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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Human Relations Commission - AHRC Minutes 05-24-2018M I N U T E S HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION May 24, 2018 Call to Order – This regular meeting of the Ames Human Relations Commission was called to order by Commissioner Joel Hochstein at 5:32 p.m. in Conference Room 235 of City Hall. Commissioners Wayne Clinton, Anneke Mundel, and Heidi Thompson were present. Liming Pals was not present. Staff member Brian Phillips was also present. Public Forum – Richard Deyo asked to speak at Commissioner Comments. Approval of Minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 26, 2018 – It was moved by Wayne, seconded by Heidi to approve the minutes of the April 26, 2018 meeting with a typo correction. Motion carried unanimously. Report of Complaints or Inquiries from the Public – Brian reported no communication had been received from the public. Partnership with Inclusive Ames – Joel recapped the discussion at the previous Commission meeting and asked for updates from Inclusive Ames. Cheryl Binzen provided additional information, which she had provided in an email. Commissioner Pals arrived at 5:40 p.m. Wayne indicated he felt he should still attend a presentation to learn more about it, and then report back to the Commission. Heidi asked whether it would be possible to ask questions of attendees regarding whether they had experienced discrimination. Wayne suggested there may be time to generate questions between now and August. Joel asked whether the Commission could vote on whether to be a sponsor so Inclusive Ames can move forward in planning. It was moved by Heidi, seconded by Wayne to sponsor the Race: the Power of an Illusion program. Motion carried unanimously. Cheryl confirmed that Wayne would attend the August session, and Heidi would send some questions to forward to the presenter. Symposium Development with Chamber and ISU – Joel reported he was working with Reg Stewart and Nicci Port on breakout sessions. The title of the symposium is: A Symposium on Building Inclusive Organizations. He stated that he reported in a planning session today that employment complaints are the most frequent human relations complaints in Ames. By the next meeting, Joel will be able to provide more details regarding the breakout sessions and may have a keynote speaker identified. The symposium will be held October 31, tentatively taking place between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Public Service Announcements – Anneke reported she had worked with Derek from Channel 12 regarding the script. Joel suggested removing gendered language from the script. The Commission discussed how to get across the information without being too wordy. Anneke made notes about suggestions to incorporate into the script. Joel asked that at the next meeting, Anneke bring times that could work for Derek to film the PSAs in July. Program of Quarterly Educational Seminars – Anneke asked to move this item under Strategic Goal C in the agenda. Heidi had collected further information regarding accessibility testing in businesses. Joel asked that this topic be on the agenda for the next meeting. Follow-up from Joint City Council Meeting – Wayne noted that the Commission’s strategic planning was a good blueprint and the report was well-received. Brian reported that the workshop is tentatively planned for August 21st. Heidi offered to get more recent data regarding complaints filed with the state. Joel noted he forwarded responses to the Council Members regarding some of the questions that remained after the meeting. Joel asked whether it would be helpful to come back to the questions the Commission posed at the June or July meeting. Heidi stated that if there is no strategy going into the joint meeting, the opportunity to get direction may be lost. Joel suggested having this topic on the June and July Commission agendas. Joel suggested reaching out to Reg Stewart and Margot Foreman to represent ISU. Liming mentioned the idea Council Member Betcher raised regarding translating documents through the World Languages and Cultures Department at ISU. The Commission discussed what documents should be translated, and what languages should be translated. Commissioner Comments – Joel provided a budget draft he had put together and noted that the Commission budget would be a discussion on the next agenda. Next Meeting: June 28, 2018 The meeting adjourned at 6:49 p.m.