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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - December 12, 2024, AHRC MinutesMinutes AMES HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Conference Room 235 City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue Thursday, December 12, 2024 Call to Order: Moved by Clinton, seconded by Marquez, to appoint a temporary chair to call the meeting to order in the absence of the chair and vice chair. Motion carried unanimously. Moved by Clinton, seconded by Marquez, to appoint Commissioner Marquez as temporary chair. Motion carried unanimously. Temporary Chair Marquez called the meeting to order at 5:44 p.m. Commissioners Annabella Marquez, Pablo Suarez Beltran, and Shawn Kenny and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Coordinator Casandra Eames were also present. Commissioner Wayne Clinton joined the meeting electronically. Commissioner Marty Martinez was absent. Public Forum: Temporary Chair Marquez opened the Public Forum. Richard Deyo shared ideas about the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and associated essay contest. The commissioners explained that the Commission was not an organizer of the event. Chair Chen entered the meeting at 5:46 p.m. Temporary Chair Marquez closed the Public Forum when no one else came forward to speak and handed the meeting over to Chair Chen. Selection of Vice Chair for December 2024 – March 2025: Self-nominations were put forward by Commissioner Marquez and Commissioner Beltran. Voting was conducted via secret ballot and Commissioner Marquez was elected Vice Chair. Approval of Minutes: Moved by Marquez, seconded by Kenny, to approve the minutes of the November 14, 2024, meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Selection of Humanitarian Award Recipient: Each commissioner discussed their thoughts on the two nominees, agreeing that both were excellent candidates. Voting was conducted via secret ballot and Latifah Faisal was selected as the recipient of the 2025 Humanitarian Award, which will be presented by Chair Chen at the Ames/Story County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on January 20, 2025. AHRC Mission Statement: The commissioners discussed whether the goal was to include the phrase voted on at the previous meeting in a longer sentence or to preserve that phrase as a separate tagline or slogan. Consensus emerged around keeping “connecting and supporting all communities in Ames” as a slogan and developing a longer, standalone mission statement. Moved by Kenny, seconded by Marquez, to table the discussion until the next meeting and have each commissioner draft a descriptive sentence to go with the slogan. Motion carried unanimously. City Council Request to Fund India Cultural Association “Indian Sports Mela” Event: Coordinator Eames explained that the City Council had voted to provide $570 in funding to the India Cultural Association (ICA) to supplement a grant made by the Commission on the Arts (COTA) for an “Indian Sports Mela” event. The City Council requested that the Ames Human Relations Commission provide the funding, and if the Commission did not have funds available, the funding would be provided by Council Contingency funds. Staff clarified that the amount had already been factored into COTA’s contract with ICA, which had already been fully executed. Chair Chen inquired whether the requested funding was available in the budget, to which staff replied in the affirmative. The commissioners discussed how this request deviated from the standard process of requesting funding from the Commission and noted that the amount goes beyond the standard $500 sponsorship provided by the Commission for its signature events. There was discussion about elements of the event which commissioners would have asked further questions about prior to providing funding. Also discussed was the importance of being responsive to requests from the City Council. Moved by Beltran, seconded by Marquez, to accept the City Council’s request that the supplemental funding for the “Indian Sports Mela” event come from the Ames Human Relations Commission budget and to invite the India Cultural Association to attend a future meeting and share about the event. Motion carried unanimously. Ames Interfaith Alliance “All Are Welcome in Iowa” Resolution: Coordinator Eames shared that the City Attorney clarified that the resolution in question could only be adopted by the City Council, so the matter before the Commission was whether to endorse the resolution or to simply forward it for review with no comment on its merits. The commissioners discussed the options. Moved by Marquez, seconded by Kenny, to have Chair Chen respond to Terry Lowman with the Commission’s decision for forward the resolution to the City Council for review. Motion declared carried unanimously. Upcoming Events • Inclusive Breakfast – December 13: Coordinator Eames reminded the commissioners that the event would be held at Reiman Gardens the next day, with Chair Chen, Vice Chair Marquez, and Commissioner Beltran attending. • MLK Celebration – Coordinator Eames reviewed that the event will be held on Monday, January 20, 2025, in the City Hall Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. • Quarterly Meet & Greet – February – Vice Chair Marquez volunteered to coordinate this event and planned to explore the possibility of having it at Hy-Vee prior to a weekly Tuesday evening trivia event. Commissioner Announcements: None. Next Meeting: Thursday, January 23, 2025 Adjournment: Chair Chen adjourned the meeting at 7:51 p.m.