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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 01/14/2010 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY,JANUARY 14, 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 I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Spera called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. Commissioners Lauren Juergensen and Student Representatives Adam Liter, Muna Shire, and Fardowsa Ali were excused from this evening's meeting. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Agenda approved by informal consent. III. MINUTES MOTION: Huck moved, seconded by Spera, to approve the December 10, 2009 minutes. Motion carried 2-0-2 with Crawford and Harris abstaining. IV. NEW BUSINESS Commissioners took a moment to acknowledge the hardship victims in Haiti are facing in the aftermath of the earthquake. They brainstormed possible ways the commission could help (spearheading a clothing drive or finding host families, for example) and discussed coordinating efforts with other organizations such as People Reaching Out To Other People (PROP) and other regional human rights commissions. Koivumaki and Crawford have contacts on the Chaska and Robbinsdale human rights commissions, respectively, with whom they will mention joining forces. Koivumaki will inquire with the League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions (LMHRC) to see if they already have something in the works on which HRDC can piggyback. Koivumaki suggested, for the future, HRDC might want to formulate some kind of statement in response to incidents like the recent shootings at Seward Market. The local Somali community was deeply affected by this tragedy. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES January 14, 2010 Page 2 Following up on the November training, Harris proposed looking at legal foundations and/or local law firms as potential sources of revenue for implementing and augmenting the local conflict resolution process. Of particular interest is advertising, and generating guidelines for uniformity. Crawford recalled speaking with the conflict resolution trainer saying he agreed to volunteer his time to review materials generated by HRDC. Harris said her understanding is help is available for assisting in setting up processes,but there's a charge for it. Huck suggested they use solicited funds to hire a consultant if it turns out the trainer is not willing to donate his services. The first step is to see if the trainer already has some sort of protocol which can be used as a starting point. Other resources mentioned were library books, internet, school counselors, and other district personnel. Harris will begin gathering related materials. The commissioners expressed varying degrees of comfort in how prepared they felt to facilitate conflict resolution. Some have mediation experience. Despite the training, Huck did not feel ready to begin partly because the training consisted primarily of role- playing and didn't have much structure to it. Spera stated it would be good practice to start small,perhaps with calls that come in to Koivumaki's office. Harris explained, although it may not appear to be, mediation is a very conscious process. Regardless of experience, everyone needs to start from the same place, and it would be highly inappropriate to move forward without written procedures. Discussion ensued about logistics such as whether or not all parties are in the room together during conflict resolution, number of commissioners involved per case, confidentiality, safety, waivers, and level of formality. Koivumaki reiterated the point was to start putting the process together, and then figure out the particulars and fine tune. Huck departed the meeting at 8 p.m. V. REPORTS FROM STAFF - Koivumaki A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC) HSRC did not meet in January. Community Development Block Grant(CDBG) funding proposals will be reviewed in February. B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS Koivumaki has not been able to connect with Anita Gibson, author of"Shocked by racist graffiti," a commentary featured in the December 10 issue of the Eden Prairie News. Crawford is frequently at Central Middle School where Gibson works, so she will attempt to make contact with her there to discuss having Gibson talk about her experience at a future HRDC meeting. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES January 14, 2010 Page 3 C. OTHER REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. Relisious Holiday Policy Update The policy will go before Council Tuesday night. City Manager, Scott Neal, will bring it forward. Representation from HRDC will be on hand to field any questions. 2. Advisory Commission Recruitment and Selection Commissioner application timeframe is January 11—February 12. Interviews will be conducted February 23 and appointments made March 9. Orientation will take place March 25. This information can also be found on the City's website. Commissioners were encouraged to recruit candidates. 3. 2010 Commission Meeting Schedule The September 2010 HRDC meeting conflicts with Rosh Hashanah. It was rescheduled for September 16. 4. International Festival The festival is scheduled for August 15, 12 noon-7 p.m. An earlier ending time has been set to avoid having to tear down booths after dark. The planning committee has been revamped somewhat. Commission input and participation is still encouraged; however, the process will be more staff- driven and less work will be delegated than in the past. More information will be disseminated in a presentation at the February HRDC meeting. 5. Human Rights Award Process Harris will outline the Human Rights Award process and update the Council on the work of the Commission at the January 19, 2010 City Council meeting. The applications will be available on the City's website and can be completed electronically. A media release will be sent, and a mailing will be distributed to area churches, the school district, and the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce. There is one award for each of the following categories: individual, non-profit,business, and youth;but awarding each category isn't required if there are no suitable candidates. Nominations are due February 26 with selections being made March 11. 6. Partnering with Community Education Community Education holds an annual partnership breakfast. This year they are interested in holding a partnership dinner with the City and hope this will better accommodate Somali community members who are more likely able to attend an evening event. The topic is "Honoring Cultures: HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES January 14, 2010 Page 4 Increasing Your Cultural Competency". The structure would be similar to partnership breakfasts and consist of a brief Somali culture presentation by a male and female giving their different world views followed by facilitated roundtable discussion. The goal of the interactive small groups is to have an open conversation about awareness, misconceptions, progress, and community concerns and to provide an opportunity to ask questions. Koivumaki recommended HRDC co-sponsor this event and use it to fulfill the community event portion of the conflict resolution grant. April 29 and May 20 are the two dates being considered. Harris said this event falls during the grant timeline and fits with what they said they were going to do with the money, of which there is $200-300 remaining. A representative from HRDC is needed to present at the event. 7. Best Buy Grant Remaining balance is $5.10. VI. OLD BUSINESS None. VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS Harris stated she attended a training session on parliamentary procedure (incorporates Robert's Rules of Order) and would be happy to share what she learned with the rest of the commissioners. She has a "parliamentary procedure at a glance", one-page cheat sheet she can bring to future meetings. VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting will be Thursday, February 11, 2010, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. IX. ADJOURNMENT Chair Spera adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m.