Community Relations Commission

1 DRAFT 2 Minutes of a Meeting of the 3 Community Relations Commission 4 Northbrook, IL 5 Thursday, November 12, 2015 6 7 Present: Chair Bruce Doughty, Commissioners Elliot Bruckman, Safa Hamed, 8 Jason Han, Chris Kosla, Mary Hansen, Sharon Latek & Dr. Rochelle 9 Singer 10 11 Representatives: Alice Lonoff, Ron Mantegna, John Martin & Nancy Stoddard 12 13 Others: Staff Liaison Erik Jensen & Penny Randel 14 15 Call to Order 16 Chair Doughty called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the Civic Room at Northbrook Public 17 Library. 18 19 Welcome 20 Chairman Doughty opened the meeting and discussed that Chairman Wehr has moved away 21 from the Northbrook community. He overviewed Chairman Wehr’s tenure and how deeply he 22 will be missed. He also outlined Chairman Wehr’s other contributions to the community and how 23 he touched many people. 24 25 Chairman Doughty also announced that he will be the new chair of the Commission and stated 26 that he was excited to take on the new position. He discussed how he values the Commission 27 and its members. 28 29 Representative Mantegna asked if a motion could be made to honor Chairman Wehr. 30 31 Representative Mantegna moved, seconded by Commissioner Singer, to officially honor 32 Chairman Wehr for his service to the Commission and community. On voice vote, all aye. 33 34 Chairman Doughty stated his goal was to continue encouraging individuals to connect at their 35 level and to continue outreach to community leaders. He also asked all members and 36 representatives to reach out to him and let him know their feedback. 37 38 Commissioner Bruckman asked if a formal recognition would be done for Chairman Wehr. 39 40 Chairman Doughty stated he did not know when such an event would occur but he was in favor. 41 42 Commissioner Singer stated that the Village Board would typically issue a proclamation and she 43 would like to attend. 44 45 Chairman Doughty agreed. 46 47 Welcome to New Commissioner Mary Hansen 48 49 Chairman Doughty stated that Mary Hansen, who had previously been a Representative, had 50 been appointed as a Commissioner by the Village Board and welcomed her in her new position. 51  52 Approval of the October 1, 2015 Regular Meeting Minutes 53 Revisions to the October 1st minutes were noted as follows: 54 55  Page 3, Change “Nancy” to “Representative Stoddard” 56  Line 52 – “Cultural event” not “diversity event” 57  Line 62, “Should” 58  Line 114, “it” between “and” and “was” 59  Line 155 – “Sponsored by four Northbrook religious organizations” 60  Correct Chairman Doughty’s title for the meeting. 61 62 Commissioner Singer moved, seconded by Commissioner Kosla, to approve the regular 63 meeting minutes of October 1, 2015 as amended. On a voice vote, all aye. 64 65 Village Update 66 67 Staff Liaison Jensen announced that Chairman Doughty’s appointment created a new vacancy 68 on the Commission and encouraged members to ask interested parties to apply. He asked that 69 all applications be sent to him and that he would forward them to the Village Board for 70 consideration. 71 72 Staff Liaison Jensen also discussed that the new Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 73 2017 through 2021 has been published and encouraged members to review it and share the 74 information where possible. 75 76 Update on Activities: 77 78 Clergy Luncheon: 79 80 Commissioner Kosla stated that the annual Clergy Luncheon would be held on Wednesday, 81 December 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Village Hall. He invited all Commission members to 82 attend and stated that the Clergy Association had forwarded some topics of discussion to the 83 Village for the event. 84 85 Staff Liaison Jensen stated that all members would receive e-mailed invitations in the near 86 future. 87 88 Representative Mantegna asked if there was a centralized theme for the luncheon. 89 90 Commissioner Kosla stated that there was not, but that aging was a topic of conversation. 91 92 Celebration of Cultures: 93 94 Commissioner Singer stated that the previously discussed event would now be entitled “A 95 Celebration of Cultures” and that the subcommittee now had 11 participating individuals. She 96 further stated that she hoped it would grow and include more representatives from various 97 cultural communities. 98 99 Commissioner Singer stated that the date for the event was Sunday, April 17th, 2016 and that it 100 would be held at the North Suburban YCMA from tentatively noon to 2 p.m. She described it as 101 a “Faire” and outlined the Subcommittee’s basic vision of the event. 102 103 She also stated that all groups would be asked to bring one type of food, something interactive 104 and at least one person who would be there at all times. 105 106 Commissioner Singer also discussed that there was no proposed budget at this time, but that 107 there were no costs at that point as well. 108 109 She further stated that the most important thing at this time is for the Committee to get 110 participants. She stated that there was a letter of participation, and that she will distribute it on 111 the Village’s website and through a direct mailing. 112 113 Representative Mantegna asked if it would make sense to send the letter to the Commission. 114 115 Commissioner Singer stated she would send it through Staff Liaison Jensen. 116 117 Commissioner Singer also reviewed the list of participating groups for the Commission and 118 stated that there was interest from African, African-American, Korean and Filipino groups so far. 119 120 Chairman Doughty encouraged everyone to think broadly and reach out. 121 122 Representative Martin asked Commissioner Singer if she had reached out to the Russian 123 language newspaper. 124 125 Commissioner Singer said she had not, but she would appreciate Representative Martin’s help 126 in doing so. 127 128 Commissioner Bruckman stated he looked forward to the event and thought it sounded great so 129 far. 130 131 Flamingo Fridays/Welcome to Northbrook 132 133 Commissioner Bruckman stated that the planning group for Flamingo Friday/Welcome to 134 Northbrook (including Commissioners Bruckman and Hansen as well as Representatives Lonoff 135 and Stoddard) had met and had an initial budgetary figure ready. 136 137 Commissioner Hansen stated that the budget may need to be increased. 138 139 Chairman Doughty stated that budgets would be discussed at the next meeting. 140 141 Commissioner Bruckman stated that the group was continuing to look at a May date and using 142 the Village Hall as the kick-off venue. 143 144 Chairman Doughty asked that the group keep everyone in the loop. 145 146 Northbrook Cares 147 148 Chairman Doughty reviewed the history of Northbrook Cares to the Commission and the 149 products that been had produced so far, including a resource guide. 150 He continued by saying that the feedback the Commission had received was that the guide 151 could be overwhelming for someone in distress. He also discussed the issues related to the 152 Northbrook Cares website and its history. 153 154 Commissioner Kosla exited the meeting at 7:30. 155 156 Commissioner Latek entered at 7:30. 157 158 Chairman Doughty asked if everyone would consider the project and how to approach it going 159 forward. 160 161 Commissioner Bruckman stated that the project stalled not only because of the website but how 162 it would be launched. He stated the problem still exists, and he felt this was an important project 163 to concentrate on. He stated this might be a good project to join with the Youth Commission. 164 165 Representative Lonoff asked if the “perfect’ was getting in the way of “good” and stated that the 166 final product does not need to be perfect and could be useful to anyone. 167 168 Commissioner Singer stated that the CRC instigated the coming together on this project and 169 that, in the process of doing so, learned that so many agencies are already doing great things. 170 She further stated that she felt that the conversations the Commission had during that time were 171 highly productive and that everyone benefitted from the discussion. 172 173 Commissioner Singer asked if the website was currently up and running and what the 174 Commission would change to make it work now. She concluded that the group needs to be 175 realistic and that maybe the Commission’s role is best served by keeping the lines of 176 communications open between the various community organizations. 177 178 Representative Mantegna suggested that the Commission look to work with the Youth 179 Commission as a partner. 180 181 Commissioner Hamed stated it may be best just to give students a first step. She further stated 182 that when things are considered important at Oakton Community College, they are included in 183 every syllabus. She stated that maybe the Commission could work with the schools to help do 184 outreach and education and that students are often given the “first steps” to minimize the 185 decisions that are made when they are in distress. 186 187 Chairman Doughty stated that he agreed with Commissioner Hamed and that this topic would 188 be revisited at the December meeting. 189 190 News from the Schools 191 192 Representative Martin stated that St. Norbert Co-Op Football (which plays with Sacred Heart 193 School in Glencoe) is competing for a Football Championship in 2015. He stated the 194 championship game would be played on Sunday, November 15. 195 196 Commissioner Latek stated that District 30 just donated over 600 shoes to needy groups and 197 that, during November, the Parent Teacher Organization was holding a book drive and would be 198 also be holding a coat drive. She encouraged any members with questions to contact her. 199 200 Commissioner Hamed stated that Oakton Community College is holding a sock drive as socks 201 are the least donated and most needed items for homeless groups. 202 203 Representative Mantegna and Commissioner Latek suggested groups who might be willing to 204 donate to the drive. 205 206 Chairman Doughty stated that District 225 has been through Homecoming. He stated the 207 football team did well and the Debate Team continues to dominate. The performing arts 208 program finished their fall play and moved to their winter play. He concluded by saying that the 209 district had also recently approved its on-going facilities work. 210 211 Commissioner Latek stated that there will be 70 kids that will be participating in the Kairos 212 Retreat. 213 214 News from the Clergy Association 215 216 Chairman Doughty repeated the information on the Clergy Luncheon and stated that the annual 217 Village Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will be held at Temple Beth El on Wednesday, November 218 25. 219 220 Representative Mantegna said that there is a generally a great reception afterward for all who 221 attend. 222 223 Old Business 224 225 Commissioner Singer stated that there used to be a blue booklet with all Village contact 226 information. She asked if it had been updated. 227 228 Staff Liaison Jensen said he would follow up. 229 230 New Business 231 232 Commissioner Singer stated that Gary Moriello on the Youth Commission is again holding 233 Operation Santa Claus and explained the project. She asked that anyone interested reach out 234 to her for instructions on how to participate. 235 236 Eyes and Ears on the Street 237 238 Represenative Mantegna stated that the Village Presbyterian Church will be holding a 239 performance of Handel’s Messiah on December 6. He stated it is free and opens at 11 am. 240 241 Representative Lonoff stated that “White Like Me” met for five weeks and had good turnout. 242 Another meeting was held at Temple Beth El, and the group meeting is now calling itself RAIN 243 (Race Awareness in the North Shore). Representative Lonoff further stated that the author of 244 “The Warmth of Other Suns’ (Isabel Wilkerson) will also be speaking at the Evanston Township 245 High School auditorium on Monday, November 16. 246 247 Representative Lonoff concluded by saying that the next meeting of RAIN will be Wednesday, 248 December 9 at Northbrook United Methodist Church. 249 250 Commissioner Hansen stated that one of the outcomes was that people suggested that in order 251 to diversify the community, we should invite others from outside the community to the 252 Thanksgiving Service. 253 254 Next Meeting: 255 256 Chairman Doughty stated the next meeting would be held on Thursday, December 3 at 7pm at 257 Northbrook Pubic Library. 258 259 From the audience Penny Randel stated that the Park District will have a stakeholder meeting 260 on the Park District. A community assessment will also be done to get feedback. 261 262 Adjournment: 263 A motion was made by Commissioner Singer, seconded by Commissioner Hansen, to adjourn 264 the meeting at 7:55 p.m. On a voice vote, all aye. 265 266 Respectfully submitted, 267 268 269 Erik Jensen 270 Staff Liaison