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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Relations Commission - Minutes - 06/14/2012FORT COLLINS HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Regular Meeting –June 14, 2012 5:30 p.m. Council Liaison: Mayor Karen Weitkunat Staff Liaison: Rebecca O’Donnell Chairperson: Karen Buchanan A regular meeting of the Human Relations Commission was held on Thursday, June 14, 2012, CIC Room, 300 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Kent Bryans Karen Buchanan Myles Crane James Lesco James Owiny EXCUSED ABSENCE: Elaine Boni Colleen Conway Christine Hays Preety Sathe UNEXCUSED ABSENCE: STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Rebecca O’Donnell, Staff Liaison Angelina Sanchez-Sprague, Recorder CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Karen Buchanan at 5:40 p.m. PUBLIC INPUT None AGENDA REVIEW APPROVAL OF MINUTES Myles Crane made a motion to approve the May 10, 2012 minutes as amended. James Lesco seconded the motion. The motion was approved 5:0. BUDGET REPORT Becky O’Donnell provided a copy of the budget to the Chair and Vice Chair and reported an available balance of $1036.67. COMMITTEE REPORTS • Executive Committee HRC June 14, 2012 – Page 2 Lance Smith, Fort Collins Strategic Financial Planning Manager Before coming to work for the City of Fort Collins as the Strategic Financial Planning Manager, Lance Smith worked for Xcel Energy in various capacities. At Fort Collins Utilities he is responsible for overseeing the long term financial planning for each of the four utilities which involves analyzing both revenues through rate design and expenses through financial forecasting. Lance reviewed the pilot program that provides assistance up to 150 kilowatt hours per month for electrical durable medical equipment, and additional assistance up to 350 kilowatt hours per month during the summer billing months for air conditioning. Those eligible for the assistance must have a household income not to exceed 60% of the Area Median Income. After his presentation and commission member questions, they offered advice on where additional marketing could be done to target those eligible for the program. Those suggestions included Senior Advisory Board, Disabled Student Resources, Multiple Sclerosis, and Foothills Gateway. The commission thanked Mr. Smith for his time and presentation and he left the meeting. Feedback on 5/23 Women’s Commission Breakfast Karen Buchanan reported she and Elaine Boni attended the Women's Commission (WC) Breakfast Mixer on May 23. The mixer was attended by representatives from a number of the City’s boards and commissions. At the mixer, it was agreed that the Women's Commission would draft a proposal to encourage City Council to support the group in organizing an annual collaborative planning meeting. They (the Women’s Commission) will email the proposal to members of the boards and commissions, and that they would revise according to their own perspectives and then forward to City Council. Karen stated the Chair of the Planning & Zoning Board, Andy Smith reported on the work their board is doing relative to PDOD (Project Development Overlay District). She mentioned to Andy that HRC would be interested in having him present details of this project in more detail at a future HRC meeting. Mentors for New Members Karen Buchanan has identified potential pairings of mentors for new members relative to the visioning the commission has been doing with their team building exercises. Her suggestions are: Christine Hays with Karen Buchanan, James Lesco with James Owiny (Media and Community Recognition Committee) and Colleen Conway with either Elaine Boni or Myles Crane (Educational Outreach). Their work could consider team building topics such as accountability/results which will be the topics for the next team building session; HRC’s current working vision of: build a bridge and help others get over it, planning for the 2013 Human Relations Award Breakfast and the 2012 Revised Work Plan. The next team building exercise is scheduled for the July meeting. • Government Relations Committee Citizen Liaison Program timeline and implementation Christine Hays reported via email she had her Ride-a-Long on Saturday, June 9. The experience enhanced her admiration of the Police and increased her awareness of the technology available for law enforcement. HRC June 14, 2012 – Page 3 Ideas to Increase our Legislative Knowledge Karen Buchanan asked members to think about ways to increase their legislative knowledge. Karen reviewed the list of members planning to attend upcoming City Council meetings. July 3, Christine Hays and July 17, Elaine Boni. • Educational Outreach Committee Elder Abuse Fall Program Update Myles Crane reported the program subcommittee has scheduled a meeting on June 27 at Whole Foods at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the program’s format, prospective speakers, preliminary plans for coordination with CSU’s Center for Public Deliberation, marketing, facilities (Senior Center) and food service, and other content related topics such as disabled elderly, educational programs for awareness and prevention, community resources, and various courses of intervention. Collaboration Efforts Regarding Updated 2012 Work Plan Myles Crane reported the committee has scheduled a meeting on June 27 at Whole Foods at 6:00 p.m. with Karen Buchanan and Elaine Boni to discuss proposed plans for collaboration in a transparent, efficient and effective manner. • Media & Community Recognition Committee James Owiny reported he’s still trying to catch up on HRC business after his time away due to a family emergency. He has nothing to report and would like to cancel the next Media & Community Recognition Committee meeting set for Thursday, June 21 to allow himself time to catch up. He said both he and Elaine Boni attended the Taste of Mason event on June 7. Becky O’Donnell reported the commission received a thank you note from the 2012 Human Relations Award Youth Category recipient Pranaya Sathe. She read her note. OLD BUSINESS ARCH and CRB Invitations to attend/speak at our meeting Myles Crane reported ARCH (Adult Resources for Care and Help) Coordinator will be a community resource at the Elder Abuse Forum. Women’s Commission: Affordable Care Act Presentation Christine Hays via email reported she heard from Chair Deborah Young that member Annette Zacharias is in charge of the presentation and she’s not heard from Annette on presentation date for information regarding the Affordable Care Act. NEW BUSINESS Forum for the Center Christine Hays reported via email that the Center of Northern Colorado will have their community forum on Thursday, July 12, 2012 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Drake Center, 802 W. Drake Road. Both Christine and Elaine are planning to attend. HRC June 14, 2012 – Page 4 Becky O’Donnell reported she received a call from Jill with the City of Aurora wanting to confirm HRC email address contact information for their records and for future reference. Becky confirmed email addresses as correct and also provided the hrc@fcgov.com email address as a contact email address for all HRC members. LIAISON REPORTS James Owiny reported that CSU’s Black Issues Forum ends June 15. The forum is to promote leadership for black high school students from six states including Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. James Owiny reported CSU has been worked diligently to provide support to the many affected by the High Park Fire including providing small animal care at the CSU Vet Hospital and hosting the High Park Disaster Recovery Center (HPDRC) at Johnson Hall. HPDRC is a partnership between Larimer County, the State Department of Local Affairs, and Colorado State University. It will provide a one-stop opportunity for victims of the High Park Fire to receive services and obtain information on County, State, and CSU services. They’ve established a staging area for fire- fighting efforts on their property at the end of Laporte Avenue and are offering the use of residence halls/dining facilities. James plans to attend the next Education Outreach Committee meeting and promised to work as liaison between the CSU’s Diversity Conference Planning Committee and the Education Outreach Committee on the best way to interact at the next diversity conference scheduled for this fall. Karen reported on upcoming activities at the Center for Public Deliberation (CPD). They continue to work on workshops to provide participants with a background on the concept of deliberation, as well as teaching practical skills to convene and facilitate public forums to support efforts for capacity and building community. Monday June 18 there will be a program on The Role of Higher Education in Society at the Harmony Library for volunteers already affiliated with CPD to support some of Dr. Carcasson’s DU students. CPD is working on the 4th of a series of forums on the Silver Tsunami’s June 20th at the Senior Center. Myles Crane reported that he attended meetings of both the Senior Advisory Board (SAB) and the Larimer County Office on Aging Advisory Council (LCOOAC). He mentioned with appreciation that some of the excellent speakers who have addressed the Senior Advisory Board subsequently have been invited also to speak to the HRC. He cited officer changes on both boards, thanked the prior Chairs Wade Turner (SAB) and Bob Tholl (LCOOAC) for their exceptional leadership and provided meeting discussion highlights as follows: For SAB • Acknowledgment from SAB about success of the Human Relations Awards breakfast and fine slate of senior nominees. SAB had at least three Board members attending. • Upcoming June 20th fourth event on Growing Older in Fort Collins – Silver Tsunami as a Golden Opportunity: summary report and discussion of prior events held in November 2011, March 2012 and April 2012. • July 3rd 6-9 p.m. 100th City Park anniversary celebration at Club Tico at City Park. HRC June 14, 2012 – Page 5 For LCOOAC • Presentations were made by State Representatives Brian Del Grasso (R) and John Kefalas (D) in which they cited 312 pieces of legislation were passed jointly by both parties in Colorado during this past year. OTHER Preety will not be at the July meeting. Members would be making contact/solidifying invitations for the following upcoming guest speakers: July –Citizen Review Board Chair Anne Berry & Vice Chair Glenn Strunk and August – the Center (formerly known as LAMBDA) The following June 14 meeting bullet points will be sent to City Council Member as well as the Housing Authority and Affordable Housing Board, Transportation Board, Senior Advisory Board, Parks and Recreation Board, Human Relations Commission, Women’s Commission, Youth Advisory Board, CDBG, Commission on Disability, Economic Advisory Board. • Lance Smith, Strategic Financial Planning Manager for the City of Fort Collins spoke at our June 14th meeting regarding the City's "two tier" utilities pricing program. This program is being piloted from June 2012 to just before summer of 2013 to provide an incentive for energy conservation, particularly throughout the summer months, and also includes monetary consideration for those citizens with special income and medical needs. • The Educational Outreach Committee will be conducting its next meeting on June 27, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. at Whole Foods on College Avenue. The Committee will be discussing plan details for the "Elder Abuse Forum" being held on October 22, 2012 as well as implementation strategies for the HRC's Revised 2012 Work Plan. • CSU has demonstrated tremendous community spirit and support to many affected by the High Park Fire including animal care, temporary housing, and food supplies for evacuees as well as working closely and collaboratively with the Red Cross and several Emergency Services agencies and personnel who are working round-the-clock to extinguish this fire. ADJOURNMENT Kent Bryans made a motion to approve bullet points. Myles Crane seconded the motion. The motion was approved 5:0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. The next meeting of the HRC will be held on July 12, 2012, 5:30 p.m. in the CIC Room. Approved as amended by majority vote of the Commission on July 12, 2012. HRC June 14, 2012 – Page 6 STANDING COMMITTEES Executive Chair Karen Buchanan and Vice Chair Elaine Boni Government Relations Chair Preety Sathe / Kent Bryans, Elaine Boni Educational Outreach Chair Myles Crane/ Colleen Conway, Christine Hays Media/Community Recognition Chair James Owiny/ James Lesco FORT COLLINS HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Regular Meeting –June 14, 2012 5:30 p.m. Council Liaison: Mayor Karen Weitkunat Staff Liaison: Rebecca O’Donnell Chairperson: Karen Buchanan A regular meeting of the Human Relations Commission was held on Thursday, June 14, 2012, CIC Room, 300 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Kent Bryans Karen Buchanan Myles Crane James Lesco James Owiny EXCUSED ABSENCE: Elaine Boni Colleen Conway Christine Hays Preety Sathe UNEXCUSED ABSENCE: STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Rebecca O’Donnell, Staff Liaison Angelina Sanchez-Sprague, Recorder CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Karen Buchanan at 5:40 p.m. PUBLIC INPUT None AGENDA REVIEW APPROVAL OF MINUTES Myles Crane made a motion to approve the May 10, 2012 minutes as amended. James Lesco seconded the motion. The motion was approved 5:0. BUDGET REPORT Becky O’Donnell provided a copy of the budget to the Chair and Vice Chair and reported an available balance of $1036.67. COMMITTEE REPORTS • Executive Committee HRC June 14, 2012 – Page 2 Lance Smith, Fort Collins Strategic Financial Planning Manager Before coming to work for the City of Fort Collins as the Strategic Financial Planning Manager, Lance Smith worked for Xcel Energy in various capacities. At Fort Collins Utilities he is responsible for overseeing the long term financial planning for each of the four utilities which involves analyzing both revenues through rate design and expenses through financial forecasting. Lance reviewed the pilot program that provides assistance up to 150 kilowatt hours per month for electrical durable medical equipment, and additional assistance up to 350 kilowatt hours per month during the summer billing months for air conditioning. Those eligible for the assistance must have a household income not to exceed 60% of the Area Median Income. After his presentation and commission member questions, they offered advice on where additional marketing could be done to target those eligible for the program. Those suggestions included Senior Advisory Board, Disabled Student Resources, Multiple Sclerosis, and Foothills Gateway. The commission thanked Mr. Smith for his time and presentation and he left the meeting. Feedback on 5/23 Women’s Commission Breakfast Karen Buchanan reported she and Elaine Boni attended the Women's Commission (WC) Breakfast Mixer on May 23. The mixer was attended by representatives from a number of the City’s boards and commissions. At the mixer, it was agreed that the Women's Commission would draft a proposal to encourage City Council to support the group in organizing an annual collaborative planning meeting. They (the Women’s Commission) will email the proposal to members of the boards and commissions, and that they would revise according to their own perspectives and then forward to City Council. Karen stated the Chair of the Planning & Zoning Board, Andy Smith reported on the work their board is doing relative to PDOD (Project Development Overlay District). She mentioned to Andy that HRC would be interested in having him present details of this project in more detail at a future HRC meeting. Mentors for New Members Karen Buchanan has identified potential pairings of mentors for new members relative to the visioning the commission has been doing with their team building exercises. Her suggestions are: Christine Hays with Karen Buchanan, James Lesco with James Owiny (Media and Community Recognition Committee) and Colleen Conway with either Elaine Boni or Myles Crane (Educational Outreach). Their work could consider team building topics such as accountability/results which will be the topics for the next team building session; HRC’s current working vision of: build a bridge and help others get over it, planning for the 2013 Human Relations Award Breakfast and the 2012 Revised Work Plan. The next team building exercise is scheduled for the July meeting. • Government Relations Committee Citizen Liaison Program timeline and implementation Christine Hays reported via email she had her Ride-a-Long on Saturday, June 9. The experience enhanced her admiration of the Police and increased her awareness of the technology available for law enforcement. HRC June 14, 2012 – Page 3 Ideas to Increase our Legislative Knowledge Karen Buchanan asked members to think about ways to increase their legislative knowledge. Karen reviewed the list of members planning to attend upcoming City Council meetings. July 3, Christine Hays and July 17, Elaine Boni. • Educational Outreach Committee Elder Abuse Fall Program Update Myles Crane reported the program subcommittee has scheduled a meeting on June 27 at Whole Foods at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the program’s format, prospective speakers, preliminary plans for coordination with CSU’s Center for Public Deliberation, marketing, facilities (Senior Center) and food service, and other content related topics such as disabled elderly, educational programs for awareness and prevention, community resources, and various courses of intervention. Collaboration Efforts Regarding Updated 2012 Work Plan Myles Crane reported the committee has scheduled a meeting on June 27 at Whole Foods at 6:00 p.m. with Karen Buchanan and Elaine Boni to discuss proposed plans for collaboration in a transparent, efficient and effective manner. • Media & Community Recognition Committee James Owiny reported he’s still trying to catch up on HRC business after his time away due to a family emergency. He has nothing to report and would like to cancel the next Media & Community Recognition Committee meeting set for Thursday, June 21 to allow himself time to catch up. He said both he and Elaine Boni attended the Taste of Mason event on June 7. Becky O’Donnell reported the commission received a thank you note from the 2012 Human Relations Award Youth Category recipient Pranaya Sathe. She read her note. OLD BUSINESS ARCH and CRB Invitations to attend/speak at our meeting Myles Crane reported ARCH (Adult Resources for Care and Help) Coordinator will be a community resource at the Elder Abuse Forum. Women’s Commission: Affordable Care Act Presentation Christine Hays via email reported she heard from Chair Deborah Young that member Annette Zacharias is in charge of the presentation and she’s not heard from Annette on presentation date for information regarding the Affordable Care Act. NEW BUSINESS Forum for the Center Christine Hays reported via email that the Center of Northern Colorado will have their community forum on Thursday, July 12, 2012 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Drake Center, 802 W. Drake Road. Both Christine and Elaine are planning to attend. HRC June 14, 2012 – Page 4 Becky O’Donnell reported she received a call from Jill with the City of Aurora wanting to confirm HRC email address contact information for their records and for future reference. Becky confirmed email addresses as correct and also provided the hrc@fcgov.com email address as a contact email address for all HRC members. LIAISON REPORTS James Owiny reported that CSU’s Black Issues Forum ends June 15. The forum is to promote leadership for black high school students from six states including Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. James Owiny reported CSU has been worked diligently to provide support to the many affected by the High Park Fire including providing small animal care at the CSU Vet Hospital and hosting the High Park Disaster Recovery Center (HPDRC) at Johnson Hall. HPDRC is a partnership between Larimer County, the State Department of Local Affairs, and Colorado State University. It will provide a one-stop opportunity for victims of the High Park Fire to receive services and obtain information on County, State, and CSU services. They’ve established a staging area for fire- fighting efforts on their property at the end of Laporte Avenue and are offering the use of residence halls/dining facilities. James plans to attend the next Education Outreach Committee meeting and promised to work as liaison between the CSU’s Diversity Conference Planning Committee and the Education Outreach Committee on the best way to interact at the next diversity conference scheduled for this fall. Karen reported on upcoming activities at the Center for Public Deliberation (CPD). They continue to work on workshops to provide participants with a background on the concept of deliberation, as well as teaching practical skills to convene and facilitate public forums to support efforts for capacity and building community. Monday June 18 there will be a program on The Role of Higher Education in Society at the Harmony Library for volunteers already affiliated with CPD to support some of Dr. Carcasson’s DU students. CPD is working on the 4th of a series of forums on the Silver Tsunami’s June 20th at the Senior Center. Myles Crane reported that he attended meetings of both the Senior Advisory Board (SAB) and the Larimer County Office on Aging Advisory Council (LCOOAC). He mentioned with appreciation that some of the excellent speakers who have addressed the Senior Advisory Board subsequently have been invited also to speak to the HRC. He cited officer changes on both boards, thanked the prior Chairs Wade Turner (SAB) and Bob Tholl (LCOOAC) for their exceptional leadership and provided meeting discussion highlights as follows: For SAB • Acknowledgment from SAB about success of the Human Relations Awards breakfast and fine slate of senior nominees. SAB had at least three Board members attending. • Upcoming June 20th fourth event on Growing Older in Fort Collins – Silver Tsunami as a Golden Opportunity: summary report and discussion of prior events held in November 2011, March 2012 and April 2012. • July 3rd 6-9 p.m. 100th City Park anniversary celebration at Club Tico at City Park. HRC June 14, 2012 – Page 5 For LCOOAC • Presentations were made by State Representatives Brian Del Grasso (R) and John Kefalas (D) in which they cited 312 pieces of legislation were passed jointly by both parties in Colorado during this past year. OTHER Preety will not be at the July meeting. Members would be making contact/solidifying invitations for the following upcoming guest speakers: July –Citizen Review Board Chair Anne Berry & Vice Chair Glenn Strunk and August – the Center (formerly known as LAMBDA) The following June 14 meeting bullet points will be sent to City Council Member as well as the Housing Authority and Affordable Housing Board, Transportation Board, Senior Advisory Board, Parks and Recreation Board, Human Relations Commission, Women’s Commission, Youth Advisory Board, CDBG, Commission on Disability, Economic Advisory Board. • Lance Smith, Strategic Financial Planning Manager for the City of Fort Collins spoke at our June 14th meeting regarding the City's "two tier" utilities pricing program. This program is being piloted from June 2012 to just before summer of 2013 to provide an incentive for energy conservation, particularly throughout the summer months, and also includes monetary consideration for those citizens with special income and medical needs. • The Educational Outreach Committee will be conducting its next meeting on June 27, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. at Whole Foods on College Avenue. The Committee will be discussing plan details for the "Elder Abuse Forum" being held on October 22, 2012 as well as implementation strategies for the HRC's Revised 2012 Work Plan. • CSU has demonstrated tremendous community spirit and support to many affected by the High Park Fire including animal care, temporary housing, and food supplies for evacuees as well as working closely and collaboratively with the Red Cross and several Emergency Services agencies and personnel who are working round-the-clock to extinguish this fire. ADJOURNMENT Kent Bryans made a motion to approve bullet points. Myles Crane seconded the motion. The motion was approved 5:0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. The next meeting of the HRC will be held on July 12, 2012, 5:30 p.m. in the CIC Room. Approved as amended by majority vote of the Commission on July 12, 2012. HRC June 14, 2012 – Page 6 STANDING COMMITTEES Executive Chair Karen Buchanan and Vice Chair Elaine Boni Government Relations Chair Preety Sathe / Kent Bryans, Elaine Boni Educational Outreach Chair Myles Crane/ Colleen Conway, Christine Hays Media/Community Recognition Chair James Owiny/ James Lesco