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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION - MINUTES - 08/14/20258/14/25 – MINUTES Human Relations Commission REGULAR MEETING Thursday, August 14, 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, Kori Wilford, Diana Prieto, Everton Brossus, Teresa Cribelli (arrived late), Masood Ahmad (arrived late) b. Commission Members Absent – none c. Staff Members Present – d. Guest(s) – Fatima Prieto, Larimer County Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Advisory Board 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Jaeger reviewed the agenda items. 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JULY 10, 2025 Commission member Wilford motioned to approve July 10, 2025, minutes. Commission member Prieto seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0. 6. BUDGET REVIEW Chair Jaeger stated the budget contained $5,600 as of August 5th, though the July event amount has yet to be deducted. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion with Mayor Pro Tem Emily Francis, HRC Council Liaison (**Secretary’s Note: This item occurred first in the agenda.) Commission member Prieto asked Mayor Pro Tem Francis about the impacts 8/14/25 – MINUTES to the City of recent federal regulatory and other actions. Mayor Pro Tem Francis stated the biggest risk to the City as an organization is loss of funding, with the largest part being transit. She noted that the City is still moving forward with how it has always handled DEI initiatives. In terms of the community overall, there is a great deal of fear, instability, and uncertainty. Mayor Pro Tem Francis commented on the importance of intentionally rebuilding community, particularly after the pandemic. Chair Jaeger asked how the State’s budget cuts will impact the City. Mayor Pro Tem Francis replied that it is uncertain and noted the City also has an $11 million shortfall. Chair Jaeger asked how decisions about cuts will be made. Mayor Pro Tem Francis replied that has yet to come before Council but noted all budget decisions are made in a thoughtful manner. Commission member Prieto asked about the reasons for the City’s budget shortfall. Mayor Pro Tem Francis replied it is due to declining sales tax revenue. Additionally, Fort Collins is shifting to an older demographic and older adults spend less. Commission member Brossus asked about how Council prioritizes engagement of different types of populations. Mayor Pro Tem Francis outlined the recommendation of the Community Impact Committee to create the Equity Office and stated Council has leaned into that Office as the experts and its staff have helped engage communities that were previously not contacted. Commission member Brossus asked what types of populations are being recommended for engagement by the Equity Office. Messenger replied there will be an update to the Equity Indicators Dashboard in the next few weeks, and that will help identify where there are populations that are not being reached and where improvements need to be made. She noted the HRC is viewed as an extension of the Equity Office and will help to further the reach of staff. She stated the events sponsored by the HRC are hitting target audiences. However, Messenger noted staff are watching federal guidance and case law extremely carefully in order to insulate the City and community. She also noted DEI is not used in hiring or firing decisions and is only used for educational purposes. Messenger stated staff will continue to meet the priorities of Council to reach vulnerable populations and remove barriers. She stated educating the community with the equity indicators will bring more conversation to the topic. Chair Jaeger asked how the community will be made aware of the dashboard updates. Messenger replied it will be done through storytelling and perhaps some information sessions. She noted there has been work done to get all the City’s dashboards on the same platform to provide consistency. She also commented on the Equity Plan, which is due for a refresh in 2026, and three equity goals. Mayor Pro Tem Francis noted the City is focusing on removing barriers for 8/14/25 – MINUTES unengaged populations. A member asked if the City is partnering with other cities or the County to help bridge scarce resources when considering community building. Mayor Pro Tem Francis replied the City is getting more intentional about the resources piece and commented on the Cost of Change program with the City, County, Poudre School District, UC Health, CSU, and others regarding federal and state cuts. She noted the City has historically not done much intentional community building. Messenger commented on a temporary project out of the City Manager’s Office around public engagement as a whole. She stated the hope is to learn more about how community connections can be improved. Commission member Cribelli asked about the Governor’s executive order withholding $280 million until communities in Colorado show they are working on affordable housing. Mayor Pro Tem Francis replied the issue relates to not prioritizing grant funding for cities that are not in compliance with state law, including things like allowing accessory dwelling units, removing parking minimums, and completing a housing needs assessment and a housing opportunity index. She noted some municipalities are refusing to come into compliance; however, Fort Collins is in compliance. A member asked about ICE activity within the Fort Collins area. Messenger replied Police Chief Swoboda has indicated increased visibility of ICE in the community. She noted members of the immigrant community are not coming out as a result. Commission member Prieto asked how community and community building are defined. Mayor Pro Tem Francis replied everyone has different communities within the overall community and stated community building has historically not been a focus of the City, though what cities focus on changes over time. She stated community building is an area the City can facilitate and commented on Fort Collins not having activities that do not focus on traditional families or drinking. She stated she would like to see a Council priority around non-drinking community events and creating opportunities for people to connect and engage. A member asked if the Equity Office is having conversations about how to connect community members who are intentionally not attending community events. Messenger replied there is a Community Connectors group, which is an all-Spanish language group, meets monthly now online. She stated providing alternatives to typical meetings is a place that can help further build that community; however, it will be a challenge until there is more safety and security for those individuals. Mayor Pro Tem Francis commended the Commission on its events and focus on the community. Chair Jaeger outlined the HRC’s upcoming events and commented on the joint meeting with other Boards and Commissions. 8/14/25 – MINUTES b. Follow-up: July 16th NoCo Community Connections and Belonging picnic and collaboration with the JEDI Coalition Vice Chair Kistler noted 135 people attended the event and she thanked everyone for their help, including Fatima Prieto who gathered and summarized the table conversation comments. Fatima Prieto, Larimer County Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Advisory Board, provided a summary of the conversations, including defining belonging, highlighting the importance of acceptance and safety, authenticity, connection and shared purpose, participation and recognition, inclusive spaces, open communication, empathy and absence of judgement, accessible and welcoming spaces, and active removal of barriers. She stated indicators of not belonging included feeling lonely, isolated, anxious, and frustrated. Additionally, she commented on the conversations around ways to strengthen belonging, including language justice, universal design, childcare, transportation, affordable housing, community engagement with more free and cultural events, volunteer opportunities, and visible support. Prieto went on to discuss what people mentioned they are doing for self-care, including wellness and mindfulness, exercise, creative hobbies, journaling, therapy, quality time with friends and family, volunteering, and limiting technology use. Vice Chair Kistler noted the Commission had made a commitment to share the information with the County and JEDI Coalition as well as with the City and County leadership and Mayor Pro Tem Francis. She asked members if they were still comfortable with sharing the summarized comments. Chair Jaeger replied in the affirmative given that was the intention. She asked what the goals are in terms of sharing the information. Vice Chair Kistler replied it was meant to be shared for event planning purposes, particularly the JEDI Coalition’s event with the CSU Symposium around belonging. Commission member Wilford?? suggested adding data information in terms of who attended and specific numbers of who replied with what responses. Vice Chair Kistler noted the previous report was sent out in hard copy and electronically. Commission member Brossus suggested it could be appropriate or impactful to use the data to make recommendations related to the importance of belonging to members of the community. Commission member Prieto??? commented on the importance of highlighting the value of the information and how it can assist in certain areas. Messenger commented on the importance of properly wording things given current DOJ recommendations. Vice Chair Kistler stated a draft version of the report will be brought before the 8/14/25 – MINUTES Commission at September’s meeting. Chair Jaeger summarized the discussion to this point and thanked Commission member Wilford, Vice Chair Kistler, Fatima Prieto, and other partners. Vice Chair Kistler noted one of the event’s participants asked if the City would consider looking into becoming part of WelcomingAmerica.org, which is a dues-paying organization communities can opt into. She stated their work relates to creating belonging and a sense of well-being in communities. Messenger replied it is unlikely the City would join on given it requires dues. c. Update: September Boards and Commissions Joint Meeting Chair Jaeger stated the next joint meeting between the HRC, Disability Advisory Board, Women and Gender Equity Advisory Board, and Senior Advisory Board will be at the end of September. She noted it was recommended that Davina Lau from the City Clerk’s Office be invited to that meeting as training Board and Commission members will be discussed. d. Update: 2026 Human Library Program Chair Jaeger stated she and Vice Chair Kistler will be meeting with partners at the Museum on August 20th, though she did not yet know if the County grant was received for the Program. Additionally, the Museum wants to discuss a program it is considering sponsoring next year related to observing the United States 250th anniversary and Colorado’s 150th anniversary. A member noted the History Colorado Museum is also planning events and recognition. 8. OLD BUSINESS a. Committee Reports • Community Recognition: Update re: December 11, 2025, Human Relations Awards Commission member Bryan noted nomination forms are not due until October 31st and requested members provide nomination forms to their personal and professional networks. She stated program planning will begin in September and noted the large format email will go out from the Commission at the end of August. • Educational Outreach: Update re: October 23rd Neurodiversity Educational Program Commission member Brossus noted the communications timeline for the neurodiversity event has been updated. He stated he and 8/14/25 – MINUTES Commission member Cribelli met to confirm the panelists for the event and noted a caregiver is still being sought. Messenger noted the Equity Office has just put together a packet about how to make presentations accessible and stated it will be updated based on revised information. Commission member Brossus asked if there have been any updates from City Give or the City Attorney’s Office about donations for events. Messenger replied that the HRC can accept food donations and other contributions, but she recommended having donations go to the Equity Office given the limits an individual Commission member can receive. Chair Jaeger asked Commission member Brossus when he will work with CPIO to get the RSVP registration put together. Commission member Brossus replied the first communication will go out in late September, though fliers will be completed before that. • Government Relations: Update Commission member Prieto commented on the State’s $1.2 billion budget shortfall and noted there will be a special session of Congress beginning August 21st that will focus on how to address the shortfall. She stated the reason for the shortfall is that Colorado attaches its taxation to federal taxation, and the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill” provides tax cuts for corporations and individuals which is then rippling down to the State. She stated it is unclear what the cuts will mean for community services and programs. Members discussed the two conflicting November ballot measures related to the Hughes Stadium property. • Executive: Update Chair Jaeger noted the DAB awards nomination period ends tomorrow. 9. ANNOUNCEMENTS Fatima Prieto stated the Larimer County Commissioners have decided to take a step back from DEI language; therefore, the name of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Board will be changing to Human Rights Advisory Board or Human Relations Advisory Board. She noted the work would continue, just under a different name. Messenger noted the County receives much more federal funding than the City and clarified Fort Collins is not a sanctuary city. Fatima Prieto noted that the federal funds would dramatically impact Medicaid, thus the efforts to change the wording. 8/14/25 – MINUTES Messenger noted Claudia Menendez will be attending the September meeting as the liaison. She urged members to look at the Equity Indicators Dashboard prior to it being updated. Messenger also noted the Mayor would like to attend a Commission meeting prior to December. Members discussed inviting her to the October meeting. 10. NEXT STEPS a. Meeting Action Items b. Next Meeting – September 11, 2025 – Agenda Ideas? Members discussed having the Equity Indicators discussion at the September meeting. Fatima Prieto thanked the members of the Commission for their support. Commission members praised Commission member Prieto for her Government Relations reports. 11. ADJOURNMENT a. 7:18 PM Minutes approved by the Chair and a vote of the Commission on XX/XX/XX Signature: