commissioners will be there to gently guide discussion. 4. Best Buy Grant Balance is $5.10. VI. OLD BUSINESS Koivumaki will ask the Arts and Culture Commission to contact Crawford and Juergensen regarding planning meetings for the International Festival. Crawford suggested having a danceline invitational would be a good way to attract youth to the event. VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS Huck commented on the lack of diversity he noticed on the City's website under the Video TourBook tabs. Only the education tab shows some diversity. This is also evident in the City's printed marketing materials. It is not a realistic representation of the community. Crawford added this inaccurate reflection might very well deter new companies, who are looking to hire minority employees, from bringing their businesses to the area so it ends up being an economic issue. The commissioners viewed a couple of the video clips and decided to send a letter to Council via City Manager, Scott Neal. Huck and Juergensen will draft a letter for review explaining there isn't an expectation the City waste the materials they've already produced,but next time those materials are updated they should include more diversity. Spera and Shire didn't think it would be too difficult or expensive to edit the clips a little to improve upon them. The Halloween festival at the Eden Prairie mall and the International Festival are two events that do a good job of representing diversity in the community. The commissioners' homework is to view all the video clips; Koivumaki will pass that message on to Harris. Liter reported he'd addressed the Council as co-president of the environmental club at his school. The club was hoping to form an earth day event in conjunction with the City. He HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES March 11, 2010 Page 4 was referred to the Conservation Commission (CC). CC tentatively has earth day plans with Hennepin Technical College but nothing's definite so something may yet happen with the school. He also addressed the Dunn Brothers conditions permit issue in regards to having music amplification on the porch of the historic site they occupy. VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting will be Thursday, April 8, 2010, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. Koivumaki cannot attend,but Patricia Fenrick, Community Services Coordinator, will be here in her place. "Honoring Cultures" event--Thursday, April 29, 6-8 p.m.--Heritage Room at City Center IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Huck moved, seconded by Crawford, to adjourn. Motion carried 4-0. Chair Spera adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m.