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03/11/10GOLDEN VALLEY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING Minutes from the Meeting of March 11, 2010 Members Present: Christopher Jordan, Marion Helland, Anne Dykstra, Roger McConico and Debra Yahle. Members Absent: Bob Hoyt and Jay Sandvik. Staff Present: Chief Stacy Altonen. The meeting was called to order by Chair Jordan at 7:00 pm. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There were no revisions to the agenda. OPEN FORUM There was no one present requesting to address the Commission. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Dykstra moved to approve the minutes of the August 19, 2009 and November 12, 2009 meetings; seconded by Commissioner Helland. The minutes were approved by consensus. OLD BUSINESS: iNeighbor Setup and Calendaring option for GVHRC Commissioner Yahle advised she will explore the option of a calendar through iNeighbor and will report on this topic at the next meeting. COMMITTEE REPORTS I. Executive Committee Chair Jordan advised the executive meeting met in January. Chair Jordan expressed interest in establishing a group e-mail list for the community to be able to contact commissioners. Chief Altonen advised she will research this possibility. Commissioner Dykstra inquired about reserving the Council Conference Room for subcommittee meetings and Chief Altonen advised the meeting room would be available for these meetings. II. Nomination and Governance Committee There was nothing new to report from this committee. Commissioner McConico inquired about recommending a new member to the commission. Chair Jordan advised an application and brochure should be given to potential new members and one could also be directed to the website for more information. Chief Altonen advised nominations for commissioners are reviewed by City Council quarterly at best. III. League of Minnesota Human Rights Commission Commissioner Helland advised a new board started in January and revised orientation books were distributed to all members. The next meeting will be at Brookview Community Center in Golden Valley on Saturday, March 27th. The topic at the upcoming orientation meeting will be the history of the league- lessons learned and highlights. IV. Minnesota Department of Human Rights December 4th Conference Golden Valley Human Rights commissioners did not attend the conference and there was nothing to report. V. Program Committees Human Riahts Communitv Issues Chief Altonen advised one issue was discussed with a victim of damage done to a vehicle. The victim is involved in a same-sex relationship and felt the damage was related to this relationship. It was soon discovered some juveniles had gone into an underground garage and slashed the tires of 30+ vehicles so the victim had not been specifically targeted for any specific reason. Chief Altonen advised victims of bias crimes would be supplied information pertaining to bias crimes, victims rights, etc. in the event a bias crime occurred. This incident was not a bias crime as not evidence exists to suggest it was. Commissioner McConico inquired if the juveniles lived in the same complex where the tires had been slashed and Chief Altonen advised they were tenants. Census Project The Census Project concluded January 31" and an awards and recognition ceremony was held at the Brookview Community Center. Four of the five entrants into the competition were from Breck and the other entrant was from Cooper High School. Chair Jordan advised in the future a more proactive approach should be initiated to encourage participation from other schools and districts. Commissioner Dykstra advised the private schools have more flexibility to get involved in these sorts of projects than public schools due to legislation that governs their agenda. Commissioner Dykstra inquired if there was any money left for the census project and Chair Jordan advised $1,063.20 was used of the $1,500.00 grant that was approved. Chair Jordan advised the posters entered into the census competition are displayed in City Hall. The winners are listed on the city website and there is a link to the projects that were entered. Chair Jordan thanks Commissioners Yahle and Helland and Council Members Scanlon and Pentel for their assistance with the award ceremony. Share the Dream Chair Jordan advised the event was held on February 27th and was well received. Chair Jordan expressed interest in hosting Share the Dream events throughout the year, to include an outdoor movie night for the community. There was discussion about giving certificates and thank you notes to volunteers who present or participate in events in significant ways. 45th Anniversary of Golden Vallev HRC Commissioner Helland advised she will begin planning an event for the summertime. Chair Jordan expressed interest in helping out with the planning. 2010 Bill Hobbs Human Rights Award Chair Jordan advised three nominations were submitted for consideration and copies were distributed to commissioners to review. The nomination for John Mitchell was not considered for this award since the nomination requirements were not met. Commissioner Dykstra moved to approve honoring as a founder of the Golden Valley HRC as part of the 45th anniversary celebration of the commission later in the year; seconded by Commissioner Helland. Motion carried unanimously. Commissioners cast written ballots for the remaining two nominations, resulting in 3 votes for Tom Henderlite and 2 votes for Aljuan Hixon. Tom Henderlite will be recognized at an upcoming city council meeting. NEW BUSINESS PROPOSED SCHEDULING OF BRAINSTORMING SESSION Chair Jordan suggested a brainstorming session be part of the subcommittees' meeting on April 8, 2010 at 7PM. NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 13th, beginning at 7PM. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner McConico, seconded by Commissioner Yahle to adjourn the meeting at 8:12 pm.