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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Human Relations Commission Minutes July 23, 2026MINUTES AMES HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Conference Room 235 City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue July 23, 2026 Call to Order Vice Chair Pablo Suarez Beltran called the meeting of the Ames Human Relations Commission (AHRC) to order at 6:02 p.m. In attendance were Commissioners Sarah Nolin, Katlyn Mock, Zhengyuan Zhu, and Engagement Coordinator Casandra Eames. Commissioner Paige Bailey was in attendance virtually. Commissioners Anabella Marquez and Shawn Kenny were absent. Public Forum No one from the community attended the meeting. Approval of Minutes Approved by Suarez, seconded by Nolin, to approve the June 25, 2026 minutes. Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion carried unanimously. Appointment of Positions Commissioners discussed possible roles for everyone. Nothing was voted on as they wanted everyone in attendance to decide. The discussion brought up a treasurer to update new monthly expenses. The secretary takes summary notes and gets minutes written. The events person keeps track of the events calendar and sends reminders to everyone, places items on the agenda, manages sign-up genius and ensures there are enough people signed up for shifts. The communications role will maintain the ongoing email list and more community members sign up for the quarterly newsletter and writing the newsletter. The outreach specialist will maintain and create new relationships with outside entities, attend their meetings and invite members as guests to AHRC meetings. Budget Update Casandra Eames shared the July financial report and stated that the August report will start the new balance. Eames purchased 500 coloring books from Heuss Printing at $96.59 and crayons for outreach events. These will be reflected in the August report. Suarez asked about approving the next fiscal year’s budget; Eames will look into it. Review/Feedback of: AHRC Monthly Meetings Eames brought up monthly meetings to ask the commission if they feel it is necessary to meet monthly or change the frequency. Commissioners discussed it, and everyone felt a monthly meeting was a good use of time to assess and review items. Elevator Pitch Eames circled back on this item to discuss messaging of the AHRC. We need to ensure that all commissioners (in their own words) are aligned in sharing a common message with the community. Eames discussed how the AHRC is two things, it is proactive when collaborating with other entities and supporting events in the community to unite people. It is reactive when it comes to discrimination that has already happened and commissioners can assist community members by connecting them to the appropriate resources and channels to file a complaint if they choose to do so. Nothing was decided on this, we will wait until all commissioners are present. There was mention about having a laminated document at every event to remind them of the mission statement and a document to share resources. Annual Report to Council/IOCR Complaints 2025 Chair Marquez has drafted the Annual Report to Council. The only data missing is the compilation of the 2025 discrimination complaints by the Iowa Office of Civil Rights (IOCR). Eames has requested legal to request these from the IOCR. The Annual presentation to Council should be in August. The five commissioners that were present were all available to attend the August 25th meeting. ISU Civil Rights Complaints 2025 Eames is tabling this for when Marquez is present. Chair Marquez is leading this effort and has communicated with ISU about the civil rights complaints. This item will be on the agenda for August. Newsletter/Brochures Chair Marquez drafted a brochure, and it was sent to Eames to share with the City of Ames Graphic Designer for review. These were printed and passed around to review. Marquez created the content of the brochure, and the formatting and visual standards abide by the City of Ames branding. This was approved by Nolin, seconded by Suarez, to approve the brochure, send to print pending a QR code to be added so it takes people to the AHRC website. Vote on Motion 5-0. Motion carried unanimously. . Upcoming Events: • August 4, National Night Out-Suarez is lead • \August 19, Tahira Park-Mock is lead • September 23, Roosevelt Park-Nolin is lead • October 10, Pridefest- Suarez is lead Sign-Up Genius Chair Marquez stated the benefits of Sign-Up Genius, including the ability to see all events at once and who has signed up for events. She also said she will set up two-day event reminders. Commission Announcements Eames mentioned an idea for commissioners to consider. To provide a community event, they could collaborate with the Ames History Museum and have them present one of their topics at the library auditorium. A few to consider are Black Trailblazers, Ames History, Walking Tour Downtown or Women in Ames. They could still set up an AHRC table and give away coloring books and crayons. Overall, to think of using their budget for education. Mock mentioned the Building Community Breakfast and would like a ticket. Suarez and Zhu would like the other two. Next Meeting: August 27, 2026 Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.