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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Relations Commission - Minutes - 05/13/2004I.= o,M8 Minutes May 13, 2004 7:00 - 9:27 p.m. www.fcizov.com/citvclerk/human-relations.Dh Council Liaison: David Roy Staff Liaison: Kelly DiMartino Phone V: 407-7393 Phone: Chairperson: Ken Gordon Phone: 217-6317 Vice Chairperson: Mary Gomez Phone: 491-3702 A regular meeting of the Human Relations Commission was held on May 13, 2004, in the CIC Room, 300 LaPorte Avenue. HRC Members Present: Jack Colemen, Mary Gomez, Ken Gordon Jr., Maryanne Ingratta, Rita Klepec, Parker Preble, Caroline Tu Farley HRC Members Absent: Elaine Boni, Joanne Ginal Staff Members Present: Lilly Tellez-Garcia for Kelly DiMartino I. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by Vice Chair Mary Gomez at 7:00 p.m. II. Agenda Review. Maryanne moved, seconded by Caroline, to approve the agenda as distributed. III. Minutes. Rita moved to approve the minutes of the meeting of May 13, 2004. Caroline and Jack second the motion to accept the minutes. All voted in favor. IV. Subcommittee Reports Diversity: Maryanne gave kudos to everyone for their efforts in a successful Diversity Forum. Further discussion would occur later in the meeting. Police Subcommittee: Mary reported on the Police Subcommittee meeting held May 13, 2004. Jack provided an update on the Citizen Review Board. Human Relations Award Subcommittee: Caroline reported that winners would be announced on the big day. All nominees and nominators will be invited and can bring a guest. The event may go over budget. The committee will need to divide up the tasks. The list of attendees may need to be adjusted again. Executive Delegation Subcommittee: Ken proposed revamping the standing subcommittees. Ken and Mary reported on their research and suggested proposing this change to City Council to amend the membership from 9 to 15 and to rename the subcommittees. Ken passed out a Proposed Standing Subcommittee paper identifying specific defined duties for each subcommittee. Ken and Mary asked members to consider this proposal which will be discussed at the June 10`h meeting for approval. V. Liaison Reports Northern Colorado Multicultural Corp. Parker reported that he arrived for the meeting last Thursday only to learn that the meeting had been canceled. He said he never received notification of the cancellation. Parker resigned as the representative. Face to Face. No report. Business. No report. Education. Hispanic Community Dialogue —Mary attended the meeting and noted that several members of the PSD Board also attended. She reported that the meeting went well and many Hispanics parents attended to voice their opinions and viewpoints regarding their children's education. PSD Board members were very interested in listening to the concerns expressed by the parents. Faith Based. Mennonite Fellowship Church --Ken and Mary were the guest speakers on the topic "Healing the Spirit of Fort Collins". Ken and Mary expressed their disappointment with the lack of attendance by other HRC members. VI. HRC Task Force Ken provided an update on the progress of the task force. Ken encouraged the other commission members to attend the bi-weekly meetings since the commission will be the entity making recommendations directly to City Council and all members need to be aware of what is going on. VII. Community Wide Forum Members felt that they could have done a better job. Ken gave kudos to the committee and stated everybody did a good job. He reported that over 60 people attend and the feedback from attendees was very positive. Members discussed that the date conflicted with college finals and Cinco de Mayo and that future dates needed to be looked at closely so as not to conflict with other events. Flyers were placed at Front Range Community College, Library, Police Department as well as other locations in the community. More effort could have been made to make personal contact with departments and CSU. VIII. Old Business Hoffer Appeal —Ms. Hoffer's original complaint to the commission has resurrected. Ms. Hoffer alleges the HRC misrepresented itself and did not give her a fair process according to an outdated brochure she received. She is stating that the findings by the commission was not done properly based in the brochure indicating only 3 members need to be involved in the process vs. the entire committee. Meetina Reflections —Parker expressed his opinion over Ken's concern regarding the diversity make-up of the commission at the May meeting. Jack suggested events be sent out via email. Rita suggested that a new process be established in order to divide up responsibilities so other members, participate. IX. New Business Special Announcements —Ken announced he accepted a new position as Dean of Education with CollegeAmerica in Fort Collins. E-mail Communication —Ken suggested that committee members not respond to the entire commission when replying to emails in order to reduce the amount of unnecessary emails due to complaints he has received from several members. No decisions should be made via email. Use email for basic information. Hate Crime Resolution —Ken reported that a Hate Crime resolution had been discussed at the Executive Delegation Committee. He proposed that the commission submit to City Council the Hate Crime proposal within the next 2-3 weeks. Ken stated he would email to members the proposed resolution for the committee to review and submit their recommendations. Subcommittees —Ken and Mary asked the commission to consider revamping the subcommittees. The subcommittees are too broad and need to narrow the focus of the subcommittees. Ken and Mary also propose that the commission be expanded from 9 to 15 members. Increasing the commission will provide additional exposure throughout the community. X. Public Input Chris Bates with People Institute asked the commission if they would be interested in cosponsoring a workshop for the community. The event could take up to five months to organize. The cost varies and is based on a sliding scale. Ken asked the Diversity Subcommittee to review and follow-up. Contact: Chris Bates Phone: 493-4127 Email: surrevoltkecomail.org www.THEPEOPLESINSTITUTE.ORG XI. Announcements Task Force meeting on May 20 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the Community Room. Reminder to share event information via email. XII. Adjournment Parker made the motion to adjourn. Caroline seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 9:27 p.m. The next meeting of the HRC will be held Thursday, June 10, 2004, 5:30 p.m. in the CIC Room, 300 LaPorte Avenue. Approved: Ken Gordon, Jr., Chair OR K lly Wartino, $taff Liaison