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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Human Relations Commission - AHRC Minutes 02-22-2018M I N U T E S HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION February 22, 2018 Call to Order – This regular meeting of the Ames Human Relations Commission was called to order by Chair John Klaus at 5:30 p.m. in Conference Room 235 of City Hall. Commissioners Heidi Thompson, Joel Hochstein, and Anneke Mundel were present. Staff members Brian Phillips and Vanessa Baker-Latimer were also present. Public Forum – Vanessa Baker-Latimer was present to follow up on last month’s meeting. She showed some posters related to discrimination, which she hoped could be used as part of a public education campaign, perhaps in collaboration with Channel 12. Approval of Minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 25, 2018 – It was moved by Joel, seconded by Heidi to approve the minutes of the January 25, 2018 meeting. Report of Complaints or Inquiries from the Public – There were no reports of complaints. Joel mentioned he had emailed the director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission to collect data from previous years regarding complaints in the same format as the one provided for this year. The reply was that it would require significant work to do so. If it was the preferred format to receive the data in future years, it would be helpful to attach an example when requesting the data. Program of Quarterly Educational Seminars – Heidi reported she tried to get in touch with the Ames SHRM group, but has not received a reply. Commission Annual Report Approval – Anneke has made the changes to the report as previously discussed. Brian mentioned that it would be beneficial to have the report discussed with the Council in April with the new commission members. It was moved by Heidi, seconded by Anneke, to approve the report as prepared and to have it sent to the City Council in April. Motion carried unanimously. Municipal Equality Index Scorecard – Joel noted he had found contractor non-discrimination language for Cedar Rapids as an example. He had also identified some research regarding this topic. Joel felt that the joint discussion with the City Council in April was not the best place for this discussion, but that the direction that is discussed at that meeting could inform whether this is something that fits with what the Commission should be pursuing. Fair Housing Month – Anneke noted that although Vanessa is doing Fair Housing Month activities, but that the public service announcement idea would be a good way to reach out to the community. It was moved by Joel, seconded by Heidi, that Anneke make contact with Derek Crisler at Channel 12 to develop a series of public service announcements. Motion carried unanimously. Regarding the Home for Everyone Award, Joel noted that the due date should be March 20, 2018. He also noted that the line at the top of the second page should refer to both an individual and organization being nominated. It was moved by Joel, seconded by Anneke, to approve the nomination form as amended. Motion carried unanimously. Brian asked if it would be acceptable to change “individual” to “nominee” as a way to keep the form editing to a minimum. There was no objection. Commissioner Comments – Joel mentioned that the Boards and Commissions Luncheon was coming up, and he wanted to remind the Commissioners that a response has been requested. Barb Wheelock had sent an email regarding a symposium in Des Moines related to housing rights. Joel noted that Iowa City was reviewing its City Code to be non-gendered. He had reviewed the Ames Code for gender inclusion. He found that at the beginning of the Ames Code, there was a statement that references to one gender should be considered to apply to the other gender. Heidi mentioned some shortcomings with the use of the Dropbox system. Brian mentioned a concern related to open records request with a system outside the control of City employees. He offered to set up a community through the City’s IT staff, which would be more under the ownership of the City for records management. Next Meeting: March 22, 2018 The meeting adjourned at 6:22 p.m.