HomeMy WebLinkAboutHUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION - MINUTES - 10/10/2024
Human Relations Commission
REGULAR MEETING
Thursday, October 10, 2024 – 5:30 PM
City Hall: CIC Conference Room, 300 Laporte Ave and Zoom
1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:35 PM
2. ROLL CALL
a. Commission Members Present – Beth Jaeger, Barb Kistler, Phil Walker, Rachel
Bryan, Miho Yoshioka, Coronda Ziegler, Teresa Cribelli (late arrival)
b. Commission Members Absent – Masood Ahmad
c. Staff Members Present – Liz Messenger, Lead Equity & Inclusion Specialist
d. Guest – None
3. AGENDA REVIEW
Chair Jaeger expressed gratitude for the dedication and energy contributed by the members,
particularly in organizing successful events like the August Human Library event and the
September DEIJ Networking event. This reflection served to highlight the positive impact of
their efforts on the community and reaffirm the commission's mission.
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – SEPTEMBER 12, 2024
Vice Chair Kistler stated under budget review the amount stated should be $4900.
Commission member Ziegler motioned to approve the September 12, 2024; minutes as
amended. Kistler seconded the motion. Motion passed 5-0.
5. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
None.
6. BUDGET REVIEW
Chair Jaeger noted the commission had a remaining budget of $4,990 before recent
expenditures. Funds recently spent have not yet been reflected in the budget report including
approximately $1,500 for the educational program.
Members discussed the necessity of confirming the HRC’s 2025 budget by the end of
November, emphasizing the need for careful planning to support future initiatives.
7. NEW BUSINESS
a. REPORT RE: SEPTEMBER 22ND DEIJ NETWORKING EVENT
The networking event was noted as a significant success with positive feedback.
Vice Chair Kistler discussed compiling notes from the discussion tables to inform
future programming and to use in future budget discussions.
Chair Jaeger and Vice Chair Kistler will bring the DEIJ Networking event planning
group together to discuss the next steps after their October 23rd meeting with the
NoCo Non-Profit Sector Partnership and attending the JEDI Coalition event.
b. FOLLOW-UP RE: FORT COLLINS MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY SPECIAL
EXHIBITIONS: “SKIN: LIVING ARMOR, EVOLVING IDENTITY” AND “BIAS” AND
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Kistler shared that the Museum put out a call for community members to be in a
facilitator pool list for groups that want to come through the exhibits. A facilitated
conversation would take place after the tour. She stated that it is not within the
Commission’s work plan, but folks could participate on their own if they would like to.
c. UPDATE RE: 2024 HUMAN RIGHTS DAY PROCLAMATION – DECEMBER 3RD
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Chair Jaeger stated that the Human Rights Day proclamation will be read at the City
Council meeting on December 3rd. She invited Commission members to receive the
proclamation. Commission Member Ziegler expressed interest and will confirm her
attendance to Jaeger and Kistler asap.
d. DISCUSSION RE: HRC 2025 WORK PLAN – DUE NOVEMBER 30TH
Commission members reviewed the current work plan and proposed changes for the
2025 Work Plan. They expressed concerns regarding certain language and activities
outlined, emphasizing that while they have ambitious goals, they must ensure they
can realistically fulfill them. There was emphasis on the importance of collaborating
with other organizations.
Commission members explored the potential of restructuring some of their goals to
better align with their mission and to enhance community engagement. There was
also discussion about expanding their outreach to younger demographics.
Additionally, Commission members reviewed the need to reduce redundancy in their
objectives and clarified some terminology in the document.
There was consensus to streamline their focus on initiatives that genuinely reflect
their mission.
Committee Chairs Kistler, Bryan, and Yoshioka will send Jaeger their recommended
language changes to Jaeger so that a final draft of the 2025 HRC Work Plan can be
reviewed and approved at the Commission’s November 14th meeting.
8. OLD BUSINESS
a. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
• EDUCATION OUTREACH – REPORT RE: OCTOBER 9TH “CROSS
CULTURAL COMMUNICATION” AND AUGUST 4TH “HUMAN LIBRARY”
PROGRAMS
Commission member Yoshioka stated that the Cross Cultural
Communication event was very successful with approximately 115
attendees.
Commission members discussed the need to capture the event to be able to
replicate it in the future.
In regard to the Human Library final evaluation, Yoshioka shared feedback
was received about a group of identities that were missed for the event as
well as some issues regarding noise levels.
Yoshioka stated in the future a template will be drafted to guide the planning
process for the Human Library event.
The next Human Library event will take place in February 2026.
• MEDIA/COMMUNITY RECOGNITION COMMITTEE – FOLLOW-UP:
PLANNING FOR 2024 HUMAN RELATIONS AWARDS – WORK PLAN
REVIEW, CALL FOR NOMINATIONS UPDATE, PREPARATION FOR
NOVEMBER 14TH HRC MEETING
The nomination process for the awards was discussed, with plans to review
and select 2024 recipients at the November 14 meeting. All Commission
members were encouraged to attend in-person in November to better
facilitate the selection of the recipients.
Emphasis was placed on recognizing contributions that align with the
Commission’s goals.
• GOVERNMENT RELATIONS – GENERAL UPDATE, CITY BUDGET
PROCESS
• EXECUTIVE – UPDATE RE: MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS
PLANNING FOR 2024 HRC EVENTS
9. ANNOUNCEMENTS
10. ADJOURNMENT – The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 pm.
Minutes approved by the Chair and a vote of the Board/Commission on 11/14/24
10/10/24 – MINUTES Page 1