Commission on Human Rights

CITY OF ALBANY COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CITY HALL 24 EAGLE STREET, ALBANY, NY KATHY M. SHEEHAN MAYOR MEETING MINUTES Meeting Date: Thursday, April 18, 2024 Meeting Time: 6:00pm Location: Mayor’s Conference Room & YouTube Meeting Facilitator: Aaron Moore, Chair - Present Invitees: Thomas Mueller, Vice Chair - Present Kate Shelly, Secretary - Excused Valerie Alexander-Moseley, Commissioner – Attended via Zoom Natisha Alexander, Commissioner - Present Richard Conti, Commissioner - Present Celia Evers, Commissioner - Absent Rosie Love, Commissioner - Present Kimberly Young Wilkins, Commissioner - Present Ann Marie Salmon, Commissioner of Administrative Services - Present Melanie Woodward, EEO Compliance Officer - Present Raisi Mobele, Assistant Corporation Counsel – Present Jessica Smith, Project Manager – Present Meeting called to order by Chair Moore at 6:04 PM I. Approval of March 21, 2024 Minutes a) Chair Moore requested a motion to approve 03/21/2024 meeting minutes by general consent of the Commission on Human Rights (“CHR”). Motion moved by Vice Chair Mueller and seconded by Commissioner Wilkins. CHR voted unanimously to pass the motion. II. Public Comment (limited to 5 minutes per person) a) No comments were made during this period. III. Presentation by Monice Barbero and Gayle Hartz of the Legal Project a) This topic was postponed for future discussion. IV. Old Business a) 2024 Human Rights Recognition Reception and Forum   CHR decided that the event will be held at The Hollow on Thursday, June 13, as this is the date that most members are available to attend. The Hollow and Black Chamber of Commerce have also confirmed availability for this date.  Commissioner Salmon suggested setting up a separate meeting to discuss details of the event and expressed that City staff are available to assist CHR upon request.  Vice Chair Mueller and Commissioner Wilkins expressed interest in being a part of the reception planning committee and said they will reach out to Commissioner Shelly to see if she is interested on being on the committee as well.  The submission deadline for award nominations is currently April 30. CHR discussed extending the deadline by two weeks.  Commissioner Salmon mentioned that Project Manager Walz had put together a document containing the nominations that have come in so far and showed CHR where this document is located in the OneDrive. b) Informational Brochure  CHR reviewed two draft brochures that Project Manager Walz put together. They decided that they like Version 5 and requested a couple minor updates prior to finalizing. c) Commission on Human Rights Bylaws  Commissioner Conti previously provided Assistant Corporation Counsel Mobele with edits. Assistant Corporation Counsel Mobele has incorporated these edits into the updated draft and expressed that he is available to make additional edits upon request.  Assistant Corporation Counsel Mobele stated that he would draft a document containing all of the edits made thus far so that when Commissioners are reviewing they can easily distinguish what changes have been made.  Commissioner Salmon showed CHR where the most recent copies of the draft bylaws are saved in the OneDrive and stated that when Project Manager Walz sends out the minutes she can include a link to the OneDrive. d) Proposed legislation amending end dates for the tems of Commissioners  Assistant Corporation Counsel Mobele drafted a local law which was sent to Commissioners before the meeting. Commissioner Conti offered to assist Assistant Corporation Counsel Mobele with edits to the draft legislation.  There was discussion surrounding the issue of term end date discrepancies. CHR agreed that Vice Chair Mueller’s term end date is August 2025, not August 2024. Assistant Corporation Counsel Mobele stated he would make the appropriate record adjustments.  Further discussion was held regarding the change of term end dates in the event the new local law is passed. If the local law passes then all expiration dates will move to December 31, 20XX. V. New Business  Tulip Fest o Commissioner Conti brought up the topic of tabling at Tulip Fest and CHR decided that they will table at the event. Administrative Services has provided CHR with business cards and will order brochures and a tablecloth to be used at various events.  o Commissioner Salmon expressed that Administrative Services is available to assist with logistics surrounding tabling but that Commissioners will need to be able to staff the event. CHR decided that 3 hours shifts would be appropriate and agreed that it would be a good idea for Project Manager Walz to send out a survey to allow Commissioners to sign up for time slots. o Chair Moore suggested that Commissioners serving on the Event Planning Committee connect offline to discuss this topic further, no later than May 6. o Chair Moore inquired whether t-shirts and swag could be ordered for the event. Commissioner Salmon offered to order t-shirts and to supply the CHR with City of Albany swag for the event.  Neighborhood & Community Services o Commissioner Conti inquired about having the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services attend a future CHR meeting to discuss housing discrimination and complaints. Specifically he would like to know what is the nexus between what the department does and what the CHR does. Commissioner Salmon stated that we could invite the department to a future meeting to discuss.  Other Community Events o Chair Moore encouraged other Commissioners to bring back a list of events that are going on in the community so that the CHR can attend and be in solidarity and more involved within the community. VI. Updates from Commission on Human Rights Subcommittees Commissioner Salmon expressed that Administrative Services is available to assist the CHR with administrative needs such as setting up a Zoom link for a meeting, finding a meeting space, sending out a pre-drafted agenda to Commissioners, etc. The CHR agreed that they will contact Administrative Services when they need assistance in regard to planning subcommittee activities. a) Community and Non-profit Engagement and Events  Chair Moore and Vice Chair Mueller agreed to each be Co-Chair of this subcommittee.  Project Manager Walz has created a file in the OneDrive with details surrounding community events that Commissioners have brought up in previous meetings. There was discussion regarding Pride Parade on June 9th and Juneteenth Parade on June 19th. b) Investigations  Commissioner Wilkins and Commissioner Alexander agreed to each be Co-Chair of this subcommittee.  There was discussion regarding the topic of investigations training and the possibility of reaching out the New York State to see what resources they have available. c) Communications and Social Media  Commissioner Conti and Commissioner Love agreed to each be Co-Chair of this subcommittee. VII. Other Announcements and Discussion  Commissioner Love made the CHR aware that she has a new email address and will be providing it to Project Manager Walz for inclusion in future emails.  Upcoming events o Women’s March on May 25th which will be in support of mothers in the Capital District who have lost children to violence. Save the date flyer is available. Working with City Hall on permits before final flyer is published.  o Men’s March in June. Save the date flyer will be coming out next week. o Juneteenth parade on June 19th in Pine Hills. o Spring/Summer tree/flowing planting and lot clean-up with youth. o Chair Moore requested Commissioner Alexander-Mosely send flyers for event to the rest of the CHR when they become available. Chair Moore expressed interest in attending these events.  Commissioner Love mentioned that the Albany Task Force, which focuses on expanding and advancing health equity in the Capital Region, is interested in working with the CHR on the Equity Agenda Report. Commissioner Salmon stated that the CHR is welcome to forward the draft report to whomever they would like to assist in review and data analysis.  Social media o Commissioner Salmon mentioned that the City has taken various steps toward getting access to manage the CHR’s Facebook page. The steps have included working with the City’s IT team to try to identify who the account holder is and working with Corporation Counsel’s Office to draft a letter to Facebook stating that we are an established organization and have rights to the page. This letter has been sent to Facebook and the City is awaiting a response. o Vice Chair Mueller had previously been added as an administrator on the Facebook account so while he does not have the ability to add other administrators, he does have the ability to post content and encouraged others to send him content if they would like it posted. o Chair Moore stated that he would reach out to the previous Chair of the CHR, Brenda Robinson to see if she has the ability to manage the Facebook page and would be able to turn it over to us. VIII. Adjournment  Vice Chair Mueller made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:54pm. Motion seconded by Commissioner Alexander. The CHR voted unanimously to pass the motion. Minutes Approved on: