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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 04/10/2014 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY,APRIL 10, 2014 7:00 P.M., 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Human Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Sandra Filardo (Chair), PG Narayanan (Vice Chair), Tonja Bivins, Jenny Buckland, Harry Davis, Sana Elassar, Connie Iacovelli STAFF: Patricia Fenrick, Staff Heidi Wojahn, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Kristina Busch, Karena Lin, Chase Carlson, Emily Higgins I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Filardo called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Commissioners Davis and Narayanan and Student Representative Higgins were absent. Bivins arrived at 7:49 pm. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Fenrick added Item IV. Reports from Student Commissioners. MOTION: Iacovelli moved, seconded by Buckland, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 4-0. III. MINUTES MOTION: Elassar moved, seconded by Iacovelli, to approve the March 13, 2014 minutes. Motion carried 4-0. IV. REPORTS FROM STUDENT COMMISSIONERS Lin reported she and Higgins participated in a mock United Nations assembly sponsored by the YMCA. Carlson announced he has qualified for a speech tournament in Chicago. Busch stated as part of one of her classes, she has procured a mentorship with the Sun Current. She would like to work on news briefs for HRDC. Fenrick said she will provide her with a list of dates for upcoming events. Fenrick said student commissioner applications are being accepted until May 28. Commissioners are requested to encourage others to apply. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 10, 2014 Page 2 V. OLD BUSINESS A. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS Fenrick said she received an additional human rights award nomination for the individual category. Because it arrived via email rather than electronic submission, she missed it when it first came in. It was an oversight on her part but needs to be processed as it was submitted by the deadline. Upon review and discussion, it was unanimously decided to stick with last month's decision to award only one winner in the individual category. Discussion followed about possible changes to the voting rubric and application to help make the decision-making process easier in the future. B. COUNCIL PRESENTATION Volunteers are needed to arrive at 6:45 pm to present the Human Rights Awards at the May 6 Council meeting. It was decided the presenters will be as follows: Iacovelli —non-profit, Filardo —individual, Lin— youth, and Carlson—business. A cake reception will follow. C. WORK PLAN COMMITTEE UPDATES 1. 5K Buckland said two email blasts and volunteer sign-up options are forthcoming. A checklist is being developed of what needs to be done and a timetable for those tasks. Filardo asked if student commissioners had been provided with a list of volunteer needs to post at school. Buckland said she will follow up on this. The website stopthetraffickingrun.org.is functional. Postcard and flyer publicity is in process. A rally will be held at Normandale Community College on April 24. Volunteers are needed at 2 p.m. to hand out flyers. They are trying to access as many youth as possible. Fenrick said she can help. Buckland stated sponsors can give at any level— a donation of$500 buys a logo on the t-shirt. Food, drink, and other in-kind donations are also welcome. Fenrick said she will send out a list of companies already contacted. Commissioners should check the list before approaching companies to avoid solicitation by multiple people. Commissioners brainstormed names of other companies. Fenrick asked them to add their ideas to the list and put their name by them. Buckland said $4,000 is needed pre-race to cover shirt production, marketing, website design, and other costs associated with run set-up so all registration funds can go to charity. In addition to sponsorships and donations, individual runners and group teams are needed. Bivins arrived at 7:49 pm. Brief introductions took place. 2. Disability in Employment Iacovelli reported she has discovered another Eden Prairie diversity committee. She has a meeting with the staff person in charge next week to exchange information and see if there are ways we can collaborate with them. Fenrick said HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 10, 2014 Page 3 the staff member works with kids with disabilities who are involved in park and rec programs. The disability awareness committee is made up of residents. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) is highlighting disability awareness in October so that might be a good time to plan something. VI. REPORTS OF STAFF - Fenrick A. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS There is no new bias crime to report. The trial for the previous victim will be in May. B. BUSINESS PRESENTATION INITIATIVE Fenrick is working on connecting with diversity and outreach staff at local companies to get a wider audience for HRDC events. C. INTERNATIONAL TOWN HALL Fenrick said she and Buckland have been brainstorming ideas for combining the One Voice and International Town Hall events. The next Town Hall is targeted towards the international and multicultural community. Buckland addressed format and logistics and said they were envisioning a more interactive conversation followed by a question-and-answer period. They are also looking at creative ways to garner full participation. Plans are to hold it at the Community Center and offer childcare. Fenrick will be taking their proposal to the City Manager. The event is being planned for the second week in October with date to be determined. D. UPCOMING EVENTS - Fenrick The next Community Cinema film is "Medora" on April 22. Buckland is the lead person. The movie is about poverty and a ball team. The sports aspect may appeal to students. Iacovelli asked if the library had been approached about promoting the event. Fenrick explained the last time she brought flyers, they didn't get posted because they exceeded size limitations. The Warmth of Other Suns book discussion is scheduled for April 26. Buckland said the library has not had much coverage of this event. They were hoping for a bigger display. She is not expecting a big turnout and is wondering about postponing it or incorporating it into the library's new book club. Fenrick said she recommends merging it with the book club or cancelling it. Buckland said unfortunately there is no way to register for the event. She thinks it is a great book worthwhile of conversation, but doesn't see it happening this month. A decision was made to postpone. Elassar noted there was only one person in attendance for last month's Community Cinema. The Muhammad Ali movie will air on PBS on Monday. Discussion followed about how to increase attendance. Filardo said the high school is trying to get away from offering credit for things other than straight academics. Fenrick said another HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 10, 2014 Page 4 idea is to show 30-45 minutes of the films at school and the show them in their entirety in the community. They can consider different locations for each film as well. She has asked to get more advance notice of the titles to help with planning. The next Tasty Lunch will be at Red Moon on April 29. Evening and weekend possibilities were discussed. On May 20, the location is Aurelias. Valerie Shirley, deaf and hard-of-hearing teacher for the district, will address disability awareness with the commission at its May 8 meeting. Social work Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for the Bridges Out of Poverty training on May 8 at Hennepin Technical College (HTC). The annual commissioners banquet will be held on May 14. The May 22, the Community Cinema film is "The New Black". It is about new relationships and gender issues in the African American community. The MDHR will be focusing on GLBT issues in June. The Pride Institute in Eden Prairie will be doing free ally training over the lunch hour. The date is to be determined. CEUs are available. We will be partnering with HTC, and the training will take place there as well. Buckland indicated we will need to work on International Town Hall planning over the summer. Filardo and Iacovelli offered to help with this. Fenrick said getting people there will be the biggest challenge. It will take personal invitations. We also need to brainstorm ideas to get a large representation. Filardo suggested exploring marketing at Community Center. It is a very diverse place. Fenrick said the Cambria Room is reserved for this event. It may also be a location to consider for Community Cinema. Recycling movies from past years is an option. E. BEST BUY GRANT $5.10 remaining. VII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 8, 2014, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Elassar moved, seconded by Buckland, to adjourn. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Filardo adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m.