HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Relations Commission - Minutes - 03/14/2019HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION
Regular Meeting
March 14, 2019 5:30 – 7:30 pm
CIC Room, City Hall, 300 LaPorte Ave., Fort Collins, CO
3/14/2019 – MINUTES Page 1
• CALL TO ORDER
o Meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairperson Colleen Conway at 5:33 pm
• ROLL CALL
o Present: Colleen Conway Wendy True
Cynthia Davis Vic Smith
Jean Runyon Phil Walker
o Absent: Eva Amason Julia Mackewich
Sean Dellenbach
o Staff Present: Christine Macrina, Boards and Commissions Coordinator
o Two student observers from Front Range Community College were in attendance
• AGENDA REVIEW
o Wendy True motioned to accept the 3/14/19 agenda as is. Seconded by Jean Runyon Vote to
approve 6-0
• APPROVAL OF MINUTES
o Phil Walker requested that we correct the Denver March to say Denver March Pow-Wow.
o Wendy True made the motion that we accept the 2/14/19 minutes with the correction to Denver
March Pow-Wow. Second by Phil Walker. Vote to approve 6-0
• PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
o None
• PRESENTATIONS
o Greg Yeager, Deputy Chief of Police, Fort Collins Police Department
o Presentation was in regard to the Police Department’s response to the Community Trust
Stakeholders’ Group’s request for Police Policies to be translated into Spanish and be made
available to the LatinX community. 10 policies were translated into Spanish and are available on the
Police Department’s website. Officers can also access the policies on their phones or provide hard
copies to community members who cannot access the internet. Deputy Chief of Police Yeager
selected the 10 policies that were to be translated into Spanish. Selections were made by relevance
to the LatinX community.
o Wendy True asked about the Police Departments interaction with ICE. That is defined in Policy
#352. Policy language was changed to meet current culture and law. She also asked if the policies
will be translated into Arabic. There has been no request for that at this time.
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o Vic Smith asked if the wording of the policies had been edited to remove ambiguity. Deputy Chief
Yeager responded that most of the ambiguous language had been removed but some remained as
the policies are guided by the law.
o Cindy Davis asked how policy changes are made and approved. The specialists within the
department begin the process, it goes to executive leadership and the Chief of Police has final say.
Ft Collins City Council can discuss and recommend changes. Ft Collins City Manager has ultimate
say over any decisions made regarding policy. Much of the policy is law of the land and cannot be
changed.
o Wendy True asked about the number of women in the Ft Collins Police Department. Deputy Chief
Yeager spoke to civilian and sworn members of the department. According to him, Ft Collins has a
higher percentage of women in both areas than our surrounding neighbor departments. Active
recruitment of females is being conducted, particularly by women officers.
o Colleen Conway asked if military veterans were actively recruited by the Police Department. There
are many members of the Police Department that are former military. However, the Police
Department hires according to community culture not just past experience.
• BUDGET REVIEW
o Current funds available are $5498.86
o There is a charge of $68.16 that is not accounted for. Christine Macrina will investigate.
o The photographer from the December 2018 Awards Ceremony has not yet been paid. Her W-9
must be turned into the City.
• UNFINISHED BUSINESS
o At the January 10, 2019 meeting the Commission discussed the hate flyers posted by Identify Evropa.
This occurred in December 2018 in cities of Greeley, Fort Collins, Breckenridge, Wheat Ridge, Arvada
and Cheyenne. It was decided due to the time lapse that the HRC would compose and send a
statement to City Council denouncing all forms of racism and hate in Fort Collins. This letter was also
to be read at a City Council meeting. The statement was written but not voted on at the February
meeting, so the question was raised as to whether we still want to send the memo
o Julia Mackewich sent a message stating that she did not think we should send it now but instead keep
it as a template for future use.
o Cindy Davis felt that it should still be sent, however with it being refreshed to the current times. The
group Identify Evropa has rebranded themselves as the American Identity Movement and continue to
be active in Colorado.
o Jean Runyon recommended that we bring the letter to the April meeting for a review and vote at that
time
o Christine Macrina reminded us that the new members of City Council will be seated in late April or early
May and that might be an effective time to send and read the memo. We can reinforce our beliefs to all
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• NEW BUSINESS
o Food Not Bombs. Julia Mackewich and Colleen Conway met with Ft Collins Police Chief Jeff Swaboda
and Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager to discuss the issue with Food Not Bombs distributing food on
Sundays at Library Park. At the meeting, it was stated that at the February 3, 2019 “picnic” over 60
people were present. It was a cold day and the “picnic” spilled into the Old Town Library and overtook
space and restrooms. The Library staff called Police and the citations were threatened.
o The City wants Food Not Bombs to move its distribution of food to Martinez Park. Park services will
clean up after them and restrooms are available. If a permit is needed, there in not a charge. The City
would like the HRC to act as a liaison. We cannot do that. The Homeless Coalition is in contact with
Food Not Bombs.
o Food Not Bombs response to the City – you can’t tell us where to set up, you’re trying to hide the
homeless. Food Not Bombs did finally respond to Julia Mackewich and just referred her to the
Coloradoan article.
o Is there a bias against Food Not Bombs and the homeless? Is the “picnic” still be held on Sundays at
Library Park? Christine Macrina will find out for us if the “picnic” is still occurring.
o Next action – invite representatives from the Homeless Coalition to inform us about measures and
programs for the homeless population in Fort Collins.
• BOARD MEMBER REPORTS
o Education Outreach Committee: Phil Walker, Chair. Update and request for approval of Cracking
the Codes educational program.
o Jean Runyon made the motion that we approve moving forward with Cracking the Codes
professional development opportunity that consists of a least 3 sessions. Vic Smith seconded. Vote
to approve 6-0
o The first session of the program is tentatively set to be held on two dates – 3/28/19 from 6-7:30 pm
and 3/30/19 from 10:00-11:30 am. Both presentations will be held at Front Range Community
College. Facilitators for both presentations must be confirmed. This will be done by Monday 3/18/19
morning. If confirmed advertisements and announcements will go out. If not confirmed, we will
reschedule for April.
o Colleen Conway and Phil Walker will work on the flyer for this program. They are requesting
feedback from all Commissioners by Monday 3/18/19 morning
o Christine Macrina can assist the HRC with publicity – will have the flyers put on the HRC Website,
The City of Ft Collins Facebook page and on NextDoor. She will also be able to upload the CD on
the HRC Website for streaming.
o Jean Runyon will speak with the Harmony Librarians about providing reading lists for the program
o Based on the outcome of the March dates, the EOC will select dates and locations for Session #2
and Session #3. Each of these sessions will have 2 presentations.
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o Vic Smith reinforced the importance of having strong, well-trained facilitators
• OTHER BUSINESS
o None
• ADJOURNMENT
o Motion to adjourn was made by Jean Runyon. Second by Vic Smith. Vote to approve was 6-0.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:32 pm
This information is available in Spanish or other language at no cost to a person who would like this information
translated to or communicated in Spanish or other language. Please call 416-4254 or titlesix@fcgov.com to
make a request for information in other languages.
Esta información está disponible en español u otro idioma, sin costo para la persona que le gustaría esta
información traducida o comunicada en español u otro idioma. Favor llame al 416-4254 o a titlesix@fcgov.com
para solicitar información en otros idiomas.
Auxiliary aids and services are available for persons with disabilities. TTY: please use 711 to call 970.416.4254.
________________________________________________________________________________________
City Contact Person: Carol Thomas, Equal Opportunity & Compliance Manager
970.416.4254, cathomas@fcgov.com