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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 10/14/2010 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 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, Lauren Juergensen, Gayle Sanders and Robert Rozanski STAFF: Molly Koivumaki, Manager- Housing and Community Services; Heidi Wojahn, Recorder STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Ryan Borchardt and Salman lkramuddin I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Spera called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. Commissioners Lauren Juergensen and Linda Crawford were absent. Student Representative Salman 1kramuddin was excused from this evening's meeting. Commissioner Robert Rozanski arrived at 7:12 p.m. New student representative, Ryan Borchardt, introduced himself. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Approved by informal consent. III. MINUTES September 16, 2010 minutes approved by informal consent with Harris and Sanders abstaining. IV. NEW BUSINESS Harris wrote and submitted a grant to Microsoft on behalf of Housing and Community Services and Community Action Partnership of Suburban Hennepin (CAPSH) to provide mobile computer training in Spanish and Somali to those who need it. The program may be piloted even if the grant is not approved. Although this is not intended to duplicate the services of the Employment Support Center starting up in Koivumaki's department, the two programs will dovetail nicely. Commissioner Rozanski arrived at 7:12 p.m. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2010 Page 2 V. REPORTS FROM STAFF - Koivumaki A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC) The community center has reported issues with Somali boys on Friday nights along the lines of breaking rules, causing mischief, and being disrespectful. Police have been contacted,but community center employees have been unable to speak with the parents because of the language barrier. These boys use the facility as part of the Passport to Fun program. Staff from Koivumaki's office met with the community center manager to discuss options for resolving the issue. While it doesn't personally bother Huck,he said seeing 30 black kids (and nobody else) playing basketball at a neighborhood park changes the dynamic. The sense is they have taken over the park and gives others the impression they are not welcome there. This is different, for example, than taking a walk around Purgatory Creek where there are people of many different nationalities. Spera said the community hasn't done a good enough job getting whites and Somalis to interact. Koivumaki and Borchardt have seen some evidence of integration between whites and Somalis in the food court at the mall and at school,but Borchardt pointed out there is not much diversity in advanced classes. Huck sees this carrying over into the bussing issue stating there are families who are not happy about the upcoming changes for next school year. Koivumaki explained the school district has redrawn the boundaries which will take effect in the fall of 2011 due to the addition of an elementary school and the addition of grades 5 and 6 to what were K-4 schools. Currently Forest Hills Elementary has the majority of students receiving free and reduced lunches which draws from most of the City's subsidized and lower-income housing. It also has the greatest diversity and the biggest achievement gaps. The new boundaries will more evenly distribute the percentage of free and reduced lunches and diversity among the schools. Residents are not happy about the changes and it is a volatile situation. She suggested commissioners follow the story in the Eden Prairie News. B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS Three traffic signs on the northern side of town were painted with swastikas. The incidents occurred in the overnight hours between October 1 and October 2 and are believed to be related. There are no known parties asking for assistance, and there are no strong leads at this time. C. OTHER REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. Conflict Resolution Training For those interested, a one-day certified civil arbitration skills training event will take place Tuesday, December 14 in Minneapolis. The cost is $345 and is tax-deductible. Koivumaki will forward further details to the commissioners. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2010 Page 3 2. Employment Support Center Staff has put together some pretty interesting curriculum for those wishing to become tutors in the Employment Support Center. A specific date for training has not yet been finalized. 3. "Where are Your Neighbors" Series The next presentation in the series will highlight the Indian (not Native American) culture on Monday, November 8. Dinner will be provided by Curry Up. HRDC is listed as a co-sponsor for this event but is not actively involved in the planning. Eden Prairie has a large Indian population, and Koivumaki is planning to attend. 4. Faith Community Summit An event called "Responding Together in Tough Times" will bring together faith community leaders from Eden Prairie and Chanhassen. The goal is to promote efficient use of resources and collaboration with People Reaching Out to Other People (PROP). The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 28, 8-10 a.m. in the Heritage Room at City Center. An invitation was extended to commissioners. Sanders and Rozanski are unable to attend. Harris can attend. There are 21 and 7 churches in Eden Prairie's and Chanhassen's faith communities, respectively. Koivumaki was surprised to learn the churches do not all work together and do charity work. She has learned the primary focus of some churches is personal salvation and while they may participate in social programming, it is only for their own congregants. Others are not allowed to be or work around other churches. In addition, five of the eight City Council candidates who participated in the League of Women Voters forum stated they did not support funding social services explaining that should be the responsibility of the faith community,private sector, and businesses. The assumption is churches will take an active role in funding social services,but it is important people be made aware this isn't necessarily true. Koivumaki will make a presentation on the Livable Communities Act and the Metropolitan (MET) Council. The MET Council has informed the City it needs to build 1800 new affordable housing units between 2011 and 2020. This significantly affects PROP; generally those who move into these units will be clients of PROP. Decisions made by the MET Council impact people at the ground level in Eden Prairie, and those folks don't necessarily have a say. Rozanski pointed out this is how problems like the bussingiboundary issue occur in the first place, by introducing chunks or pockets of affordable housing which then contribute to the number of free/reduced lunches in those areas. Koivumaki also explained the City must sign a resolution stating they agree to build the housing or they are not able to apply for funding. If they do not meet the goal, however, there HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2010 Page 4 are no repercussions. Eden Prairie's goals for building affordable housing from 1996-2010 were ambitiously set at 30 percent for home ownership and 20 percent rentals. The results were impressive with actual development at 16 percent and 18 percent respectively. Harris stated at one time Housing and Urban Development(HUD) dinged the entire Minneapolis/St. Paul area because it was doing next to nothing in terms of affordable housing. HUD agreed to let the different communities in the metro area work together to come up with a plan, partly based on demographics and history, designed to help the area reach where it should be. Although the intentions are good, the expectations are often unrealistic. 5. Best Buy Grant Balance is $5.10. VI. OLD BUSINESS A social function will be held Wednesday, October 27 in the Garden Room at City Center in honor of City Manager, Scott Neal, who is leaving his post with the City on October 28. A department director(either Jay Lotthammer or Gene Dietz) will be appointed to serve in the interim, and a search firm has been selected to seek a replacement. Spera will draft a letter of thanks from the Commission for all of Neal's past help and support and forward to the commissioners for input. VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS Huck urged commissioners to keep on top of the school boundariesibus sing issue. The kids are adjusting fine; the parents are the ones with concerns. Harris stated some parents specifically open enroll their children to certain schools because they want them to have exposure to a diverse school population. Eden Prairie should tout diversity as a positive. Integration is best introduced at the elementary level. Rozanski explained some parents have legitimate concerns about school quality. Diversity alone isn't reason enough to attract students; it should be a diverse community that upholds the standards of education. It's an issue of religious and cultural diversity as well as race. Spera suggested the commission somehow send a message diversity is something to be valued. There was some discussion as to whether or not it was appropriate for the commission to get involved. Koivumaki said she thought it was since it is an issue affecting the community. Commissioners directed Koivumaki to contact the schools to see if there is some diversity outreach the commission can assist with in terms of the proposed boundary changes. Harris shared ideas of how this might be accomplished. Koivumaki announced Money Magazine is holding a community event at which a large parent group intends to protest the proposed boundaries. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2010 Page 5 VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting will be Thursday, November 11, 2010, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. Rozanski is unable to attend. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Harris moved, seconded by Rozanski, to adjourn. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Spera adjourned the meeting at 8:27 p.m.