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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION - MINUTES - 04/10/20254/10/25 – MINUTES Human Relations Commission REGULAR MEETING Thursday, April 10, 2025 – 5:30 PM City Hall: CIC Conference Room, 300 Laporte Ave and Microsoft Teams 1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:30 PM 2. ROLL CALL a. Commission Members Present – Beth Jaeger (Chair), Barb Kistler (Vice Chair), Rachel Bryan, Masood Ahmad, Teresa Cribelli, Kori Wilford, Diana Prieto, Everton Brossus b. Commission Members Absent – None c. Staff Members Present – Claudia Menendez, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer d. Guest(s) – None 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Jaeger reviewed the agenda items. 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – MARCH 13, 2025 Vice Chair Kistler motioned to approve the March 13, 2025 minutes. Commission member Ahmad seconded the motion. Motion passed 5-0. 6. BUDGET REVIEW Chair Jaeger noted the City had to reallocate expenses that had mistakenly been allocated to the HRC and stated the annual budget is $6,250, and only $171 of that has been spent thus far. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Welcome New Members – Everton Brossus, Diana Prieto, Kori Wilford Members and staff introduced themselves to one another and discussed their professional roles. 4/10/25 – MINUTES Chair Jaeger welcomed the new members. b. Election of HRC Officers – Chair, Vice Chair, Committee Chairs Chair Jaeger noted officers are elected each April for Board Chair and Vice Chair and Committee Chairs for the Community Recognition, Education Outreach, and Government Relations Committees. Chair Jaeger stated she is interested in continuing to serve as Chair. Vice Chair Kistler stated she is interested in continuing to serve as Vice Chair. Commission member Ahmad commended the work of Chair Jaeger and Vice Chair Kistler. Commission member Bryan stated she is interested in continuing to Chair the Community Recognition Committee. Commission member Brossus stated he is interested in serving as Chair of the Education Outreach Committee. Commission member Prieto stated she is interested in serving as Chair of the Government Relations Committee. Chair Jaeger noted she and Vice Chair Kistler make up the Executive Committee. She asked if any member would be interested in serving as the lead for the JEDI Coalition collaborative event and networking. Commission member Wilford volunteered. Commission member Wilford motioned to approve the aforementioned positions. Commission member Prieto seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0. c. Updates Regarding: 1) 2025 Collaboration with the JEDI Coalition, and 2) 2026 Human Library Program Vice Chair Kistler noted the HRC co-hosted two networking events with the County’s DEI Board last year for DEIJ champions and practitioners. She stated there were about 180 people in attendance at the two events, both of which were hosted at the Northside Atzlan Center. Additionally, Vice Chair Kistler noted the JEDI Coalition co-sponsored another networking event last year with CSU’s Symposium for Inclusive Excellence which was hosted at the Museum of Discovery. She stated that event was focused on bringing elected officials together with community members and there were about 80 people in attendance. Vice Chair Kistler noted those events resulted in the desire for all those groups to collaborate on a networking event and some meetings have occurred with the JEDI Coalition and County DEI Board regarding the focus of the event, which is still planned to be co-hosted with the CSU Symposium in November. 4/10/25 – MINUTES She stated the group will be meeting every other week on Zoom and invited Wilford to attend. Chair Jaeger discussed research completed by the Thompson School District DEI leader, Maria Gabriel, related to DEIJ work throughout Larimer County. The summary of the data includes: a clear desire for inclusive and safe environments and a sense of belonging, developing well-being, developing and supporting diverse leadership, increasing connectedness, increasing access to services and opportunities, and reducing disparities and fostering equity. Chair Jaeger stated Ms. Gabriel is moving toward a concept of community and organizational healing and will be joining the small planning group mentioned by Vice Chair Kistler to further those ideas. Chair Jaeger suggested the concept of healing could be a thread for the year’s networking events. Members also discussed the importance of the concept of connection and changing relationships from being transactional to transformative. Additionally, members discussed how organizations with DEI initiatives need to work to pivot in the current political landscape in terms of resources and considerations about which organizations now need to be mindful. Commission member Prieto motioned that the HRC collaborate and encourage an additional session prior to November that would bring people together to connect and possibly have a speaker that would speak to the non-immigration portion of the current environment. Commission member Brossus seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0. Chair Jaeger noted the Museum of Discovery will be submitting for a County Behavioral Health Services grant to support the Human Library program in February of 2026. She also noted she and Vice Chair Kistler worked with Solara Clark from the City who is close to finalizing a procedural manual about how to put on a Human Library program and to memorialize the work the group has done over the past couple of years. 8. OLD BUSINESS a. Committee Reports • Community Recognition: December 11, 2025 Human Relations Awards Commission member Bryan noted the Human Relations Awards ceremony is scheduled for December 11th at City Hall. She noted the ceremony is an opportunity to honor individuals, organizations, and youth for the work they are doing in the human relations space. She outlined the proposed award categories, including the new ‘rising star’ category for individuals or organizations that have been around for three years or less. Commission member Bryan discussed the selection criteria rubric 4/10/25 – MINUTES generated by Vice Chair Kistler and Commission member Cribelli and requested input regarding the categories and whether individuals should be nominated for work they are doing as part of their employment. Members discussed the marketing of the call for award nominations which is done through the City’s social media, flyers, word of mouth, and a blast email to those who have participated in the programs in the past. Members also discussed ways to gather more youth nominations and discussed having one or two recipients per award category. Vice Chair Kistler provided additional detail regarding the selection criteria rubric and members discussed the eligibility of City employees. Members discussed having distinct awards for professional work and volunteer work and advertising the call for nominations as such. Commission member Bryan motioned to keep City employees eligible and to add the professional and volunteer distinction. Vice Chair Kistler seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0. Members further discussed the selection criteria rubric and ways to make it simpler and less redundant. Members also discussed underrepresented versus underserved. Ultimately, Members changed some language and agreed on four criteria. Commission member Bryan motioned to adjust the rubric to remove criterion one, change ‘underrepresented’ to ‘underserved’ in criterion two, maintain criterion three, change criterion four to ‘demonstrating impact’ and add ‘through advocacy for diversity and accessibility, and maintain the new building effective partnerships criterion. Chair Jaeger seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0. Vice Chair Kistler stated the idea behind the rubric was to have each HRC member complete one for each nominee, identify the top five nominees based on points, and then have a conversation regarding who should be the top nominees with rounds of voting thereafter. She noted voting ties could occur given there are now eight members on the Commission. Members discussed the importance of the quality of the nominations in terms of substance. Commission member Bryan motioned to use the selection criteria rubric created by Vice Chair Kistler and Commission member Cribelli. Commission Chair Jaeger seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0. 4/10/25 – MINUTES • Education Outreach: Recommendations Regarding Neurodiversity Educational Program Chair Jaeger noted the Commission is targeting the fall to host a neurodiversity program. Commission member Cribelli noted she has provided a few neurodiversity presentations and the thought behind the event was to have a presentation followed by a panel discussion with neurodivergent community members. Vice Chair Kistler noted the Senior Center is reserved for two fall dates: October 23rd and October 16th. Vice Chair Kistler motioned to request approval to collaborate with the Disability Advisory Board, if they are so interested, for this program. Commission member Cribelli seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0. • Government Relations: Update Vice Chair Kistler noted City Council has recently discussed tracking about $100 million of federal dollars that may be at risk due to changes at the federal level. Approximately 25% of those funds are in the transit and transportation sector. Additionally, Vice Chair Kistler noted there are 1,650-1,800 federal employees in the city with up to 2,600 federal employees in the region that could be impacted, and those numbers do not include CSU. Vice Chair Kistler noted there is also almost a million square feet of federally leased space in the county. Additionally, she noted about $500 million of CSU’s budget is potentially at risk. Vice Chair Kistler noted the City has made a statement about remaining committed to its mission and values. Vice Chair Kistler commented on the recent town hall event with Andy Boesenecker, Cathy Kipp, and Yara Zokaie. She noted Yara Zokaie has sponsored a bill called the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act which would consolidate damage provisions for individuals with disabilities who experience unfair housing practice, discrimination in places of public accommodation, or a violation of their civil rights under the current Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act for all protected classes. Vice Chair Kistler stated the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery initiated partner meetings last year to bring groups together to collaborate on various things, and at the last partner meeting, they introduced the next program called Nature All Around Us. She stated the Museum is requesting the partners create programming around the exhibit and suggested the Commission may want to consider offering programming around equity issues in the environment. Menendez noted the Natural Areas Department has an engagement specialist who could potentially provide a presentation to the 4/10/25 – MINUTES Commission regarding what she has done over the past year to increase access to Natural Areas. • Executive: Update and Discussion Regarding HRC Collaboration with other Boards and Commissions Chair Jaeger noted she, Vice Chair Kistler and Claudia Menendez had a meeting with Mayor Pro Tem Emily Francis, who is the HRC’s Council liaison. She stated Mayor Pro Tem Francis was completely supportive of the work of the Commission and its plans for the coming year. Additionally, the concept of collaboration came up during the meeting and it was noted that some of the other Boards and Commissions have similar missions to the HRC, including the Disability Advisory Board, the Senior Advisory Board, the Women and Gender Equity Board, and the Youth Advisory Board. She noted the City has made collaboration between Boards and Commissions easier and suggested the HRC may want to discuss collaborating with other Boards and Commissions on ways to contribute to the community. Chair Jaeger motioned that she and Vice Chair Kistler will connect with the applicable Boards and Commissions to explore opportunities to work together. Vice Chair Kistler seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0. 9. ANNOUNCEMENTS Menendez noted the Annual Spring Contest Powwow and Indian Market is this weekend at the Northside Atzlan Center. Commission member Cribelli noted she has been doing some neurodiversity workshops for Poudre Libraries and the Disability Advisory Board is sponsoring an event on April 30th on Autistic Joy. Menendez stated staff had a session today on autism acceptance and awareness. Commission member Cribelli commented on a book entitled How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks. Vice Chair Kistler noted there is an upcoming Boards and Commissions Super Issue meeting on transportation issues. 10. NEXT STEPS a. Meeting Action Items b. Next Meeting – May 8, 2025 – Joe Wimmer, City of Fort Collins Utilities Finance Director re: ¼ Cent Capital Sales Tax Renewal (CCIP) 4/10/25 – MINUTES 11. ADJOURNMENT a. 7:28 PM Minutes approved by the Chair and a vote of the Board/Commission on 05/08/25 Signature: