Restorative Justice Commission

Restorative Justice Commission City of College Park Tuesday, September 19, 2023 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting Members Present Absent Isabella Alcaniz1 X Karin Brown2 X Robert Catlin X Andrew Fellows X Maxine Gross X Violetta Sharps Jones X James McShay X Nikki Pancho X Ian Rowe X Courtnie Thurston X Robert Thurston X Marques Washington X Pamela Randall-Boardley X Fannie Featherstone 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 Carleveva Thompson, Contract Secretary X 1Left at ~8:00 p.m. 2Joined at ~8:10 p.m. I. Call to Order Ms. Gross called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. II. Approval of the Agenda The Commission reviewed the September 19, 2023, meeting agenda. III. Review of May Meeting Minutes The Commission reviewed the meeting minutes of the May 25, 2023, meeting. 1  Mr. Thurston motion to approve the minutes as presented. Second by Ms. Alcaniz. All members in favor; no opposed. Motion carries 8-0-0. IV. Announcements and Updates a. Mayor and Council Agenda Items i. CP Street Name Vote from Commissioners/Lakelanders – The street name “Ancestors Lane” was selected and will go to the City Council to vote on September 19th. ii. MD Park and Planning Letter – The drafted letter to send to MNCPPC will be on the Council’s consent agenda on September 26th. iii. Removal of Urban Renewal in City Charter – There is enabling language in the City’s Charter regarding urban renewal as a project and this language has only been used for Lakeland and has not been acted upon since the 1960s-1990s. The City attorney has proposed to remove the language and a public hearing was held. Ms. Gross attended the public hearing and asked Mayor and Council to pause taking action to give the RJC time to review the language and make a recommendation to Council if the language should be removed. Ms. Gross proposed for a motion to inform Mayor and Council that the RJC would like to review the language as it stands and investigate amending the language in regard to restorative justice and allow the RJC to work with the City attorney in making a conclusion for removal of the language. Mr. Rowe moved the motion. Second by Ms. Alcaniz. Motion carries 8-0-0. b. Committee Updates i. Community Engagement – no updates. ii. Truth and Reconciliation – The committee met and discussed planning an event for an official apology but make a conclusion that would be a repeat event. Also discussed hiring someone for documenting the history to have more truth telling on record. Possibly have a video that provides more history and talks about the businesses that were affected before and during the time of urban renewal to see the total value. iii. Restorative and Transformative Justice – The committee met in preparation for Lakeland Day and also in preparation for the historic discussion scheduled for September 28th. iv. Dr. Z’s class – Mr. Thurston informed the Commission that Dr. Z contacted him regarding a proposal for a project to the class since the class focuses on public health and working in the community. Mr. Thurston suggested the class could conduct preliminary 2  steps for restorative justice and begin the groundwork for the RFP. Ms. Carter will meet with Mr. Thurston and Ms. Gross to draft an outline/questions to provide to the class. V. Events a. Lakeland Day Review – Positive event and had ~400 attendees. There was a good presence regarding restorative justice. A couple of interviews were held. Attendees were interested in the restorative justice process and wanted to know how to help and learn. Failed in communications regarding the event location and getting attendees to the event location. b. College Park Day – October 7, 2023 – Commissioners should inform Ms. Carter of availability for attendance as well as T-shirt size. c. Information session on preservation/designation with Omar Eaton on September 28, 2023 – This will be a hybrid meeting with a panel format. The plan is to frame the event to answer the question on how to support them with the information they have gathered. 3-4 panelists will be in attendance. VI. Ongoing Work of the Committee a. Google Drive Walkthrough – Ms. Carter showed Commissioners how to access the documents and sign-up sheets on the Google drive. b. Lakeland Community Engagement Volunteering Sign Ups – Ms. Carter created a mockup calendar on the Google drive for Commissioners to sign up to pass out flyers and hand out T-shirts within Lakeland to engage with the Lakeland community. c. Historic Designation Presentation Planning – Ms. Gross will introduce Omar Eaton. d. Newsletter – Ms. Carter will send an email to the Commission. e. Municipal Scene Write Ups – Tabled to next meeting. f. 400 Years of African American History Commission – Ms. Gross provided background on the Commission and the types of reparations that were provided to various communities. The RJC may be able to model the project called “Beyond Apology: A collective action toward repair and will share the information to the Commission. The Rando Fund may also be another good model for the Commission to reference. g. RJC Branding – Tabled to next meeting. VII. Adjournment 3 Mr. Thurston motioned to adjourn the meeting. Second by Mr. Fellows. All members in favor; no opposed. Motion carries, 8-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:31 p.m. 4