Human Relations Commission

MINUTES DeKalb Human Relations Commission June 2, 2015 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Norden Gilbert called the June 2, 2015 meeting of the DeKalb Human Relations Commission (HRC) to order at 6:41 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Norden Gilbert, Ellingsworth Webb, Larry Apperson, Joe Gastiger, Lisa King, Cameron Zelaya Absent: Robert Williams Also Present: Lisa Seymour, DeKalb County Services Manager for RAMP and member of the Disabilities Advisory Commission, Bessie Chronopoulos, Citizen (arrived at 7:24 p.m.), Patty Hoppenstedt, Assistant City Manager and Staff Liaison, Julie Abraham, City Staff This was Cameron Zelaya’s first HRC meeting and the HRC members and City staff introduced themselves. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION: A motion was made by Mr. Webb and seconded by Mr. Gastiger to approve the October 2014, December 2014, February 2015, March 2015, April 2015, and May 2015 minutes with revisions as noted below: April 2014 – Under Adjournment, second sentence, change Mr. Apperson to Mr. Gilbert. May 5, 2015 – 1) Under B. Discussion on Revision of Mission Statement, third paragraph, Chairman Gilberts should read Chairman Gilbert. 2) Under Update on Municipal Code Recommendations for Non-Discrimination Statement, first sentence, change “spoke” to “contacted”. 3) Under E. Follow-Up on Service Animals Recommendations, third sentence, change sentence to read Mr. Webb will get the draft to the HRC sub-committee members and a final copy to City Attorney Frieders in the next week. VOTE: All in favor, none opposed. 1 OLD BUSINESS: A. Promotion of Diversity Programming Mr. Gastiger distributed information regarding a Tuesday evening book study at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of DeKalb (UUF). This book study series will discuss White Privilege and he welcomed HRC members and visitors to attend. Ms. King mentioned there will be a fall session of this book study covering the same topic. Mr. Gastiger would like the HRC to pilot programs like these. Mr. Webb stated the HRC had decided to reach out to find community events which is why this is being discussed. Mr. Apperson stated the next Beloved Community Potluck Dinner is June 21, 2015 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 830 N. Annie Glidden Rd. Mr. Webb will send out the flyer when he receives it. Beloved Community has a Facebook page where they also list events: https://www.facebook.com/belovedcommunitydekalb. Mr. Gastiger announced the Elder Care Services is recruiting board members. He described the services provided by the Elder Care Services agency. Their board meetings take place the third Wednesday of each month starting at 1:30 p.m. and are held at the Elder Care Services office, 1701 E. Lincoln Highway. Chairman Gilbert asked if the HRC wanted to discuss how to promote events. Mr. Webb state it was discussed at the last meeting and decided once the website is up to date promoting will increase. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt suggested the HRC take a portion of the next meeting to work on the HRC website landing page. She noted there will be ongoing changes to this page that will require continuous HRC commitment to maintain the page updated by communicating with City staff. Mr. Gastiger commented that once the new website is operational, he would like a ½ page flyer to distribute showing the new features, what can be found on the website, etc. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated there is a marketing plan which will include but is not limited to press releases. Mr. Gastiger inquired if any public service announcements will be given to radio stations. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated she will ask Lauren Stott, Management Analyst. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt noted there will be a presentation on the new website at the June 8, 2015 Committee of the Whole Meeting starting at 5:00 p.m. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt asked the HRC if they would like Lauren Stott, Management Analyst, to come to a meeting to do the presentation. HRC members stated yes. Lauren Stott will be invited to the next meeting. Chairman Gilbert stated he is still concerned certain information will get buried under the HRC page and not be in a more general area where it’s more likely to be viewed. 2 Mr. Webb commented citizens thought HRC should have been involved with the University Village process. He would like a joint meeting of the commissions/board/committees to find out what their role is and the impact on the community. Mr. Webb believes the HRC needs to know what is happening and how it could affect HRC. He would like to get ahead of the curve instead of being reactive to situations. Discussion ensued regarding University Village. Mr. Apperson stated it is a good idea for a joint meeting but believes it will be difficult to schedule. He believes it may be more achievable if the chair of each commissions/board/committees met. Chairman Gilbert stated he is less concerned about scheduling the meeting but more about what will be on the agenda. Mr. Webb stated if all of the commissions/board/committees are not working towards the same goal what impact will this have on the City. Chairman Gilbert stated this type of meeting has been held in the past with the Mayor and the chair of each commissions/board/committees. Mr. Webb stated he remembered the meeting but also remembered that Chairman Gilbert came away from the meeting believing it to be non-productive. Mr. Webb wants to be clear that HRC is being effective and following the mission statement. Otherwise, what’s the purpose of meeting? More discussion ensued regarding University Village. Based on Mr. Webb’s comment that he would like a joint meeting of the commissions/board/committees to receive direction from the Mayor, Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated the City is currently working on a 10 year strategic plan with the NIU Center for Governmental Studies (CGS). The plan will identify a 10 year vision for the City as well as a set of shorter-term specific actions to move toward that vision. The Mayor and City Manager can then share the plan which will give Mr. Webb and the HRC guidance they are looking for in terms of vision/direction. Going forward Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt will send strategic plan information pertaining to HRC to the members. Community conversations will be scheduled throughout the community and she encouraged the HRC members to attend. Mr. Zelaya inquired as to how HRC agendas are set up. Discussion ensued. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt recommended setting up a timeframe for each meeting. Mr. Webb stated he believes it should be 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and if a member thinks a certain discussion will make the meeting longer than it should be stated at the beginning of the meeting. Bessie Chronopoulos, Citizen, stated the City already did a plan within the last couple of years and it wasn’t thorough. She is glad the HRC is being encouraged to attend the meetings and believes the Planning and Zoning Commission should as 3  well. Ms. Chronopoulos stated the CGS and City staff need to look at the past plan. She doesn’t see change going forward in a proper manner. Ms. King stated it is important to go beyond traditional means of contacting/conversing with citizens. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated she would appreciate input from the HRC to identify the most effective way to reach out to the community to ensure a diverse participation for the strategic plan community conversations. She also stated that if the HRC has specific ideas and recommendations regarding the strategic plan she would share these with CGS. Feedback is wanted and needed. Mr. Zelaya stated a prior plan was done for DeKalb County, not specifically for the City of DeKalb and the CGS is aware the scope needs to be broadened for the City’s current strategic plan. Mr. Apperson asked HRC members to accumulate a list of suggested locations and communication methods and give to Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt. The list should be specific. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated that she would share the information with CGS to ensure the City receives diverse feedback for the strategic plan. In regards to last meeting’s discussion about HRC and the Disabilities Advisory Commission (DAC) either merging or holding joint meetings, Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated she met with staff representative Jamie Smirz, Community Services Planner. She and DAC member Lisa Seymour have plans to revive the DAC. It was decided to wait until after the Mayor has reviewed all of the City’s commissions/board/committees to make any changes. B. Update Municipal Code to Include New Mission Statement Chairman Gilbert sent his recommendation to Mayor Rey on June 1, 2015. Rest of discussion was tabled until next meeting. C. Update on Municipal Code Recommendations for Non-Discrimination Statement Discussion tabled until next meeting. D. Discussion and Review of Models for Re-Entry of Ex-Offenders Discussion tabled until next meeting. E. Follow-Up on Service Animals Recommendations Discussion tabled until next meeting. 4 F. Community Member Recognition Chairman Gilbert stated the HRC needs to define this area. Mr. Webb suggested HRC members come to a meeting with names and ideas for definition. NEW BUSINESS: A. City Website This is inclusive of website discussion held under Old Business A. Promotion of Diversity Programming. CITIZEN INPUT: Lisa Seymour, DeKalb County Services Manager for RAMP and member of the Disabilities Advisory Commission (DAC), attended on behalf of the DAC to observe a HRC meeting. She has read the Municipal Code Chapters on both the DAC and the HRC. While similar, the HRC covers all residents whereas the DAC covers a specific portion of the community. Regardless, she is here to serve all citizens of the community. Mr. Apperson asked that since Ms. Seymour and Jamie Smirz, Community Services Planner, have been discussing new members is it an indication they would like to have DAC as a stand-alone Commission? Ms. Seymour stated she would like to try to revive the Commission; however, she believes both Commissions serve a similar purpose and can work collaborative. See A. Promotion of Diversity Programming, last paragraph, for more additional discussion on this item. It was decided to wait until after the Mayor has reviewed all of the City’s commissions/board/committees to make any changes. Chairman Gilbert stated he believes the HRC’s role is different than DAC’s but will defer to Jamie Smirz, Lisa Seymour and the Mayor. He would like to discuss more once the Mayor has made his decisions. Mr. Webb asked Ms. Seymour if there was discussion about the Commission’s attending each other’s meetings to form a partnership in that way. Ms. Seymour states there was and agreed with the idea. Both meetings are held on the same day with the Disabilities Advisory Commission starting at 5:30 p.m. and the HRC starting at 6:30 p.m. Ms. Seymour would like the meetings to remain on the same day. Chairman Gilbert stated he believes the City needs to be more focused on the directives of the commissions/board/committees. Mr. Gastiger believes the HRC should be part of hiring of the Police and Fire employees. Ms. King reminded members that she and Chairman Gilbert were part of hiring the Chief of Police. Ms. King asked HRC members to send her information on University Village. 5 Mr. Apperson reminded HRC members to accumulate a list of community contacts for soliciting input for the strategic plan and give to Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt. ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Mr. Apperson and seconded by Mr. Webb to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Approved by the Human Relations Commission Date: July 7, 2015 6