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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWomens Commission - Minutes - 11/15/1993MINUTES COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN NOVEMBER 15� 1993 Present: Audrey Faulkner, Lu Fisk, Doreen Kemp, Brownie McGraw, Sally Miles, Lynne Warner, Chris Wood Absent: Sue Cottingham, Kathy Everett, Dana Hiatt, Stevie Honaker, Stacey Johnson, Mary Zamora Council Liaison: Gina Janett Staff Liaison: Colleen A'Hearn MINUTES Minutes from the meeting of October 18, 1993 were approved as written. COUNCIL LIAISON COMMENTS/REPORT Commission Appointments Gina reported that Council interviews for current vacancies on the Commission will take place over the course of the next two weeks, with appointments scheduled for Council action on December 7. Nine individuals have applied, including three who indicated an interest earlier this year. Gina is interested in knowing if their are any particular needs of the Commission or its various task forces that members would like Council to consider as a part of the interview process. Since the first interviews are scheduled for Tuesday, November 16, it is important to provide feedback as soon as possible. Sexual Harassment Issues At the October 19 Council meeting, Gina requested that Mayor Azari and Council member Winokur, in their capacity as PRPA Board members, request PRPA to provide information regarding their efforts to effectively deal with incidents of sexual harassment and create a work environment free of harassment. Legislative Issues Sally stated that she would like to see the Commission become more politically active in terms of legislation on the national, state, and local level. She understands that being proactive in this arena may require a broader charge than what is currently outlined for the Commission. Gina explained that the Council legislative Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes November 15, 1993 Page 2 agenda is organized by subject area; recommendations to support, oppose, or decline to take a position on specific pieces of legislation are made by the Council Legislative Affairs Committee. The. question was raised as to whether it's feasible for the Commission to take a formal position on specific legislation that may be contrary to a position that the Council has taken. This topic will be placed on the agenda for an upcoming meeting, perhaps as early as January. The Commission will attempt to clarify information needed, prior to exploring further with Gina or the City Attorney's Office. In addition, Colleen will contact Andrea Rieger in Administrative Services and see if it would be possible for Andrea to attend an upcoming meeting and provide information on the process staff and Council use to evaluate legislation. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Officers for the coming year were recently elected by mail -in ballot. Results of the election are as follows: Audrey Faulkner - Chair Lu Fisk - Vice Chair Chris Wood - Corresponding Secretary Thanks to all those who expressed an interest in serving. o Workshops on Dealing with Troubled Youth Brownie reported that a series of six free workshops "How to Improve Your Effectiveness with Troubled Youth" were offered during October and November. These workshops were sponsored by CSU, The Coloradoan, the District Attorney's Office, Evergreen Treatment Center at PVH, the Fort Collins Police Department, Interfaith Council, Larimer County Sheriff's Department, Mountain Crest Hospital, Poudre R-1, Poudre Transition Center, Team Fort Collins, and the Youth Services Bureau. Overall the workshops were very well attended (170+ at some sessions). The only workshop not well attended was the Parenting Strategies session; over 100 registered but actual attendance was around 40. 0 0 Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes November 15, 1993 Page 3 o Funding of Domestic Violence Coordinator Position Sally announced that the local chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) is planning to lobby area legislators to provide ongoing funding for Larimer County's Domestic Violence Coordinator position, currently held by Gina Dersham. The position is currently funded by a state grant, but that funding cannot be relied upon as an ongoing source of revenue. Without this position and program, there is no follow-up to make certain that convicted offenders actually participate in court ordered treatment to reduce incidents of domestic violence. In March of this year, Gina spoke to the Commission regarding the importance of this type of program. Sally would like to see the Commission take an official position in support of the Domestic Violence Coordinator position. There are two ways to assist: 1) the legislative approach, to develop an ongoing funding source; 2) training of volunteers to assist with the program. It was suggested that the Commission's role in supporting this program be addressed as an agenda item in the near future, either later in this meeting or during the December meeting. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Sally provided a brief update on a number of legislative issues that impact women. Whether or not to include abortion as a covered service in the President's proposed national health care reform plan is still under debate. This week, Congress is expected to vote on a bill that is designed to reduce violence at clinics where abortions are performed. Action on the Freedom of Choice Act is currently on hold. This act is designed to prevent states from enacting legislation prohibiting abortion. Sally and Chris would like to see the Commission take a position on legislative issues involving reproductive rights. They suggested that members first decide what the Commission wants to do, then check with the City Attorney and Gina to find a legally permissible acceptable way to address these issues. OLD BUSINESS o Women's/Pace Chris reported that she has spoken with Dan McArthur and there will be no change in policies as a result of new ownership at The Triangle Review. Dan continues to see Women's/Pace articles as Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes November 15, 1993 Page 4 informational in nature. He feels that articles on more controversial issues are best placed under the Guest Opinion column, with a tag line crediting the Commission with the article. The recommendation from Chris, Kathy E., and Sally is to continue with Women's/Pace articles, updating the community on Commission activities, at least quarterly. Lynne mentioned that The Collegian at CSU has been asking for contributions to the editorial page. She suggested meeting with Chris Welling, and placing some articles there. others suggested that it may also be time to approach The Coloradoan again. A problem that still needs to be addressed is the feasibility of generating articles. Audrey requested that Chris and any other interested individuals develop a work plan to generate a steady flow of articles, to be included in the December packet. Further options could then be evaluated in light of response to articles. NEW BUSINESS o Attendance Policy A copy of the current attendance policy as defined by Council was distributed. If members are unable to attend a regularly scheduled meeting, they should notify Audrey in advance that they will be unable to attend. If members are unable to reach Audrey, they should contact Colleen or Joan in Employee Development. As the Chair of the Commission, Audrey would like to have sufficient advance notice so that she can evaluate whether or not it makes sense to cancel a meeting, in the event sufficient members will not be present to constitute a quorum. I.t was stressed that providing advance notice when unable to attend a meeting is a basic courtesy. It is difficult to conduct business without knowing who will be in attendance. Other guidelines approved include the following: 1) If you are responsible for an agenda item and are unable to be at the meeting, it is your responsibility to line up someone else to report on or otherwise handle that agenda item. That is the only way the Commission can move forward and adequately address agenda items without tabling from meeting to meeting. 2) Attendance will be tracked monthly; absences with advance notice and without advance notice will be noted. Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes November 15, 1993 Page 5 An attendance chart will be published quarterly. If you cannot attend a meeting, please provide a reason whenever possible so that the Commission can gather data on the type of conflicts involved and attempt to help address them in some fashion. 3) The current attendance policy as outlined by Council will be strictly adhered to (see copy attached). Colleen will draft a letter to current members who have not been attending and who have not be in contact with other Commission members regarding the reason for their absence. o Change in December and January Meeting Dates/Times A decision was made to move the December meeting up two weeks, from December 20 to December 6, in order to reduce conflicts with holiday plans and vacation schedules. As a result of the Martin Luther Ring Holiday scheduled for January 17, the regular meeting in January has been moved to January 24. This meeting will serve as a Commission retreat, and will begin at 5:30 instead of the usual 6:00 p.m. The agenda will include welcoming new members and reviewing the workplan for 1994. Colleen will check on the availability of the Council Information Center (CIC) for both the December meeting and for the retreat, as well as other appropriate and available space that is conducive to a retreat environment. She will send out a notice asap advising members of the change in meeting dates for December and January. Notice will also need to be provided to the public on the notice board in City Hall West. o Task Force Reports The Task Force on Sexual Harassment has had two meetings in the last few weeks and is progressing with the development of recommendations/guidelines for policies prohibiting sexual harassment in the work place. The Task Force on Racism will continue to support efforts of the Multi -Cultural Advisory Committee (MAC), though it appears that MAC members may no longer be interested in pursuing formal authorization by City Council or the Commission. MAC members have indicated that they would like to continue consulting with the Commission, but also wish to broaden their scope to address other Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes November 15, 1993 Page 6 issues in addition to the oral history project. 0 1994 Draft Workplan Commission members reviewed a draft work plan prepared by Donna Aurand. Audrey expressed a need to determine how discussions at the October 2 retreat and the current task force structure can be adequately incorporated in a finalized version of the work plan. It will also be important to balance individual interests of commission members in tasks they can be passionate about with the ongoing problem of having adequate time to reasonably accomplish overall Commission priorities. Lynne suggested that increasing liaison functions vs. task forces might be the answer to the interest vs. time dilemma. She would like to see every Commission member serve as a liaison/informal link to at least one outside agency, i.e. League of Women Voters, Junior League, Women's Center, Chamber, Poudre R-1, etc. That would allow everyone to be adequately engaged in an area of personal interest. A distinction will also need to be made in the work plan between annual events sponsored by the Commission and ongoing task force and liaison activities. Colleen will incorporate tonight's discussion into a second draft for review by the Chair. Deadline for submission of the work plan to the City Clerk's Office is Tuesday, November 30. A final copy will be included in.the December packet. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at approximately 9:10 p.m. 0 PAGE 40 GENERAL INFORMATION Membership Limitations The following limitations are applied to board or commission membership: a. No person may serve on any one board or commission for more than eight (8) consecutive years (two complete terms).* In the event that an individual fills the unexpired term of a board or commission member, that unexpired term shall not be counted as a complete term. b. No person will be appointed by the City Council to serve concurrently on more than one board or commission. (This limitation does not apply to committees deemed to be temporary in nature.) c. No person will be appointed for membership to any board or commission who is not a resident of Fort Collins or the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area. * Ordinance No. 47, 1991 limits members of the Water Board to three (3) consecutive four (4) year terms. Attendance Policy Upon application for and acceptance of appointment, board and commission members demonstrate their intention and ability to attend meetings. Therefore, either of the following may automatically cause a member's appointment to be terminated. a. Three consecutive absences (not approved by the chairperson) from regularly scheduled meetings of the board. b. Four absences (not approved by the chairperson) from regularly scheduled q meetings of .the board in any calendar year. Vacancies Staff liaisons are responsible for notifying the City Clerk's Office when a member resigns or a vacancy exists for other reasons. The City Clerk's office will notify the City Council of any vacancies, and will work with the appropriate Council liaison to fill the vacancy. Council will appoint replacements by official resolution as needed. The City Clerk's Office will notify the staff liaison of appointments. Election of Officers The election of officers should be held each year during the regular meeting in August or September. This timeframe follows the annual appointment of new members. It is suggested that new board members attend at least one meeting prior to election of officers taking place. Staff liaisons must notify the City Clerk's Office when new officers are elected.