Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - February 16, 2022, AHRC MinutesMinutes AMES HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Conference Room 235 City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue Wednesday, February 16, 2022 Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:38 p.m. by Vice Chair Wayne Clinton. Members present were Wayne Clinton and Chunhui Chen. Commission member Madesh Samanu joined the meeting telephonically. City of Ames Staff Liaison Deb Schildroth was also present. Members absent were Chair Jahmai Fisher and Lynette Plander. Approval of Minutes: Moved by Chen, seconded by Samanu, to approve the minutes of the January 27, 2022, meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Public Forum: Vice Chair Clinton opened the Public Forum. No one was present to speak, and Vice Chair Clinton closed the Public Forum. Annual Report Review: Vice Chair Clinton reviewed the event list covered in the minutes from January 27, 2022 and asked the Commission members if there were any needed additions. With no additions, Samanu inquired about the data from the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC). Assistant City Manager Schildroth noted that the data had been requested form ICRC but has not been received yet. Samanu requested to have the ICRC data from FY2020 and FY2021 forwarded to him upon receipt so he could begin working on the graphs and data comparison for the Annual Report. Vice Chair Clinton noted that the date for the joint meeting for City Council has not been set; however, it is anticipated for April or May. He stated the report will be drafted to review at an upcoming Commission meeting and will be approved by the Commission prior to being delivered to the City Council. Chen inquired about the format for the joint meeting with City Council , wondering if it would be an opportunity to present a proposal for future events or initiates lead by the Commission. Clinton clarified the purpose of the joint meeting and detailed the format of past joint meetings. Assistant City Manager Schildroth stated details of the budgeting process and walked the Commission through the steps of preparing a request for increased funding and what was needed to provide a justification for the request. Vice Chair Clinton called for further discussion and hearing no comments he moved to the next agenda item. Postings and Social Media Content – Chinese New Year: Vice Chair Clinton commended Chen for work he did to make this project possible. He noted that the message of the video was powerful and welcoming. He also stated that he was excited to see the large number of attendees at the reading of the Proclamation and noted that he would like to see the Commission engage more in celebrating Chinese New Year in the future. Samanu stated that the video was very well done, and he enjoyed watching it. Chen noted that this project was a collaborative effort and he sees this video as a step in the right direction that the Commission can improve upon in the future. He noted that in the past there have been many isolated events to celebrate Chinese New Year and he thinks the Commission can bridge the gap to bring them together into one celebration. He stated that he was appreciative of this project and glad to be a part of the first time the City of Ames formally recognized this holiday through a Proclamation. He noted that this project was a great beginning that got people excited and that the video has more than three hundred views the last time he checked. Postings and Social Media Content – Black History Month: Vice Chair Clinton noted that the first video in the series “Sharing Our Own Stories: Ames’ Black Voices” wa s held last night, Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. He stated that there was a small audience attending in person with many viewers tuning in to the live stream. Vice Chair Clinton served as the first storyteller in the series with Chair Jahmai Fisher as the moderator. He noted that Chair Fisher did a wonderful job of leading the discussion and asking questions. Vice Chair Clinton asked the Commission if they had all received a copy of the Iowa State Daily article that covered the event. The members present noted that they had, and Clinton requested that the link to the article be added to the Commission’s webpage along with a link to the video once it is available, which is anticipated to be by the end of the month. AHRC Bookmark Revisions: Assistant City Manager Schildroth reviewed the bookmark designs before asking the Commission for feedback. Vice Chair Clinton noted that the graphic on bookmark one is too busy for his liking and much prefers the graphic on bookmark two. He also noted that he prefers the pictures that include people versus the block design shown on bookmark five. He compared the format of bookmark one and two compared to bookmarks three, four, and five. He noted that he preferred the traditional bookmark format. Chen agreed with Vice Chair Clinton the graphics and format. He also noted that there is too much text on side two of the bookmark. He said that it would be easy to reduce the amount of text because much of the information is repeated and essentially says the same thing twice. He also noted that the size of the bookmark is slightly large, and he’d like to see a smaller mockup. He said that the thing the Commission should think about is what they can do to make sure people will keep the bookmark. Chen suggested that the bookmark be laminated so people will keep and use it. The Commission discussed concerns with the text being difficult to read should they reduce the size of it. After discussion it was agreed that Chen would revise the text to reduce the number of characters and eliminate repeated information so the Commission could try shrinking the size of the bookmark. Samanu stated that he liked all of the bookmarks, noting that it’s a step in the right direction, and agrees with the revisions that have been discussed. AHRC Fact Sheet: The Commission discussed the purpose of the fact sheet before discussing ways to disseminate the information. Vice Chair Clinton noted that the fact sheet might be appropriate to have in CitySide, the newsletter that is included in residents’ utility bills. Members discussed how to locate the desired information and agreed that detailed data was not necessary. Commissioner Announcements: Assistant City Manager Schildroth informed the Commission that a press release had been published announcing The Reminders’ residency and concert that will be taking place in March. She stated that she will email the press release to the Commission members for them to share with their networks. Vice Chair Clinton asked Samanu how his grad school interviews were coming along. Samanu stated that his interviews were going well so far, and that May or June would likely be his last meeting with AHRC. Vice Chair Clinton requested that Samanu reach out to his friends and colleagues at Iowa State University to inform them about the Commission and encourage them to apply when Samanu’s seat becomes available because the Commission members have greatly enjoyed having a student’s perspective in play. Vice Chair Clinton reminded the Commission that the “Sharing Our Own Stories: Ames’ Black Voices” series would continue in March and he encourage d them all to watch. Next Meeting: Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. Adjournment: Moved by Samanu, seconded by Chen, to adjourn at 6:33 p.m.