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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Relations Commission - Minutes - 04/11/1996HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting -April 11, 1996 Human Resources Conference Room, 200 W. Mountain Ave. 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Council Liaison: Ann Azari I Staff Liaison: Gabe Serenyi Chairperson: Shari Olson Phone: 498-5128 (w) 223-6206 (h) A regular meeting of the Human Relations Commission was held on April 11, 1996 in the Human Resources Conference Room, 200 W. Mountain Ave., Suite A. HRC Members present: Rickie Calkins, Daniel Cordova, Bob Lank, Man Oberoi, and Shari Olson. HRC Members absent: Letty Coykendall, Ramona Robertson and Betty Sutton. Guest present: Lu Fisk, Commission on the Status of Women. Staff Members present: Gabe Serenyi, Human Resources Department Roberta Burnette, Assistant City Attorney Alma Vigo -Morales, Human Rights Office Lt. Brad Hurst, Fort Collins Police Services I. Meeting was called to order by Shari Olson at 5:40 P.M. Chair Olson asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the March 14, 1996 meeting. The following changes were made to the minutes: In addition to the comments recorded, Rickie Calkins also indicated that the CLP is ineffective the way it is currently structured. Also, under the discussion about the Human Rights Ordinance changes, Bob Lank suggested that submission to Council should be well in advance of the April, 1997 Council elections (not prior to the November, 1996 elections). The minutes were approved by the HRC with the noted changes. IL Old Business A. Review of April 8, 1996 meeting dealing with the Citizen Liaison Program. Gabe Serenyi announced that the Council Health and Safety Committee will be meeting on April 18th an will want to have input from the HRC as to the HRC's recommendations about the future of the Citizen Liaison Program (CLP). At this point a lengthy discussion took place about what options to recommend to Council. Some key points included: - The CLP should not disappear. It is useful even if it is not used very often. The CLP and other focus areas dealing with Police Services are important and need lot of attention. HRC has many areas that it is responsible for. It does not have the quality time or resources to focus on police issues. A separate commission should be created to deal with police issues. Human Relations Commission April 11, 1996 Page 2 - Another option would be to add more members to the HRC. The Police Sub -committee should only deal with police issues, and not get involved in other HRC matters. - The CLP has helped those individuals who have asked for their help. The CLP has been effective in its very limited role. Problem has been with the administration of the CLP. - Sub -committee appointments should be extended to two years in order to maintain continuity and accountability for sub -committee activities. - Fort Collins has an excellent Police Department. Focus should be on improving pro -active communications and understanding between residents and police. - Another option would be to eliminate some of the current HRC sub -committees, and devote more time and energy to police issues. - The CLP's want to continue their role, but under different auspices. Following discussion of the various options, Daniel Cordova recommended that the CLP should be dissolved until Council makes a decision on how to proceed. Gabe Serenyi reminded members that only Council can dissolve the CLP because the CLP was established by code. At this point Shari Olson asked for a motion for a recommendation to the Council Health and safety Committee. Rickie Calkins made motion to approve the following recommendations, in order of preference: 1. That Council create a new commission to deal solely with police issues. 2. Keep police review responsibilities with the HRC, but add several more HRC members (the suggested number was four new members) who would devote full-time to police related issues. Review the matter in two to three years to see how it is working. 3. The least desirable option would be to turn police review responsibilities to an existing commission. Any current commission would spend a lot of time covering the same ground that the HRC had already covered. The motion was seconded by Daniel Cordova, and approved unanimously by the HRC. Shari Olson was asked to draft a letter to the Health and Safety Committee which would be reviewed by HRC members prior to submission to the Health and Safety Committee at their meeting on April 18th. Shari indicated that she would use Bob Lenk's memo of April 11 as the framework for her memo outlining the above recommendations. B. Continued discussion of proposed changes to the Human Rights Ordinance. CED sub -committee chair Bob Lank and Assistant City Attorney Bobbie Burnette reviewed some of the recommended changes to the Human Rights Ordinance that had been discussed at the CED subcommittee meeting: �J Human Relations Commission April 11, 1996 Page 3 - Should the definition of age be changed to coincide with federal law? - Should source of income be listed as a protected category? - Should the appeal procedure be modified? Bob Lank indicated that the subcommittee should plan to spend three to four hours at its next meeting to discuss and clarify any remaining issues. Shari Olson suggested that the HRC plan to spend some quality time at its May meeting to discuss changes to the ordinance. Ill. Subcommittee Reports A. Liaison Reports Senior Center. Man Oberoi suggested, and the HRC agreed, the Senior Center be eliminated from the list of liaison reports because construction of the center is now finished and it is operating. AB. No report. Youth Advisory Board. No report. PVH Medical Ethics Committee, Daniel Cordova reported that the Colorado Commission for Medical Decisions has been established for the purpose of educating the community about medical related legal issues. He will report further on this group's activities at future meetings. B. Human Relations Awards. Shari Olson reported that 24 nominations had been received for the awards, and that plans were going ahead for the awards breakfast on May 3rd. She and Letty Coykendall would meet on Monday, April 15 to review the nominations. C. Diversity Subcommittee. Rickie Calkins reported on the second noon time meeting at City Hall which the HRC was co -sponsoring with the Commission on the Status of Women. The purpose of these meetings was to encourage greater diversity on the various Boards and Commissions. She felt that this meeting was more successful than the first because a larger number of potential Board and Commission applicants were present. Rickie also mentioned the on -going problems with obtaining Board and Commission applicant and membership statistics from the City Clerk's Office. D. Human Resource Grants Committee, Shari Olson reported that solicitation letters will be going out shortly to all prospective grant applicants requesting that they submit proposals for funding. Site visits will start in July. IV. New Business. None The meeting adjourned at 7:06 P.M.