Restorative Justice Commission

Restorative Justice Commission City of College Park Thursday, July 28, 2022 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting Members Present Absent Isabella Alcaniz X Zabrina Anzyl X Karin Brown X Robert Catlin X Jill Clements X Andrew Fellows X Maxine Gross X Violetta Sharps Jones X A.Rashard McCreary X James McShay X Nikki Pancho X Petrella Robinson X Ian Rowe X Courtnie Thurston X Robert Thurston 1 X Marques Washington X Jody Wildy X Wendi Williams X Patrick Wojahn, City Mayor X Staff and Others Kayla Carter, Racial Equity Officer, Staff X Liaison Teresa Way-Pezzuti, HR Director, Staff X Liaison Kenny Young, City Manager X Claudia Barragan, Consultant X Barbara Schreiber, Consultant X Leah Williams, Consultant X Richard Biffl, Guest X Carleveva Thompson, Contract Secretary X 1Joined at 8:10 p.m. 1  I. Call to Order Ms. Gross called the meeting to order at 7:20 p.m. II. Review of June Meeting Minutes The Commission reviewed the meeting minutes of the June 23, 2022, meeting. Ms. Wildy motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Second by Mr. Wojahn. All members in favor; no opposed. Motion carries, 14-0-0. III. Approval of the Agenda The Commission reviewed the agenda for the meeting. Mr. Fellows motioned to approve the agenda as presented. Second by Ms. Robinson. All members in favor; no opposed. Motion carries, 14-0-0. IV. Committees a. Principles Ms. Barragan presented to the Commission on the roles and values of restorative justice. The core elements of restorative justice are harms/needs, obligations, and commitment. The restorative justice goals are to address the harm, address the causes, and address the repairs. Ms. Barragan explained 5 principles from the Little Book of Restorative Justice by Howard Zher, which were the framework on the development of each committee. Commission members will select one of the following committees to work on: 1. Community Engagement – The goal is to educate and promote awareness of the history of the Lakeland community. 2. Truth & Reconciliation – The goal is to establish an accurate historical record and provide formal and informal opportunities for truth telling. 3. Restorative & Transformative Justice – The goal is to develop an action plan to bring into the restorative justice process individuals and entities which brought harm to the African Americans of College Park and to transition them into being active leaders and participants of the process. b. Visioning for Committees Stage 1: Curiosity - Learn committee goals by 7/28/22 2  Stage 2: Connect – Determine leadership and meeting schedule – 8/24/22 Stage 3: Commitment – First Committee reports to the Commission – 9/22/22 c. Questions & Answers Questions on the Principles o Where does the focus on harm show up in the Committees? The focus on harm shows up in each committee as it is the baseline of the work. o Which Committee will be focusing on the harm? The Truth and Reconciliation Committee and the Community Engagement Committee. Questions on Committees o Are we actively collecting stories or engaging people to do the work on each committee? Yes, each commissioner will need to put in work on the committees, but there will also be experts working in partnership on the committee. Each committee will be in charge of developing a work plan. o Is there funding/budget for each committee? Committee members will determine the path based on the goals and deliverables of the committee and how the budget will be planned. o What is the timeframe for providing the first report? The first report can be an update on the committee’s workplan. Each committee has proposed timelines for deliverables. o Who do we have that has the history compiled by the Lakeland Heritage Project? Commission members, Ms. Gross, Ms. Thurston, Mr. Thurston, and Ms. Sharps-Jones have actively worked on the Lakeland Heritage Project. o What is the Lakeland Heritage Community Project? It is a local history non-profit that is 10 years old and includes a digital archive in the form of a database. Commission members will be provided a link to the collection to review and determine what additional items need to be included. o Have you seen this framework in other cities/communities and how does this play out from a planning perspective? Is it realistic and achievable? 3  The Little Book of Restorative Justice was used for the guiding principles. The book Race and Restorative Justice references several commissions that have done this work across the country over several years. There has been work in San Francisco, Oakland, and Massachusetts. The consultants will share the experiences that have happened in these cities. o Are the committees a management role or an advisory role? The committees will begin in a managing role and then shift to an advisory role. o What is the timeframe to see outcomes? What would an end date be for each committee? Committee appointments are for 3 years, and the overall project has a 7- year commitment. o Are there general roles on each committee, i.e., treasurer, secretary? The consultants will look into this for consideration. o For community engagement, would that involve hearing from displaced residents or others that were impacted by urban renewal? The record of truth telling is part of the community engagement piece. V. Event – 104th Anniversary of the First Airmail Flight – Friday, August 12, 2022 Ms. Sharps-Jones provided the Commission an update on a reception that will be held at the College Park Aviation Museum on August 12, 2022, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. to reveal the findings of Lakelanders that were former employees of the airport in the early 1900s. VI. Next Meeting and Next Steps The next meeting is scheduled on August 25, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. Ms. Williams will email the Commission the links for the committee sign up and the slides containing the committee information. VII. Additional Business The Lakeland Civic Association is sponsoring National Night Out on August 2, 2022. The Lakeland Civic Association met with a development group that plans to start construction of new student housing and a high-rise in 2024, with plans to open in 2026. The group would like to present their development plan to the Commission. VIII. Adjournment Mr. Thurston motioned to adjourn the meeting. Second by Ms. Robinson. All members in favor; no opposed. Motion carries 15-0-0. 4 The meeting adjourned at 9:09 p.m. 5