HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - December 1, 2022, AHRC MinutesMinutes
AMES HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION
Conference Room 235
City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue
Thursday, December 1, 2022
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:36 p.m. by Chair Jahmai Fisher. Members
present were Wayne Clinton, Lynette Plander, Chunhui Chen, and Khushi Patel. City of Ames
Staff Liaison Deb Schildroth was also present.
Public Forum: Chair Fisher opened the Public Forum. No one was present to speak, and Chair
Fisher closed the Public Forum.
Approval of Minutes: Moved by Clinton, seconded by Chen, to approve the minutes of the
October 27, 2022, meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Strategic Plan: Vice Chair Clinton offered an update on how the commissioners had split up the
Strategic Plan goals for review: Plander revised Goal B, Chen and Patel revised Goal C, and
Clinton revised Goal D. There was discussion of several potential wording changes, which
expanded into a larger conversation about purpose and length of the Strategic Plan.
Plander noted that the work of the Commission did not rise to the level of advocacy. Chair Fisher
agreed, suggesting that awareness and outreach would be a better description. Chen suggested
shaving the Strategic Plan down to one page, transferring the aspirational items to a separate
document of potential activities. Vice Chair Clinton advised that a drastic revision would require
significantly more time investment. Chair Fisher emphasized that the Strategic Plan was a tool
for accountability, so it should better reflect what the commission actually does. Vice Chair
Clinton expressed interest in looking at examples of Strategic Plans from cities with similar
demographics for comparison. A consensus was reached to keep the current plan largely intact
and edit the wording for clarification in a few places.
The commissioners agreed to keep the previous section assignments; review with an eye to what
the Commission has done and what the commission would like to do in the future; and email
their revisions to Chair Fisher by January 16, 2023. Chair Fisher would incorporate the changes
into one document and send it to staff by January 23, 2023, for inclusion in the January 26, 2023,
meeting agenda packet.
Update on the City’s DEI Coordinator Position: Assistant City Manager Schildroth shared the
interview schedule for the remaining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator candidate.
Update on Humanitarian Award Applications: Assistant Manager Schildroth stated that the
deadline for applications would be December 9, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. So far only one application
had been received, and it did not meet the award criteria. Assistant Manager Schildroth
encouraged the commissioners to brainstorm and encourage community members to make
nominations, and indicated that she would share a list of past award recipients for reference.
Patel inquired whether organizations were eligible for the award, and Assistant Manager
Schildroth answered in the affirmative, noting that last year was the first time an organization
had received the award.
Discussion of Speaker Invitations Ideas and Schedule: Plander shared that she received an
email from The Bridge Home indicating that they could attend the January meeting. The
commissioners agreed to invite them to that meeting, and Plander indicated that she would
follow up with them. Chen stated that he contacted the individual from the Ames Chinese
Language Academy, and although she was interested, she was not available. Patel noted that she
reached out to the Indian Cultural Association of Central Iowa, but has not heard back.
Postings and Social Media Content: Patel shared that she had written several Trivia Questions
for future use, and Assistant Manager Schildroth welcomed the commissioners to send the
questions to her so that City staff could post them periodically. Vice Chair Clinton suggested
writing a question on the topic of the new High School gymnasium being named after Harrison
Barnes. Patel suggested that the questions could be about Iowa rather than just about Ames.
Commissioner Announcements: Vice Chair Clinton shared that the Martin Luther King Jr.
Celebration Committee has identified a keynote speaker for the event on January 16, 2023. The
committee is finalizing plans to host it in the Ames Auditorium and gymnasium, with cake from
Hy-Vee and entertainment from the Ames High Jazz Band and a children’s choir. Vice Chair
Clinton clarified for Assistant Manager Schildroth that the committee had considered the Middle
and High School gymnasiums as possible locations, but decided that the media technology in
those locations could not accommodate their plans.
Next Meetings: December 15, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. (Special Meeting)
January 26, 2023, at 5:30 p.m.
Adjournment: Moved by Chair Fisher, seconded by Clinton, to adjourn the meeting at 6:56 p.m.
Motion carried unanimously.