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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION - MINUTES - 09/11/20259/11/25 – MINUTES Human Relations Commission REGULAR MEETING Thursday, September 11, 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, Masood Ahmad b. Commission Members Absent – Teresa Cribelli c. Staff Members Present – Claudia Menendez, Equity Officer, Tyler Wenande, Equity and Housing Data Analyst d. Guest(s) – None 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Jaeger reviewed the agenda items. 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – AUGUST 14, 2025 Commission member Prieto motioned to approve the August 14, 2025 minutes. Vice Chair Kistler seconded the motion. Motion passed 7-0. 6. BUDGET REVIEW Chair Jaeger stated the expenses for the July mixer event were on budget and the current budget contains approximately $3,600 for the remainder of the year, the majority of which is earmarked for the upcoming events. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion with Tyler Wenande, Equity and Housing Data Analyst re: Updated Equity Indicators Report Tyler Wenande, Equity and Housing Data Analyst, stated the original Equity 9/11/25 – MINUTES Indicators Report was published in March of 2021 using 2019 data. She stated the dashboard is designed to illuminate current disparities which can be collectively addressed, though it does not analyze the causes of the disparities, prescribe a formula for resolving them, or describe relevant City actions or policies that could impact them. Wenande outlined the work that has been done to finalize the dashboard and stated it will be posted publicly to the City’s website with some marketing and socialization following. She noted additional updates are planned for the future with a plan to ultimately add all domains from the original Equity Indicators Report. Wenande outlined some of the technical components of the dashboard, including interactive buttons, tool tips, a ‘how to’ page, sources, compliance with ADA guidelines, and a forthcoming Spanish version and mobile view. She stated the primary goals of the dashboard update were to reduce the amount of text, increase the number and variety of graphs, improve the aesthetics and City branding, and to tell an honest, transparent story. Wenande stated the dashboard can be used by the community to assess equity or inequity in the community which can inform organizing, voting, or non-government resource distribution. The dashboard can aid the City organization in its decision-making process to highlight areas where policies could be changed or programs could be updated, inform community engagement efforts, and facilitate closer collaboration between the Equity Office and other City departments. Wenande noted the dashboard does not give a complete picture of all the equity work that is going on, nor does it list or describe any relevant City programs or policies that could potentially affect the indicators. She presented the dashboard to the Board and discussed the statistics in various domains, including Safe Community, which primarily includes data related to Police Services. Commission member Brossus inquired about the Police Department's internal awareness of this data. Menendez replied Wenande presented to the Executive Leadership Team about a year ago, and following that meeting, a meeting occurred with Police Services. She noted the data does not identify root causes. She stated that, in general, the City is not yet mature in data analysis practices to apply the data to true decision making and program development for training. Commission member Bryan asked if programmatic outcomes are being measured in Police Services. Mendendez replied customer service training was done recently with Police Services, though this data was not necessarily part of that. The training involved noting that there are ethnic, racial, and cultural nuances with every interaction, and there are no clear metrics for how to measure those interpersonal skills. Chair Jaeger noted Police Services representatives have spoken to the Commission in the past and suggested sending another invitation in 2026. Commission member Brossus asked about the granularity of the data in terms of 9/11/25 – MINUTES what arrests were for. Wenande replied the data is all publicly available on the Police Services transparency website and it does not break out anything more than just the number of an instance and the racial category. Commission member Brossus asked if there is documentation of the training participants and whether that information shows any changes in the data. Mendendez replied all of the patrol officers participated and it was not set up to measure impacts. Wenande went on to discuss the Economic Health domain related to poverty, unemployment, SNAP benefits, incomes, and racial groups. She then discussed the domain related to housing costs, home ownership rates, housing costs as a percentage of income by housing situation, and housing stock and vacancy rates. Chair Jaeger asked about the most surprising comment received from the Executive Leadership Team regarding the data. Wenande replied there was some surprise from Police Services personnel that led to some good conversation about race and ethnicity not being listed on identification cards. Vice Chair Kistler asked how the overall report incorporates CSU Police data. Wenande replied it would only incorporate CSU Police data if it were rolled into the Fort Collins Police Services data, which she does not believe is the case. Chair Jaeger asked when the dashboard will be live. Wenande replied it is complete and staff is working through licensing and publishing. Commission members commended Wenande on her work. b. Review: July 16th NoCo Community Connections and Belonging Mixer Draft Summary Report Vice Chair Kistler stated she and Commission member Wilford created a draft summary report regarding the NoCo Community Connections and Belonging Mixer event and requested input from other Commission members. Chair Jaeger and Commission member Ahmad commended the report. It was stated the report will provide a great deal of insight to anyone working with it at the City or County. Vice Chair Kistler stated she would like to include the word cloud photos. Commission member Bryan suggested also mentioning the number of attendees from the previous event to show the increasing interest in and need for these events. Vice Chair Kistler made a motion, seconded by Commission member Ahmad, to approve the NoCo Community Connections and Belonging Mixer Draft Summary Report. The motion carried 7-0. c. Update: September 29th Boards and Commissions Joint Meeting Chair Jaeger stated participation has been confirmed for the joint meeting 9/11/25 – MINUTES from the Disability Advisory Board, Senior Advisory Board, and Women and Gender Equity Advisory Board. Additionally, Davina Lau from the City Clerk’s Office will also be attending the meeting, which will be held at the Senior Center. She stated the goal of the meeting is to identify Board and Commission training needs and to continue to explore collaboration between Boards on both short-term and longer-term projects. d. Update: 2026 Human Library Program and potential “Handwriting the Constitution” Program Vice Chair Kistler stated the Human Library Program planning committee met recently, and though the Museum of Discovery did not receive the grant, the decision was made to move forward with hosting the program in late February or early March. She stated the next planning meeting is Monday and the group will be discussing ways to generate the $10,000 program cost if the event is to remain at the Museum. She also noted an application has been submitted to the International Human Library Program by the Poudre River Public Library District, which is the submitting agency. Vice Chair Kistler noted the effort is currently a partnership between the Museum of Discovery, the HRC, Poudre River Library District, the Yarrow Collective, and the City’s Equity Office. She noted there will be much more information after Monday’s meeting. Vice Chair Kistler noted the application fee is still up in the air, but stated the application and associated licensing are required to run the program. Commission member Brossus noted about half of the $10,000 cost is for the Museum as the host location and the other half is for programmatic pieces. He also noted the HRC can have sponsorships through City Give, though work is still being done to determine the legalities around recognizing the sponsors. Chair Jaeger noted the Museum seems confident it will find a source of the funds. She also noted members of the Commission cannot seek funding, though the Equity Office can make requests for funds. Commission member Brossus discussed a meeting regarding the “Handwriting the Constitution” Program, which the Museum is interested in considering for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States and 150th anniversary of Colorado in 2026. He stated the Museum has asked the Commission if it would like to partner on the program and commented on the discussion around branding and potential other programs for the celebration, possibly beginning with the Human Library in March. Commission member Brossus noted the “Handwriting the Constitution” Program is ultimately meant to provide a space for community engagement and neighbor visibility. He stated the next meeting will provide more information on the role of the Commission. Vice Chair Kistler noted the Commission has not committed to any aspect of 9/11/25 – MINUTES the program at this point. 8. OLD BUSINESS a. Committee Reports • Community Recognition: Update re: December 11, 2025 Human Relations Awards Commission member Bryan provided a draft schedule for the day and commented on items for which she will need volunteers. She stated she will be bringing drafts of the letters that will be sent to nominees who are not selected to receive an award and to the award winners at the next meeting. Additionally, she noted letters will be sent to people who made nominations. She stated emails were sent to Poudre School District DEI staff, the Youth Advisory Board liaison, the Outward Bound program, and CSU youth programs seeking youth nominations. Commission member Bryan stated 15 nominations have currently been received and noted the bulk of the nominations come near the end of the nomination period. Chair Jaeger encouraged members to send invitations to their own networks. She stated she would like to order the awards and noted the cost has increased over the past few years. Chair Jaeger made a motion, seconded by Vice Chair Kistler, to approve funding for seven awards. The motion carried 7-0. Chair Jaeger recommended sending the October 17th reminder about the awards to October 10th so as not to coincide with the reminder about the Neurodiversity event. Members discussed sending some type of joint announcement in addition to some individual announcements. Chair Jaeger suggested keeping the September announcement dates as is and make the October 17th announcement more of a newsletter format announcing both events. • Education Outreach: Update re: October 23rd Neurodiversity Educational Program Commission member Brossus stated he sent the flyer and social media roll out plan information to the CPIO on the 5th. He also noted he and Commission member Cribelli have discussed the panelists and stated they are still seeking a caregiver panelist. Chair Jaeger stated she has contacts who are interested in volunteering at the program. 9/11/25 – MINUTES Commission member Brossus stated he received clarity on the partnership being sought by The Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT) at CSU in terms of the Human Library and Neurodiversity event noting they want to provide a marketing pipeline for students and faculty to be able to participate and volunteer for community service hours. He noted TILT is setting up a virtual bulletin board that will advertise community events. He also provided members with a summary of various volunteer positions that could be helpful for HRC events such as the Neurodiversity Program. It was asked if there are forms or paperwork that would be required for the HRC to complete for students who volunteer. Vice Chair Kistler specifically cited liability and asked if volunteers would be covered by the City. Menendez suggested volunteers could sign up through the Engage platform as other City volunteers do. Commission member Brossus clarified the partnership with TILT would be the marketing piece. He stated he would reach out to Sue Schaffer to discuss the Engage portion. He clarified the shadowing and internship piece would be different from the volunteering piece, which is more focused on service hours. Commission member Brossus made a motion, seconded by Commission member Prieto, to continue to explore the volunteer opportunities between CSU and the HRC, assuming it is possible with Engage and appropriate documentation. The motion carried 7-0. Chair Jaeger thanked Commission member Brossus for his initiative in building the relationship with TILT and CSU. Commission member Brossus stated there has been interest through TILT to have an opportunity for an internship or shadowing with the HRC. He stated this would be a longer-term opportunity and noted he has been invited to speak to a group of scholarship recipients at CSU regarding the Commission. Commission members expressed concern that the Commission could not offer enough opportunities for a longer-term intern. Commission member Brossus noted TILT is aiming to provide intentional and fruitful opportunities for students and stated he would rather not continue if members feel a student could not be supported effectively. • Government Relations: Update Commission member Prieto commented on the State General Assembly special session that was called to address the $1.2 billion budget shortfall. She noted K-12 education and public safety were untouched as part of the reductions and stated about $325 million of reserves will be used. Additionally, other smaller action items include changes to income tax breaks, cuts to the department that oversees 9/11/25 – MINUTES Medicaid, and cuts to higher education. She also noted Colorado passed a law that will allow Medicaid to fund Planned Parenthood services. Additionally, a bill passed that will put a question before voters as to whether they want to fund supplemental SNAP benefits. Commission member Prieto outlined the list of items that would be funded by the CCIP tax renewal that will be on the November ballot. • Executive: Update Chair Jaeger asked members to review the current 2025 HRC Work Plan in advance of the October meeting and in preparation for drafting the 2026 Work Plan. She also noted Mayor Arndt will be attending the beginning of the November meeting. To support the HR Awards selection process, Chair Jaeger asked the group to attend the November meeting in person and be prepared to extend the meeting time, if needed. Menendez encouraged members to look at the City Clerk’s website for information on the November election. 9. ANNOUNCEMENTS 10. NEXT STEPS a. Meeting Action Items b. Next Meeting – October 9, 2025 11. ADJOURNMENT a. 7:32 PM Minutes approved by the Chair and a vote of the Commission on 10/09/25 Signature: