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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 04/08/2003 APPROVED MINUTES Eden Prairie Human Rights & Diversity Commission Tuesday,April 8, 2003 7:00 PM - Prairie Rooms A/B, 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 The meeting was called to order at 7:08 p.m. by Chair Moran. Student Representatives Missaghi and Moss were present. Iyer arrived late at 7:30 p.m. Roll call was read by Recording Secretary Whitsitt. Chair Moran welcomed and introduced new Commission members Piumbroeck, Maguire and Beckmann. He asked all members and Student Representatives to introduce themselves and give a little of their background. II. Approval of Agenda Strate moved, seconded by Clynch to approve the agenda. Motion carried: 5-0 III. Approval of Minutes from March 11, 2003 meeting Strate moved, seconded by Clynch to approve the minutes of the March 11, 2003 meeting as published. Motion carried: 3-0 IV. Reports of Staff A. South Hennepin Immigrant Services Group (SHISG) Koivumaki stated Beckmann also attended the recent SHISG meeting and asked her to report on it. Beckmann said she has attended these meetings since the group's inception. She said it is an interesting group and all Commission members are invited to attend. At this meeting, a speaker named Ali came in and talked about helping the Somali community by starting a tutoring program at the library, and a prevention program to target kids in crisis. There was also a presentation by the Recreation Department from the City on how to get more immigrant students involved in City summer programs. Another topic was the "Community of Nations" program, which is running out of funds. Finally, they had a brainstorming session on how to better reach out to the various faith communities. B. Human Services Review Committee (HSRC) Eden Prairie Human Rights&Diversity Commission April 8 Approved Minutes Koivumaki reported that the HSRC met the day before to discuss ways to fund human services in Eden Prairie. The City is looking at RFP's and will do site visits to meet with groups who are requesting funding. These are planned for the month of May and recommendations to the City Council will follow. Koivumaki said if Commission members know of any groups in need of funds to contact her because "now is a good time." Piumbroeck asked if the money comes from the City's General Fund. Koivumaki replied yes; it is like any other budget item and goes through the Finance Division. C. Bias Crime Activity Status Nothing to report. V. Old Business A. Dr. Jean L. Harris Youth Scholarships Discussion and Voting Moran said hopefully everyone had an opportunity to read the applications. He stated this is the first time he has seen this many applications for the Youth Scholarships. He encouraged the Student Representatives to give their input. He said we received good suggestions last year on the application form and the criteria requirements. Maguire asked how the Youth Scholarships are funded. Koivumaki replied that it came from the LMC and pointed out that we will have to discuss how to re-fill the account since we are now running low on funds. Strate said he has no doubt we will be able to raise the funds and replenish the account. Moran said the Youth Scholarship Awards are a "work in progress" and said we are scoring differently this year than last year. He asked each member to discuss how they scored and what they were looking for as they read the applications. Beckmann said she read the Manifesto and considered herself a "tough grader." She was disappointed overall in the letters of recommendation, and carefully reviewed the volunteer information looking for"well-rounded individuals." Clinch said she read all of the applications and chose three or four that stood out,particularly in the volunteer section. She stated did not pay much attention to the letters of recommendation. Iyer said he did not have a chance to read the applications. Maguire said she read all of the applications and felt the volunteer information was the more important factor. She stated the essays were not looked at as much and she was looking for students who really "reached out." Maguire assigned points and ranked the leading applications. Piumbroeck said he looked for community involvement and commitment in the area of diversity. He ranked and rated them, eliminating ten immediately. Moran stated he looked at the students' essays and gave some "zeroes"right away. He noted some students did not follow instructions. Moran said he read the letters of recommendation and preferred to see letters that supported their volunteer work. Missaghi recommended, for the short essay section, clearer instructions on how to answer the questions. She thought some students did not understand that they needed to answer part A and B, and with clear instructions, there would be no confusion. She also noted she thinks the volunteer input is the most important aspect of the application. Missaghi stated that it is not about a GPA and that"anyone can write an essay"; it takes more effort to take time and commit to a volunteer activity. 2 Eden Prairie Human Rights&Diversity Commission April 8 Approved Minutes Piumbroeck suggested changing the language on the application next year to state that the students need to attend an accredited four-year institution, instead of just saying "must plan to pursue post-secondary education." MOTION: Piumbroeck moved, seconded by Clynch to award two $1,000 Youth Scholarships this year. Motion carried: 6—0. The Commission agreed to write on the whiteboard a chart displaying the top five choices of each member. (Note: The student applications are anonymous and are assigned a number instead of names being visible.) After much discussion, three applicants came out as leaders in ranking and points. A second round of voting yielded Applicant#4 and Applicant#15 as front-runners. Whitsitt revealed that Applicant#4 is Eden Prairie High School senior Adam Pitman, and Applicant#15 is Minnetonka High School senior Ryan Yearous. MOTION: Piumbroeck moved, and Strate seconded awarding the Dr. Jean L. Harris Human Rights Youth Scholarship Awards to Adam Pitman and Ryan Yearous. Motion carried: 4—0. A brief 10-minute intermission was called by Chair Moran. Student Representatives Missaghi and Moss left the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Commission member Iyer left at 8:35 p.m., and member Clynch left at 8:40 p.m. B. Human Rights Awards Discussion and Voting Before the discussion, Piumbroeck asked Moran to give a background on the Human Rights Awards. Moran responded that plaques are handed out based upon how the activities of an individual, non-profit organization, and business relate to the Eden Prairie Manifesto, and how it benefits the community. Moran suggested discussion on the Individual category first. Again drawing a chart on the whiteboard, the members ranked the three nominees (Adam Pitman, Esera Tuaolo, and Paster Greg Lenz) first, second and third place. The Commission members discussed at length what criteria they each were looking for, and what qualifies as truly Human Rights efforts in the community. Piumbroeck asked if Pitman could qualify for this award also, since he was just awarded the Youth Scholarship. It was agreed there is nothing in the rules that state he could not qualify. Strate asked if the Commission had to give out awards in all categories. Piumbroeck suggested maybe we don't have to give one at all in this category this year. After more discussion, the members agreed there was no compelling stand-out winner in this category. MOTION: Strate moved, seconded by Beckmann to NOT give a Human Rights Award in the Individual category for 2002. Motion carried: 4—0. The Commission moved on to the Non-Profit category and reviewed the three nominees: Pax Christi Catholic Community, Family and Children's Service, and Southdale YMCA. They each ranked the three nominees, first, second and third place. 3 Eden Prairie Human Rights&Diversity Commission April 8 Approved Minutes The Commission discussed the results at length. It was generally agreed that the efforts of Pax Christi Catholic Community best represented the intentions of the Eden Prairie Manifesto. MOTION: Maguire moved, seconded by Strate to award Pax Christi Catholic Community the Human Rights Award in the Non-Profit category for 2002. Motion carried: 4 -0. Moran thanked the Commission members for their input and efforts in awarding the Youth Scholarships and Human Rights Awards this year. VI. New Business None. VII. Reports from Commission Members Piumbroeck noted that the Twin City Business Journal Minority Business Awards will be held on April 18d'. He asked if we knew of any businesses that could be nominated for these awards. The Commission agreed that it was late in the process to find nominees for this year's awards. Beckmann suggested putting this item on next spring's calendar to discuss for next year's awards. VIII. Future Meetings/Events Moran encouraged everyone to attend the Boards and Commissions Recognition Banquet on April 23rd. He said it is a good event to attend and this year we have a special guest speaker, U.S. Senator Norm Coleman. The next Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May13, 2003 at 7:00 pm. No meetings will be held in July or August. IX. Adiourn Strate moved, seconded by Maguire to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried: 4—0 Moran adjourned the meeting at 9:35 p.m. 4