Human Relations Commission

Town of Boone Human Relation Commission Meeting: July 16, 2025 Members Present: Todd Carter, Kirstin Morgan, Drew Finley, Sean Morris, Trevor Moody, Jack Yordy, Tori Rodriguez • Meeting began at 6:04pm o All members present in person except for Joanne Pullati and Dalton George, both of whom were absent • Moment of silence observed • Tentative agenda adopted o Kirstin Morgan motioned to adopt o Trevor Moody seconded o Vote: approve 7, against 0, abstentions 0 • HRC vacancies announcement by Todd Carter o 3 available slots, 1 of which is for current college student • Opened for public comment at 6:07 o Closed at 6:07 as no members of the public open • Approval of June 18, 2025 minutes o Move to approve minutes by Trevor Moody o Seconded by Kirstin Morgan o Vote: approve 7, against 0, abstentions 0 • Online complaint form approved by Town Council at 6-25-25 meeting after healthy discussion about protections for LGBTQ+ citizens as it relates to housing o Nicole Harmon will add to town website o Everyone agreed with this next step o Todd Carter is reaching out to Mr. Troy re: merging protections in housing without having to become a Fair Housing agency  Durham and Greensboro both enacted a Fair Housing ordinance, which means meeting federal standards and hiring additional staff  Put a pin in that for now while exploring the exact language • Disability Pride Event o 35th anniversary of ADA o Event at July 26, 10am-2pm, Agricultural Conference Center  Welcome @ 10am w/ reading of proclamation and brief overview of ADA protections  11am and on will be a festival style event where people can check out the vendors and get food  o Sean Morris having issues reaching a few agencies  Watauga Opportunities, Special Olympics, and need someone with Title IX  Kirstin Morgan will find out who at AppState manage ADA compliance or potentially a professor who can speak to ADA compliance – goal is to have a table with information on what they do and how they enforce compliance with ADA o Sean Morris asked about including artists in the event so it was not just a non-profit event  The commission offered recommendations for finding artists via social media, Watauga Arts Council, High Country Emporium o Budget approved by town on 7-9-25, Todd Carter explained process for spending and reimbursement  Flyers can be printed at town council chambers  Food budget transferred to Sean Morris  Keep all receipts to give to town upon completion of event o Town of Boone will make social media post now that flyer is done • Learn How Local Government Works event update o Sept. 27 or Oct. 4 o Kirstin Morgan reviewed her ideas and asked for feedback o Kirstin Morgan stated goal is to present this as a “what can your government do for you?” o Have in evening or Saturday afternoon – about 2 to 3-hour event  Budget for light refreshments and space; thinking Ag Center or Town Hall o Have 1 faculty tentatively committed to moderating panel on how local governance works  Short workshop on overview of local governance in NC and relevant laws, with printouts for participants of governance overview and organizational chart  Panel w/ elected town and county officials o Options for second half  2-hour vendor fair style with representatives from local govt agencies to answer questions  OR a second panel with those representatives to discuss what their agencies do and can’t do, laws, etc o Each panel 1-1.5 hours w/ Q&A for each panel of no longer than 30 minutes o Feedback from commission  Todd Carter stated that if people could just know what state statutes limit what local govt can do that would help  Topics that will come up: AppState, parking, roads, new development and planning, traffic  Drew Finley asked should we include any state folks, like from DOT?  • Kirstin Morgan worries if we include the state the scope will become too big  Sean Morris said we should get complaints of things that people want resolved and we can brainstorm what to do? • Several commission members pointed out how quickly this could get out of hand as we would need to follow up on each request for help  Todd Carter wanted to have information about the town commissions at the event and Kirstin Morgan agreed this is a great idea  Todd Carter pointed out people need to understand the very different rules, regulations, and processes between town and county  Jack Yordy asked about including BOE, which Kirstin Morgan said she was not likely to do because only have so much room on panel  Drew Finley suggested including information on things the town is doing with sustainability • Kirstin Morgan thinks it will be important to relate it to how it affects everyone’s lives as folks don’t always see that o Drew Finley offered to help plan, so he and Kirstin Morgan will have updates next meeting • Work Session o Trevor Moody has event suggestion  World Aids Day is Dec. 1, and there is a documentary package that can be shown in remembrance of the day  Would need to get App Theater to show and panel afterwards  Todd Carter and Sean Morris mentioned ALFA, an organization providing HIV/AIDS support and based out of Hickory – could be for panel  Is a Monday this year, so likely nothing at theater already o Todd Carter shared email from Mr. Troy  Fair Housing symposium in Charlotte on Aug. 18  Another in Wilmington on Oct. 30 sponsored by NC Human Relations Commission • Meeting adjourned at 6:59pm o Kirstin Morgan motioned to adjourn o Sean Morris seconded o Vote to adjourn unanimous