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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 05/13/2003 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION Tuesday, May 13, 2003 7:00 PM—COLLABORATION ROOM, City Center 8080 Mitchell Road, Eden Prairie MN 55344 Commission Members: Harry Moran (Chair), Jeff Strate (Vice Chair), Holly Clynch, Balu Iyer, Larry Piumbroeck, Cari Maguire, and Gerry Beckmann Student Representatives: Morgan Hollister, Kian Missaghi, Kaitlin Moss Commission Staff: Molly Koivumaki, Staff Liaison Tanya Whitsitt, Recording Secretary I. Roll Call ® Harry Moran ® Jeff Strate ❑ Holly Clynch ❑ Balu Iyer ® Larry Piumbroeck ® Cari Maguire ® Gerry Beckmann Chair Moran called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. Student Representative Missaghi was present. Moss and Hollister were absent. Member Piumbroeck arrived at 7:12 p.m. Guest Merrily Helgeson from the Sun Current was present. II. Approval of Agenda Strate moved to add two items to the Agenda: New Business item C. Discussion on Raising Funds for Jean L. Harris Youth Scholarship Award, and D. Discussion on Councilmember Ron Case Situation. Motion was seconded by Maguire to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried: 3-0 III. Approval of Minutes from April 8, 2003 meeting Beckmann moved, seconded by Maguire to approve the minutes of the April 8, 2003 meeting as published. Motion carried: 3-0 IV. Reports of Staff A. South Hennepin Immigrant Services Group (SHISG) Koivumaki and Beckmann did not attend the last meeting; there is nothing to report at this time. B. Human Services Review Committee (HSRC) Koivumaki said the committee will next meet on May 19th. At that meeting, they will focus on making recommendations for City funding of human services groups who request money through RFPs. The groups send in applications and the committee decides who to fund from the general budget. She said this week the committee is making site visits to the various groups, and soon will make recommendations to the City Council. C. Bias Crime Activity Status Nothing to report. Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission May 13 Unapproved Minutes V. Old Business A. None VI. New Business A. PowerPoint presentation by Koivumaki on Social Services Koivumaki gave a PowerPoint presentation on social services that was recently shown at a Community Caregivers meeting. The City was asked by them to make a presentation on social service program that the City offers. She noted the Community Caregivers group has been around many years and it is a"good group" organized by Jeanne Zetah from Community Education. Four panelists spoke at the original presentation: Michael Barone from the Office of the City Manager; Molly Koivumaki, Human Service Manager; Mike Bosacker from Police; and Carla Kress from Parks and Recreation. Koivumaki reported on all four sections for this meeting: Highlights from OCM: The 2003 General Fund has $208,109 allotted for social services. There are no reductions proposed for social services in the City budget for 2004-2005. With the proposed State budget cuts, the City did not receive the $1,006,666 LGA funding and Market Value Homestead Credit for 2003. Highlights from Human Services: The City does not do direct social services,rather it makes funds available for organizations in Eden Prairie. They are generally funded through two channels: the City General Fund and CDBG. General Fund programs (through a two-year cycle) include Teens Alone, Meals on Wheels, Family and Children's Services, and YMCA, among others. CDBG is federal money that helps fund programs such as PROP, Greater Minneapolis Day Care Association, and HOPE. The CDBG also offers low interest loans to qualified homeowners to assist with essential maintenance needs. A brief 10-minute intermission was called by Chair Moran to have a photo taken of the Commission members. Highlights from Police: The Police Department has a staff of 60 sworn officers and 31 civilians. They offer such services as Liaisons to schools and organizations serving youth, coordination of parks events, and park rangers. Specifically, the Community Oriented Policing (C.O.P) unit has a Retail Crime Unit, Neighborhood Watch, Safety Camp, Citizens' Academy, Explorers, and Senior Citizens support. Highlights from Parks and Recreation: The City has programs aimed at helping Seniors, Youth and Families. There are Outreach programs for all ages, and Collaborative programs such as Community Education (Soul Fire and Prairie Fest), and the Immigrant Services Committee (which tries to draw the immigrant community into leisure activities.) Therapeutic Recreation Services "provides opportunities and access in recreation and leisure programs and related services for individuals with disabilities." In addition, Parks offers a unique scholarship opportunity called "Passport to Fun" which gives qualified young people up to $100 per year to pay for participation in recreation activities at the City. Koivumaki said the City wants to be known as a service provider. Beckmann commented that it helps that the City has good relations with the school district. 2 Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission May 13 Unapproved Minutes Moran stated there are a lot of social service organizations in Eden Prairie that he was not aware of. He asked how people learn of such groups and where they go for information. Koivumaki responded that PROP, FamiLink and HOPE are the three biggest help providers, referring individuals to the available programs. Beckmann added that the Community of Nations group also provides advocates to get the word out, particularly to the immigrant community. Maguire recommended showing this presentation to ESL teachers, and Koivumaki said it was also suggested it be shown to the South Hennepin Immigration Services Group (SHISG). Beckmann said it would be a good idea for the Commission to promote these social services programs through an ad campaign with the newspapers. Moran thanked Koivumaki for the excellent presentation. B. Farewell and thanks to Students Representatives Moran said he learns something new each year from the Student Representatives, and this year is no different. He said with the help of students, this year we had a record number of high quality applicants for the Youth Scholarship Award. The students helped make the process better and the decision-making was easier this year. He thanked them for their participation. Missaghi said it has been a great experience and was glad to get involved in government. C. Discussion on Raising Funds for Jean L. Harris Youth Scholarship Award Strate said with the increase in award size this year to $1,000 each, we only have a finite amount of scholarship money and now not enough for next year. He would like to see the Commission get involved and go out to raise funds for the next couple of years to replenish the account. He said it would be a very worthwhile effort, especially to show the community and businesses that"we do exist." He suggested laying out a strategy at the June meeting for summer activity, like attending lunches, approaching businesses, etc. Koivumaki will check into how donations could be made, whether they are tax deductible, the history of the funding, the structure of the program and account, and what input the Council will need to have in this effort. Moran deferred the follow-up and discussion on this matter to the June meeting. D. Discussion on Councilmember Ron Case Situation Strate said that because of a commentary written in the Eden Prairie News by Councilmember Case about immigrants and test scores, there has been a flurry of controversy and "sparks" in the community. Subsequent letters to the editor have been submitted and some have been malicious in nature; some have called them "mudslinging". Also in recent weeks, Strate said an anonymous person(s), has distributed flyers throughout the City proclaiming"Ron Case is a Racist." Piumbroeck noted this is an illegal act not to say who you are. (Koivumaki showed the Commission copies of the flyers.) Moran said because of the inflammatory language and illegality of the flyer, the Police should be notified and the Bias Crime Network(BCN) given the case to handle. Koivumaki said she believes the Police are investigating the flyers and it would be up to Peter Huck, Chair of the Eden Prairie Crime Bias Network, to decide how to proceed with the BCN. She said he is committed to doing what the "victim" wants. Moran said he has offered to hold a mediation meeting between Case and one of the "letter writers", but after more letters were written and a response by Case in the 3 Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission May 13 Unapproved Minutes paper, the idea was dissolved. He said he tried to get involved to help the situation since there is "bad blood" between certain parties, and there is no progress being made in the current environment. Moran stated the issue is "not Case against the others", rather there may be a bigger underlying problem in the community that needs to be addressed. He suggested we bring the community together to voice their concerns and try to have understanding on both sides. This "solving session" could address any immigrant concerns, if any, and find out about what the issues are in Eden Prairie schools. Moran stated he is not interested in the individual agendas of the parties involved. Rather,he is trying to get two public figures to stop what they are doing and find out if this is the "tip of the iceberg of a bigger issue." He asked how else the Commission can help. Maguire said we should do something as a Commission and noted there are different immigrant populations in Eden Prairie; some well-educated and others that don't maybe speak English as well. These two different groups should be considered and may have different issues. Koivumaki said she believes there is some communication between parties affected by this issue. Beckmann asked if it would be sensible to have Koivumaki or Moran contact Case and ask if he needs any assistance. Piumbroeck questioned whether the Commission had any role in this matter, other than if the BCN is involved. He said we should "focus on what our role is." Morgan agreed the Commission needs to define its role and responsibility in this matter. Maguire added we should respond and not be passive. Beckmann said action needs to be timely and that we should not wait another month. She recommended putting a letter in the newspaper promoting the BCN. It was also suggested the Staff Liaison speak to the City Manager and/or the City Council and find out what steps should be taken by the Human Rights and Diversity Commission. MOTION: Moran moved, seconded by Beckmann for Koivumaki to find out the proper involvement of this Commission in taking action in this matter, and the appropriateness of promoting the Bias Crime Network in a letter to the newspaper. Motion carried: 4 —0. VII. Reports from Commission Members Beckmann reported she has clipped a few newspaper articles recently that featured people in the community whose actions reflect the City's charter statement and Manifesto. She said she was "struck" by the actions of these individuals and wanted to inquire about special recognition from this Commission. She would like to send a certificate to the teacher Kristi Stevens and the school to recognize their efforts in promoting diversity and understanding thorough a recent music program called, "From the Inside Out." MOTION: Beckmann moved, seconded by Piumbroeck to send to Kristi Stevens and Prairie View Elementary a Certificate of Appreciation from the Human Rights and Diversity Commission for their"From the Inside Out" program. Discussion: Missaghi said she thinks this a good idea, and suggested assigning a member to "be on the lookout" for other positive actions in the community. Maguire agreed it sounds like a good idea, and said maybe the Commission should talk about in the future what they will be looking for in giving this certificate and what the guidelines might be. Moran said he also 4 Eden Prairie Human Rights &Diversity Commission May 13 Unapproved Minutes liked the idea, and noted it would give the Commission visibility. Piumbroeck said he sees no harm in sending this certificate to the teacher and school. Motion carried: 4 -0 Beckmann presented an article form the High School's paper about the Diversity Club and Diversity Fair held each year. She suggested the Commission make efforts to attend the Diversity Fair. She also brought up an article from the Star Tribune about"Minneapolis Emergency Language Interpretation Cards" used to help non-English-speaking people communicate their needs to "police, hospitals and other public institutions." She asked that the article get copied to the Commission members and suggested this topic be put on the next agenda for discussion on possibilities in Eden Prairie. Piumbroeck asked for the newly updated members rosters from Whitsitt. She said they will be included in the next agenda packet as an attachment. VIII. Future Meetings/Events The next Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 10, 2003 at 7:00 pm. No meetings will be held in July or August. Chair Moran reminded the commission that he will present the students who won the Youth Scholarship Awards with their certificates again at the High Schools' Awards Ceremonies: Adam Pitman from Eden Prairie High School will receive his on May 15'', and Ryan Yearous will receive his on June 2" IX. Adiourn Piumbroeck moved, seconded by Maguire to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried: 4—0 Moran adjourned the meeting at 9:17 p.m. 5