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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWomens Commission - Minutes - 10/18/1993MINUTES )N ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN OCTOBER 18, 1993 Present: Donna Aurand, Sue Cottingham, Audrey Faulkner, Lu Fisk, Doreen Kemp, Sally Miles, Lynne Warner Absent: Kathy Everett, Kathleen Faller, Dana Hiatt, Stevie Honaker, Stacey Johnson, Brownie McGraw, Chris Wood, Mary Zamora Council Liaison: Gina Janett Staff: Colleen A'Hearn MINUTES Minutes from meetings of August 16, 1993 and September 20, 1993 were approved as written. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE No additional information presented. Mention was made of Governor Romer's recent televised meeting on youth violence. The meeting focused on what local communities are doing to deal with youth violence. One segment highlighted efforts of the Buckingham Park neighborhood in Fort Collins. Observation was made that root causes of youth violence weren't addressed, i.e. economic issues, unemployment, etc. o Resignations from the Commission Kathleen Faller and Donna Aurand announced their decision to resign from the Commission. Both stressed that they resigned for personal reasons and not as a result of dissatisfaction with the work of the Commission. Commission members expressed their thanks to Kathleen and Donna for their hard work and service over the years. o Breast Cancer Prevention Month A reminder was given that the month of October has been designated nationally as a time to raise awareness regarding breast cancer prevention. OLD BUSINESS o Womens/Pace Discussion was tabled until the November meeting. Topic will be Commission on the Status of Women Meeting Minutes October 18, 1993 Page 2 addressed along with other suggested work plan items. Commission members felt it was important for Chris to be present for discussion of this issue, since she has been the one most involved with coordination efforts regarding Womens/Pace articles. It was also noted that the recent change in ownership at The Triangle Review might also have an impact on Womens/Pace. o Task Force on Sexual Harassment Commission members discussed the ruling in the recent sexual harassment case involving PRPA. PRPA is publicly owned by the cities of Fort Collins, Longmont, Loveland, and Estes Park; Mayor Azari and Councilmember Winokur are on the board of PRPA. Given the close relationship between PRPA and the City, the Commission will explore what role, if any, the Commission might play in assisting Mayor and Council in monitoring activities and/or seeing that sexual harassment issues are appropriately addressed at PRPA. One role might be providing guidelines and sample policies for dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace. The Task Force will be providing this type of follow-up to all employers who participated in last year's survey re: sexual harassment policies and practices. Since PRPA participated in that survey, they will automatically be a recipient of those guidelines. o Task Force on Racism Minutes from October 4 meeting were included in this month's packet. Representatives from the Task Force on Racism and Multi - Cultural Advisory Committee will be meeting with Gina and with City Attorney Steve Roy on Friday, October 22. Purpose of the meeting will be to discuss what steps are necessary to authorize/sanction work of the Multi -Cultural Advisory Committee. COUNCIL LIAISON COMMENTS/REPORT o Filling Vacancies on the Commission Gina expressed her thanks to Donna and Kathleen for their service on the Commission and stated she was sorry that they would no longer be members. She discussed options for filling vacancies on the Commission as a result of the resignations. Based on this discussion, Gina will request the City Clerk's Office to send letters to individuals who applied for vacancies on the Commission earlier this year, but were not selected. In addition, vacancies will also be advertised to the public at large. Gina welcomes input from the Commission on how the interview/selection process 0 0 Commission on the Status of Women Meeting Minutes October 18, 1993 Page 3 can be improved, as well as suggestions for qualities, expertise, etc. that the Commission would like Gina and Councilmember McCluskey to explore as candidates are interviewed. Members of the nominating committee for election of officers will work on a letter of response to Gina prior to the interview process taking place. o Town Meeting on Violence Reduction Gina announced that there will be a town meeting on violence reduction on Tuesday evening, November 30. One of City Council's goals for the next two years is a reduction of violence in the community, not only juvenile/youth violence, but domestic violence and child abuse that are even more pervasive. Council is soliciting input on tangible ways to deal with the problem of violence in Fort Collins. All Commission members are encouraged to attend. o Affordable Housing The lack of affordable housing in Fort Collins has a significant impact on families in Fort Collins, particularly women and single parents. The voice of advocates of affordable housing in Fort Collins needs to be increased, since many neighborhoods continue to oppose any type of affordable housing in their respective areas. In addition, the problem is complicated by the lack of affordable lots, as well as the fact that developers feel they can't afford to build a house for less than $90K due to costs of land, materials, and the difficulty in obtaining financing. Gina and fellow Councilmembers are interested in any ideas Commission members may have for how to deal effectively with this problem. Some suggestions from Commission members include: the City could buy land in trust, then build affordable housing on that land; the City should look at the Scandinavian model for providing affordable housing (if properly managed, affordable housing is not a problem); consider providing modular housing to help keep the costs down; work in partnership with NORLARCO or other credit unions or banks to increase financing available for first mortgages. o Cultural Diversity Task Force Report Gina requested that the Commission do some follow-up and see if the Cultural Diversity Task Force Report will be printed in Spanish, as well as any other languages. She shared the fact that the Arabic community represents the second largest minority group in the community. Commission on the Status of Women Meeting Minutes October 18, 1993 Page 4 NEW BUSINESS o Election of Officers Commission decided to elect officers for the coming year utilizing a mail -in ballot. Members who have expressed an interest in serving include: Audrey Faulkner (Chair) and Lu Fisk and Doreen Kemp (Vice -Chair). Written statements of interest will be included with the ballot. To date no one has expressed an interest in the Corresponding Secretary position. Doreen or Sally will contact Chris and see if she is interested in continuing to serve in this role. o Preparation of 1994 Work Plan Donna agreed to prepare a draft of a work plan and will pass on to Audrey for discussion at the November meeting. As a part of economic equity issues, Commission may want to include addressing the lack of affordable housing. Since Council is interested in feedback on affordable housing and domestic violence, the Commission may want to consider if/where these issues fit into the work plan for the coming year. o November Agenda Members should be prepared meeting on November 15. attendance policy to the consider whether changing appropriate. to discuss attendance at the upcoming Colleen will bring a copy of the meeting. The Commission will also the meeting date/time might be The Commission adjourned at approximately 9:10 p.m.