Community Relations Commission

COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES July 9, 2015 Persons in attendance: Jenny Lee – Chair Mary Marusek Jason Trunco Trustee John C. Jekot Tony Hollenback – Director of Family Services Cathy Spadoni – Secretary Persons absent: Joe Kuffel Dan Ryan Steve Vinezeano – Village Manager Dennis McEnerney – Chief of Police Call to Order Commissioner Lee called the regular meeting of the Community Relations Commission to order at 5:42 p.m. in the Council Chambers Conference Room, Village of Niles Municipal Building as a quorum was present. New Commissioners Jenny Lee and Jason Trunco, who were appointed to the CRC at the May 26, 2015 Board of Trustees meeting, introduced themselves, as did the rest of the attendees. I. Speaker from Open Communities Commissioner Lee welcomed Ms. Gail Schechter, Executive Director of Open Communities, and Mr. Ravi Deva, Niles resident and former Open Communities board member. Ms. Schechter stated that Open Communities, which was formerly called the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs, is a fair and affordable housing advocacy group. The organization was founded in 1972 as an outgrowth of the civil rights movement and, when looking at the twin issues of affordable and fair, soon came to realize that income was as much a barrier to diversity in the area as acts of discrimination. Therefore, their early efforts were about getting housing for low and moderate income people. Today they also provide services in advocacy, foreclosure prevention housing counseling, and education; they also investigate complaints of discrimination and match people who are struggling in their homes with people who are looking for affordable housing via the “Home Sharing” program. The Justice Project commemorates the 50th anniversary of the North Shore Summer Project, the grassroots movement that brought Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Winnetka in July of 1965 to rally thousands for housing justice. The Niles CRC is invited to attend the commemoration on Sunday, July 26 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Winnetka Village Green, 525 Maple Street. We are invited to share a table with another municipality and provide literature about Niles. None of the Commissioners present is able to attend. After contacting Commissioners Kuffel and Ryan, Secretary Spadoni will RSVP to Open Communities by Friday, July 17.  Community Relations Commission July 9, 2015 Open Communities has developed the “Principles of the Welcoming Community,” which encourage different ways to be inclusive and welcoming. They are organizing the Justice Summit, where these principles will be presented, on Sunday, October 11 at Oakton Community College in Skokie. Any commissioners interested in helping to plan the event are asked to complete the form on www.justiceprojectcontinues.org Mr. Deva suggested that while we are aware of the diversity around us, we are not always sensitive to it and the issues that come with it. There can be friction if both sides are reticent and hesitant in approaching one another. Perhaps the municipalities can encourage greater communication across the different cultures. II. Approval of Minutes Commissioner Lee made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Trunco, to approve the minutes of the April 9, 2015 regular meeting. On voice vote, all concurred. III. Reported Citizen Comments / Complaints a) Police Department Secretary Spadoni reported that no complaints were received by the Police Department. b) Other Village of Niles Departments Secretary Spadoni reported that no complaints were received by other departments. c) Telephone Hotline Secretary Spadoni reported that one woman called the telephone hotline twice. She was referred to Niles Family Services, who referred the woman, a resident of Wheeling, to the appropriate agencies. d) Email Hotline Secretary Spadoni reported that no complaints were received via the email hotline. e) Commissioners The commissioners reported that no complaints were received. IV. Old Business Translation of Fair Housing Guides Secretary Spadoni reported that she has now received the Spanish translation of the Fair Housing Guide. The Polish translation must be updated to reflect the new Village tag line: It’s possible here. When that is done and the new logo replaces the old logo, she will post both the Spanish and Polish translations on the website. Commissioner Marusek will take the guide to the Niles Community Church to see if someone in their Korean congregation would be willing to translate it. If not, Commissioner Lee may be able to find someone. Director Hollenback stated that his new Korean intern may be able to do it. He also has a staff member who could translate the guide into Arabic. 2  Community Relations Commission July 9, 2015 Secretary Spadoni reported that because of a new phone system at the Village, the CRC reporting phone number has changed. She will change the phone number on the guide, change “Where People Count” to “It’s possible here,” and look into changing the colors to go along with the new Village logo. Once the changes are made, she will reprint them. Commissioner Marusek made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Trunco, to approve the changes to the guide after it is reviewed by the Commissioners via email. On voice vote, all concurred. V. New Business Other Announcements and News Commissioner Lee noted that while the CRC deals primarily with fair housing issues, the actual mission statement is a lot broader. The recently completed Healthier Niles Survey showed the diversity of the respondents and that the concerns raised are very relevant to our mission. Perhaps going forward we can have a broader view of what our goals and objectives can be. She asked for ideas for what more this commission can do. Comments included:  We should work more closely with Niles Human Services, with other Niles commissions, and with commissions from other municipalities.  There is a big disconnect between what is going on and what people know as far as what services the Village offers. Is there a way to announce certain things that are going on, perhaps with a flyer, in order to build community awareness?  Contributing factors to the lack of awareness are that Niles doesn’t have a strong newspaper and that Niles is divided into several school districts. We need to work to pull information together for people.  We should grow internally before we start pulling ideas from other communities that may or may not work here. Rather than contact other municipalities, perhaps we should work more closely with other organizations within Niles such as the Library and the Park District.  Niles has a thriving Korean business community, but there is not very much interaction between them and Niles. Koreans tend not to engage politically or civically with Niles.  We need to get information out to the residents and foster communication across all issues, not just housing.  Different groups will respond differently to different media formats, i.e. digital vs print. We need to determine what media format to use on the target market.  The CRC could promote involvement in events that are already taking place, such as the Christmas market, to expand them so they grow to include everybody. 3  Community Relations Commission July 9, 2015  Personal contact is key. It is important to attend all the Village events in order to establish relationships with people and educate them about the services the Village offers.  A starting point in defining our goals and direction could be Open Communities’ “Principles of the Welcoming Community.” The Commissioners should review them and perhaps recommend that they be adopted by Niles, either in whole or in part. Secretary Spadoni will email the document to the other commissioners. VI. Next Meeting Commissioner Lee may call a special meeting before the next scheduled meeting. She would like to discuss the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus notes, Next Door.com, Cities of Service which engages citizens to do community service and the “Principles of the Welcoming Community.” We can then focus in on five goals for the coming year. The next scheduled meeting will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers Conference Room, Village of Niles Municipal Building. VII. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Community Relations Commission, Commissioner Trunco made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Lee, to adjourn the meeting. On voice vote, all concurred. The meeting adjourned at 6:48 p.m. __________________________ Catherine Spadoni, Secretary Community Relations Commission 2015-2016 Community Relations Commission Commissioners Ex-Officio Members Jenny Lee – Chair Trustee John C. Jekot Joe Kuffel Village Manager Steven C. Vinezeano Mary Marusek Human Services Director Tony Hollenback Daniel P. Ryan Sr. Chief of Police Dennis McEnerney Jason Trunco Secretary Cathy Spadoni 4