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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 05/10/2012 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2012 7:00 P.M., 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Human Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Pam Spera (Chair), Robert Rozanski (Vice Chair), Gayle Sanders, PG Narayanan, Zina Nourkadi, Hans Gustafson, and Laura Kaczmarek STAFF: Molly Koivumaki, Manager- Housing and Community Services; Heidi Wojahn, Recorder STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Ramla Mahamud, Camrie Vlasak GUESTS: Khadija Ayour—Eden Prairie High School Cassondra Strangstalien—Eden Prairie High School I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Spera called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. Commissioner Nourkadi and Student Representative Mahamud were absent. Commissioners Narayanan and Kaczmarek arrived at 7:10 pm. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Rozanski moved, seconded by Sanders, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 4-0. III. MINUTES Spera suggested eliminating the second and third sentences under Item VI. A. In addition, the motion should end after the word "nomination." Under Item VII., Gustafson requested removing "both" and"and non-natives" from the second sentence and removing the entire third sentence. Narayanan and Kaczmarek arrived at 7:10 pm. MOTION: Rozanski moved, seconded by Gustafson, to approve the April 12, 2012 minutes as amended. Motion carried 6-0. IV. NEW BUSINESS Kaczmarek reported a handful of cities across the State have officially opposed and are urging citizens to vote against the proposed marriage amendment coming out on the November ballot. This is according to the website of Minnesota United for All Families, HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES May 10, 2012 Page 2 the official organization fighting the amendment. It isn't clear if the Human Rights commissions in these cities got the ball rolling or not. Spera questioned if the Commission can take a public position on the issue and also ask the Council to take a stand against it. Koivumaki replied HRDC has not made public statements in the past. During the domestic partner registry proposal, it was noted it is not standard procedure for items to come from the Commission level to Council; it usually works the other way around. Council did not direct HRDC to work on the registry. Sanders stated it was also made very clear Council was not voting on the amendment when the Domestic Partner Registry was brought before it. Narayanan inquired if there are any cities which have come out in favor of the amendment. Kaczmarek volunteered to look into this as well as information on cities opting not to take a position. Gustafson suggested finding out what role Council would want HRDC to play in this matter, whether it be taking a stand or perhaps just providing resources to residents on how to navigate this issue so they can make an informed decision on how to vote. Narayanan asked if there was anything in HRDC's charter to define its role in these types of matters. Koivumaki said she could either pull that information for commissioners or direct them where to find it in their books. Rozanski said it is his feeling Council doesn't want commissions getting involved in politics. Sanders agreed. Spera said they would have to proceed with extreme caution in order to stay neutral if providing resources to residents. Koivumaki said Edina took this to Council in March and it might be worthwhile to research its discussion on the topic. Spera asked if commissioners felt it was worthwhile to further discuss the issue at this time. Sanders preferred to wait for direction not wanting to spend time on something that could be a dead issue. Rozanski said he thought it would be fine for HRDC to take a position and relay that to Council as long as the Commission or individuals don't publicize it prior to approval. Narayanan said it was pointless to take a position unless they know they can do so publicly. The Commission directed Koivumaki to ask the City Manager if it can publicly take a stand on the proposed marriage amendment and ask Council to do the same. V. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC) No report. B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS No report. C. OTHER REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. Somali/Latino Fair The Bloomington Human Rights Commission has asked to partner with HRDC in hosting this event in its third year. It will take place on Saturday, September 8 at HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES May 10, 2012 Page 3 the Bloomington Civic Plaza. It is two separate fairs held the same day (Latino in the morning and Somali in the afternoon) and will feature vendors, food, crafts, and resources. HRDC can collaborate with Bloomington by helping plan and participate in the event. HRDC could have a table, encourage others to attend, and perhaps promote the event by transporting people to it. Koivumaki has a staff person working on the event. It is still in the planning stages - more information will be disseminated later. Narayanan said a lot of cultures have events similar to this in nature. He and Rozanski asked how is it decided which cultural groups the Commission helps. Sanders said in this case HRDC was invited. Koivumaki added this was by another Human Rights commission in the spirit of collaboration. The cultures are indicative of the City's population. Rozanski stated there is a difference between this situation and a group soliciting help directly from HRDC. Spera commented proximity is also a factor. Narayanan said HRDC should have a role in promoting cultural events but wasn't sure how that would be accomplished. Koivumaki said if HRDC elects to participate, partnering with Park and Rec and Community Ed communications might be an option. Having an ad in the Eden Prairie News and posting it on the City website are other options. Spera said the Commission has had a newspaper column in the past if anyone has a desire to write on human rights issues. 2. Human Rights Awards Ceremony The Human Rights Awards will be presented at a June Council meeting. More information will follow. 3. City Website Agendas will now be posted on the City's new website. It is uncertain at this point whether or not HRDC minutes will also be available online. 4. New Focus Patricia from Koivumaki's department will focus her time on understanding the international nature of the Eden Prairie community. From that, a presentation may be put together on taking a definitive look at the whole of the City's international population. Diversity is not equal to low income, and there is a lot of strength and resources that can be drawn from the City's diversity. It will also be looked at from a business perspective. They are trying to broaden the department's services. Narayanan suggested the census might be helpful in determining the make-up of groups. Rozanski and Spera voiced support of the plans. 5. Best Buy Grant $5.10 remaining. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES May 10, 2012 Page 4 VI. OLD BUSINESS A. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS Koivumaki reported the City Manager affirmed Human Rights Awards nominees should be notified and give informed consent their nomination will be discussed in this forum. This can be accomplished by having a signature page on the form. Rozanski asked if Koivumaki found out if it is within HRDC's purview to hold deliberations for Human Rights Awards in closed session. Koivumaki said she did not find out but would do so for next meeting. The form for one of the nominees ended up on a local blogger's website regardless of not being released by the City. It was also not on the City's website, so it is unclear how this happened. The nominee's home address and cell phone number were on the form hence this information was included in the blog. This could potentially be a safety concern. In addition, the blogger knew the nomination had been turned down. The blogger eventually removed the information from the website. The matter went to the City attorney who determined it was a public record so no violation occurred. Once it is sent as part of the meeting packet, it is considered public record. Cell phone number is not a piece of data requested on the form so it would appear the nominator added that information of their own accord. Koivumaki can redact the form to prevent this from happening in the future. Narayanan suggested adding disclaimer language to the form as well. Rozanski determined another safeguard would be to remove all identifying information prior to dissemination. VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS None. VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting will be Thursday, June 7, 2012, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. City Council is hosting a town hall meeting for the immigrant population in August. They may want HRDC to participate. Details will follow at a later date. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Rozanski moved, seconded by Narayanan, to adjourn. Motion carried 6-0. Chair Spera adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m.