Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWomens Commission - Minutes - 04/20/1992• 0 MINUTES COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN April 20, 1992 Present: Donna Aurand, Bobby Cullor, Carolyn Duff, Kathy Everett, Audrey Faulkner, Lu Fisk, Dana Hiatt, Brownie McGraw, Sally Miles, Lynne Warner, Mary Alice Zamora Absent: Betty Medina, Chris Wood Kathleen Faller (on approved leave) Guest: Holly Sample Council Liaison: Ann Azari Staff: Colleen A'Hearn COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Ann Azari updated the commission on the fact that the City-wide Budget Process is beginning. She also reminded the Commission that the Annual Report needs to be turned in as soon as possible. Ann was advised that a subcommittee had drafted the Annual Report and that it would be finalized and sent to Rita Harris in the City Clerk's Office, following review and feedback from the Commission as a whole. Discussion took place on how to best orient any new members that might be brought onto the Commission. The Vice Chair is responsible for new member orientation; as staff liaison, Colleen indicated that she would be happy to assist in whatever way made sense. Feedback was provided to Ann on the type of individuals to be looking for in filling commission vacancies. Anyone chosen needs to be "ready to run" and have an interest in the issues the Commission is working on. Work Plan should be provided to those being interviewed for vacancies. REVIEW OF MINUTES Minutes of March 16, 1992 were approved as written. PRESENTATION A .presentation was made to the Commission by Jean Helburg, Recreation Superintendent, re: drafting of the City's Human Services Policy. Per Jean, the copy of the report included in the April packet was originally put together by interns in the City Manager's Office, and has recently been updated by Human Service Policy Task Force members. Currently, no policy exists to define criteria used in saying yes or no to requests for funding to Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes April 20, 1992 Page 2 address human service issues. A videotaped presentation on Human Service policy issues was shown, and hand-outs were provided (see attached.) Jean then facilitated a discussion on comments/questions/feedback from Commission Members on issues that should be addressed and incorporated in a Human Services Policy. Notes from that discussion are attached separately. AGENDA ITEMS Announcements o Inclusion on Agenda Reminder that if you or a Task Force you represent would like to be included as an item on the agenda, it's important to notify the Chair asap, in advance of the packet being sent out. Old Business o Annual Report The Chair and Vice Chair met and discussed what accomplishments had taken place relative to the goals established in the 1991 Work Plan. A draft of the annual report was handed out. Members were asked to review and provide feedback to Kathy McLeod within the next three days. Feedback need only be provided if there are suggestions for change. Absent feedback, the Annual Report will be finalized as written and forwarded to the City Clerk's Office. o Attendance Commission members were reminded of the attendance policy (see copy attached). It is important to attend commission meetings whenever possible and to notify the Chair or Vice Chair if you cannot attend. When a member misses two meetings without prior notification, the Vice Chair will touch base with the member and find out if there is a problem with making the meetings. Schedule of summer meetings was reviewed. It is understood that not everyone will be able to make it to every meeting, especially during the summer months. Meetings will be held as scheduled; please notify the Chair or Vice Chair if you cannot attend. Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes April 20, 1992 Page 3 o Petitions: Opposition to Colorado Coalition for Family Values Per Task Force Members on Abortion, another civil rights issue came to their attention that they would like to see addressed by the Commission as a whole. This issue concerns petitions being circulated by Colorado Coalition for Family Values, with an intent to initiate an amendment to the Colorado Constitution, nullifying all anti -discrimination legislation relating to sexual orientation, and preventing further legislation or administrative policies from being put into effect. Question posed: Does the Commission wish to respond to this petition effort, taking a position against the Coalition for Family Values and in support of EPOColorado? Sally and Audrey distributed a memorandum of explanation/recommendation and a draft resolution (see copy attached). Commission members reviewed the draft and provided feedback that the resolution should be amended to address concerns that the proposed constitutional amendment would prevent home rule cities from establishing ordinances outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation. It was felt that this type of issue should be a matter of local control and should not be regulated by the state constitution. Decision was reached to amend the resolution as described above, to advise Ann of the Commission's action (as an fyi and a courtesy VS. asking permission), and to forward the resolution to EPOColorado. It was felt that it was acceptable to proceed as discussed and that it would not be necessary to bring this issue back to the commission prior to forwarding the resolution to EPOColorado. Commission members also suggested simultaneously sending a memo to Council, advising Councilmembers of the Commission's action and encouraging Council to join in the opposition to the constitutional amendment. Colleen expressed a concern that passing and forwarding a resolution on the part of the Commission could be interpreted as an official statement of City policy, and that Council, as the official policy making body, may not be in agreement with the Commission. Commission members felt that they had been granted the autonomy necessary to take such a position without Council's prior approval. Lynne agreed to contact Ann on behalf of the Commission, before forwarding the resolution to EPOColorado and to Council. A suggestion was made that further discussion of the proposed Constitutional amendment should be a part of next month's agenda, including any response received from Ann or from the rest of the Council. Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes April 20, 1992 Page 4 o Task Force Updates If possible, Task Force members were encouraged to put updates in writing and have them included as a part of the monthly packet. If updates cannot be prepared in time for the inclusion in the packet, copies can be handed out prior to the start of the meeting. See attached copies of updates discussed during course of the meeting. o Mission Statement Kathy E. and Sally handed out a draft mission statement. Members were asked to take home, review & make suggestions for consideration at a future meeting. They requested that any changes be handled in a full commission discussion vs. in a task force forum. o Boards & Commissions Workshop Feedback provided that the workshop went well; those in attendance seemed interested. Donna agreed to chair the workshop task force for next year (assuming she is reappointed.) Comments were that the workshop was a great improvement over previous ones offered; that a lot of info was provided that was helpful; and that people who attended seemed to be filling out applications for commission vacancies. It was suggested that next year, may want to do more research on nuts and bolts of getting elected to boards of non-profit corporations, as well as provide info on tasks handled by these types of boards. Mary was congratulated for doing a wonderful job facilitating and moderating the workshop. New Business o Collaborative Decision Making Hand-out was provided on collaborative decision making for review and (perhaps) future discussion (see copy attached.) Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes April 20, 1992 Page 5 o Legislative Update Kathy E. mentioned that today (4/20/92) was the last day for introduction of bills. She updated the group concerning a number of bills: - SB 117 on Hazardous Waste Burning is on Governor Romer's desk and may already have been signed today. Passage would mean that state can decide to override local decision making on hazardous waste issues. - Citizen Advocacy issue dealing with how to handle problems with government bureaucracy. Kathy characterized this as urgent in terms of time frame for feedback. Suggested contacting the Governor's office directly and relaying what you'd like to see done. - Education Funding considered a major concern for women. Problem characterized as one of priorities and funding - state lacks sufficient funds, largely due to rising costs of Medicaid. Legislature is still up in air on how to resolve. Kathy felt at this point it would be preferable to contact legislators directly with your individual positions vs. drafting a group position as a Commission; felt individual action would have more impact. If feasible, Commission members would like to have legislative update in writing as a part of the packet. If that's not possible, at a minimum would like legislative update to be a standing agenda item for verbal discussion. If members have specific legislation they would like an update on, Kathy E. stated that it would be helpful if she were reminded in advance of the regular monthly meeting. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.