Community Relations Commission

COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES July 26, 2012 Present: Steven Gorski - Chair Absent: Trustee Jim Hynes – Ex Officio Anthony Cristiano Bob Thomas Mary Marusek Cathy Spadoni - Secretary Commissioner Gorski called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. I. Approval of Minutes Commissioner Cristiano made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 12, 2012 meeting; Commissioner Marusek seconded the motion. The motion carried. II. Reported Citizen Comments / Complaints a) Police Department Commissioner Gorski reported that the Police Department has not received any complaints. b) Other Village of Niles Departments Secretary Spadoni reported that no complaints were received from other departments. c) Telephone Hotline Secretary Spadoni reported that no complaints were received via the phone hotline. d) Email Hotline Secretary Spadoni reported that no complaints were received via the email hotline. e) Other The commissioners reported that no complaints were received. III. Report from the Commissioners Commissioner Gorski reported that Commissioner Steven Tremaglio resigned on June 1, 2012. Mayor Callero is in the process of appointing a replacement, and that will happen in the next few months. Discussion of Community Relations Commission Flyer/Brochure Commissioner Gorski stated that at the last meeting on July 12, the Interfaith Housing Center gave a presentation on fair housing practices in Niles. (It was clarified that the CRC meeting was cancelled, but Interfaith still gave their presentation as scheduled.) They sent out actors to pose as certain people looking for housing, and then they graded how they were treated. The results of the audit indicated that, for the most part, the Village did pretty well but did have a couple of issues with possible discrimination. Commissioner Gorski continued that we asked Interfaith to help us develop a fair housing practices brochure for the Village of Niles. In our packets are three examples of brochures that Interfaith developed for Wilmette, Morton Grove and Evanston. Commissioner Gorski asked the members present to review these and send Secretary Spadoni feedback via email within a couple of weeks. Some things to look for: it should be visually appealing, perhaps in color; it shouldn’t be too wordy; print size shouldn’t be too small; it would be good to have some white space so the eye can rest rather than see only paragraphs. After gathering input from the commissioners, Commissioner Gorski will work with Viki Rivkin, Fair Housing Director, and George Van Geem to develop a brochure for Niles. The goal is to have a prototype by the October 11 meeting for the commissioners’ approval or rejection. Commissioner Gorski plans to invite Interfaith and a representative from another community to the October meeting to give us a presentation on procedures to handle complaints, should we receive any. Commissioner Cristiano suggested placing the brochures at the Fitness and Senior Centers and at Village Hall. Commissioner Gorski will work with George to determine the printing and distribution particulars. Commissioner Marusek stated that one of the brochures refers to that village’s ordinance. She asked if Niles has a Fair Housing ordinance. If it does, she asks that our brochure refer to. Secretary Spadoni will look to see if the Village of Niles has a fair housing ordinance and, if so, will forward it to the commissioners. Secretary Spadoni reminded the group that Village of Niles ordinances can be found on the Village’s website. Commissioner Marusek noted that the Interfaith presentation pointed out that there is more concern about condos than single family dwellings. Commissioner Gorski will talk to Viki about creating a pamphlet specifically for condos. We will discuss this further at the October meeting. IV. New Business Open Meetings Act Training Commissioner Gorski stated that, by law, all appointed commissioners must take the Freedom of Information Act & Open Meetings Act training, which is available online. He asks that the CRC commissioners complete the training by the October 11 meeting. Please print out the Certificate of Completion and give it to Secretary Spadoni to file in the Village Clerk’s office. V. Next Meeting The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. Commissioner Gorski asked the commissioners to advise Secretary Spadoni if they are unable to attend a meeting. VI. Adjournment There being no official complaints or further business to come before the Community Relations Commission, Commissioner Gorski made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Cristiano. The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m. __________________________ Catherine Spadoni, Secretary Community Relations Commission