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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Human Relations Commission - AHRC Minutes 4-23-2015M I N U T E S HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION April 23, 2015 The regular meeting of the Ames Human Relations Commission was called to order by Amy Juhnke at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Ames City Hall. Members present were John Klaus, Barbara Woods, Devita Harden, Raghul Ethiraj, and Heidi Thompson. Staff member Brian Phillips was also present. PUBLIC FORUM Amy asked Heidi to introduce herself. Heidi spoke about her interest in the Commission’s work. There was no one present for public forum. OLD BUSINESS A. Approval of March 26, 2015 Minutes – It was moved by Klaus, seconded by Ethiraj to approve the minutes. The motion carried unanimously. B. Year End Report 2014 - 2015 – Brian mentioned that the year-end report would be on the consent agenda for the next City Council meeting. C. A Home For Everyone Award – Amy described the background of this award. A correction was suggested to add “organization” to the second paragraph. Amy said the Commission would work between now and the next Fair Housing Month to promote the award. Heidi asked how it would be promoted specifically. Amy said in January or so, perhaps we can use the Humanitarian Award distribution list to start. Raghul asked if we could put it together as an online form. Brian said we could look into it. Heidi suggested considering individuals or organizations that promote timely access to housing, since sometimes there are long waits for access to housing. D. Diversity Event with ISU Students – Amy said she and Raghul met with the ISU group and they are excited, but perhaps spooked about trying to organize something large before the end of June. Raghul was thinking about having a musician or performer bring an experience of Middle Eastern music to the community. He has a contact that may be able to provide that. International Students and Scholars would be willing to promote any kind of event that the Commission partners on in the summer. John suggested that it would be important to find different organizations to participate so that it is not mono-cultural, but multi-cultural. Raghul will work with the international groups to see if they are willing to expand an existing event to involve the Commission. John suggested that he would like to use the $2,700 available to hire an agency to provide an advertising plan. Amy said she was confident in Susan’s ability to develop advertising that is effective. Amy will work with Susan to develop an advertising campaign as a plan B. It was moved by Thompson, seconded by Klaus to have a phone meeting on Friday, May 8 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss the possibility of hosting a multicultural event and if that is not feasible, to discuss spending Commission funds on an advertising campaign. Motion carried unanimously. E. Participation in/Sponsorship of IRIS Peace Walk – Amy recapped the discussion from the last meeting. A $500 donation gets the Commission on the sponsor t-shirt and on a tent. Amy went over the budget information. NEW BUSINESS A. International Student ISU Class – Raghul explained that the idea would be for the Commission to explain its purpose to the class required for international students attending ISU. The class coordinator wanted a list of things that the Commission might discuss to ensure that there is no redundancy. The coordinator would need information by June to work into the schedule for fall, and if it worked well, it could roll right into the spring class. Raghul mentioned that his discussion led to an awareness of the International Day of Friendship, and how the Commission might play a role in that social event. Amy suggested that with the ISU class, if the outline gets developed, it could be used to speak to other organizations about the commission. Raghul asked what he should respond to the coordinator with. Amy said she can start working on an outline of a presentation, and Raghul should tell the coordinator the commission wants to do it. Devita asked when the class was. Raghul said he thought it was during the day. The fall is the first time the class is being held. Amy suggested that others can think about the things they would like to present in the class. B. Commission Budget – Devita said the banner would cost about $50. It was moved by Klaus, seconded by Thompson to spend $2,700 on either Raghul’s event or advertising and $1,150 on the list of items in Amy’s draft budget. Amy’s draft budget included the following proposed expenditures: Badges: $50 T-shirts: 100 IRIS sponsorship 500 Magnets 150 Banner 50 Housing Month ads 300 TOTAL 1150 Unspent old FACES money: $2,735.07 Motion carried unanimously. C. Shirts and/or name badges – This topic was addressed during the budget discussion. D. Sponsorship of Fair Housing Advertising – This topic was discussed during the budget discussion. E. Commissioner Comments – Devita said she got a price quote from Prints Copy Center. She will collaborate with Amy to get the artwork and logo to the printer and get the banner purchased. Devita received the proclamation for the Commission from the Mayor for Fair Housing Month. F. Time and Date of Next Meeting - May 8, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. ADJOURN: The meeting adjourned at 6:38 p.m.