Human Relations Commission

MINUTES MEETING OF THE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION CITY OF DEKALB July 7, 2015 The Human Relations Commission (HRC) of the City of DeKalb, Illinois held a regular meeting on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 in the Executive Conference Room of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. Chair Gilbert introduced Larry Apperson as the new chair of the Human Relations Commission effective July 1, 2015. Chair Apperson extended appreciation and thanks to Mr. Gilbert for being the past chair and providing leadership to the HRC. Chair Apperson called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. I. ROLL CALL The following members of the Human Relations Commission were present: Larry Apperson, Norden Gilbert, Lisa King, Joe Gastiger, Robert Williams, Ellingsworth Webb, and Cameron Zelaya. Also present were: Assistant City Manager Patty Hoppenstedt and Management Analyst Lauren Stott. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Apperson requested a change to the June 2, 2015 minutes. Corrected sentence will read: “Mr. Apperson reminded HRC members to accumulate a list of community contacts for soliciting input for the strategic plan and give to Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt.” A motion was made by Mr. Gastiger and seconded by Mr. Gilbert to approve the minutes as revised. Motion carried on voice vote. III. OLD BUSINESS A. Promotion of Diversity Programming Discussion took place to review the status of this topic. Chair Apperson asked for updates. There were no updates provided. Mr. Gastiger asked if the next Beloved Community Dinner is on July 19. Mr. Webb stated the dinner occurs every third Sunday. Mr. Webb stated he had emailed Beloved Community Dinner information to the HRC. It appears some members did not receive the email and he will resend it. Human Relations Commission July 7, 2015 Page 2 of 6 Mr. Gilbert later stated Beloved Community Dinner’s Facebook page did not yet have the next meeting listed. B. Update Municipal Code to Include New Mission Statement 1. Review City Council Memo and Draft of Ordinance Amending Section 49.01 Chair Apperson stated drafts had been sent to the HRC for review and then asked Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt where this item goes next. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated any changes requested tonight would be reviewed with City Attorney Frieders. Another draft can then be reviewed at the August HRC meeting; via email or however the HRC decides. Mr. Gilbert stated Chair Apperson had gone through the Municipal Code and found every place that could be affected by service animals and proposed changes to all of those sections. He believed that instead of changing the items noted by Chair Apperson, City Attorney Frieders had added a section to Chapter 18 and proposed a catch-all that states service animals are permitted within the law and anything that is contrary to the permission of service animals is superseded by this one section. Mr. Gilbert commented that in general the changes were fine but didn’t believe it to be as thorough as the HRC proposed changes. Municipal Code Chapter 18.11 was then reviewed and discussed pertaining to Corn Fest. Chair Apperson stated the HRC wants to include “it shall be unlawful of any person to walk or carry a dog, except individuals with service dogs, upon any public…” His recollection was City Attorney Frieders stated that while he had reservations on the multiple areas with changes, he felt this particular change was straightforward and wasn’t a problem. Chair Apperson stated he had a similar reaction as Mr. Gilbert. He also stated City Attorney Frieders mentioned he would like to draft a more general statement that would encompass that sort of legalism. Chair Apperson continued by stating it was his belief that the Corn Fest statement (Chapter 18.11) was going to be changed and believed this had been stated in front of City Council. Mr. Webb stated he believes the brochure is going to be the place where some of this information is provided. Additionally, he too believes an official change to Chapter 18.11 was to be made. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt asked Chair Apperson for a list containing the various Municipal Codes that HRC was requesting to be updated. Chair Apperson provided Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt with the list. Mr. Gastiger agreed with his colleagues and advised he believed proposed language to be legal duct tape and would prefer to see modifications spelled out and included in the specific instances Chair Apperson and Mr. Webb had cited. Mr. Gastiger asked HRC members if a paragraph pertaining to an event  Human Relations Commission July 7, 2015 Page 3 of 6 (Corn Fest) that happens once a year is necessary. He then stated perhaps there should be an overall festival policy. Mr. Gilbert stated he didn’t disagree with Mr. Gastiger but there is a specific prohibition for dogs at Corn Fest and it seemed an easy chapter to clarify. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt asked if Chapter 18.11 wording recommendations have been submitted. Chair Apperson confirmed and the documents were shown to her. Mr. Webb stated a guide was going to be distributed to retailers at Corn Fest so there was all-inclusive information. Mr. Webb advised of difficulty to locate information on City’s previous website and inquired if this issue continued with the new website. Management Analyst Stott stated the search feature is better on the new website. Discussion ensued regarding the search difficulties with the old website. Mr. Gilbert stated he would still like to see language added to Chapter 18.11. Mr. Webb agreed. Chair Apperson stated that, based on discussion, he feels that while a general statement is acceptable to the HRC, the HRC still wants to modify Chapter 18.11. Mr. Gilbert made a motion that the HRC recommend to the City Attorney that he add to the proposed ordinance the language HRC recommended for Chapter 18.11 of the Municipal Code. The motion was seconded by Mr. Webb. Mr. Gastiger stated at some point he would like to see wording added that makes this applicable to all City-sponsored festivals. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated the last sentence in Chapter 18.22 includes wording covering all City functions and events. Chair Apperson asked for further discussion on the motion. Chair Apperson stated his concern on whether the City wants advice on what it can do to be more progressive, inclusive, and proactive or does it do this generalized statement that says it supersedes everything else that was incorrect. He advised such a statement was not going to change any of the incorrect items or the fact that both sections only quoted the Rehabilitation Act, there was no mention of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Chair Apperson believes the proposed language makes the City appear unknowledgeable by not updating the individual Municipal Codes recommended by the HRC. Mr. Gilbert commented that the language proposed is lawyer-friendly but not citizen-friendly. Chair Apperson asked for further discussion. Mr. Webb clarified the motion set forth was to revise Chapter 18.11 to include the original language the HRC sent to City Attorney Frieders as a visible change onto the ordinance. Mr. Gilbert stated the motion is to recommend to the City Attorney to modify the ordinance. Chair Apperson asked if the motion speaks about City Attorney Frieders’ proposed draft of Chapter 18.22 Human Relations Commission July 7, 2015 Page 4 of 6 or will this be a separate motion. Mr. Webb stated Chapter 18.22 will be separate. At this time the HRC is addressing the recommendations brought to the HRC, specifically Chapter 18.11. Chair Apperson stated the motion on the table is to recommend to the City that the HRC believes Chapter 18.11 should still be specifically changed per the recommendations previously submitted by the HRC. Motion carried on voice vote. Mr. Webb stated, based on recommendations given to Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt, if she met with City Attorney Frieders, could she come to the August meeting with clarification of why the recommended language could not be included in the ordinance and why the Municipal Code could not be individually changed as recommended by the HRC. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated she would do so. She then clarified the wants of the HRC as discussed above and in the motion made. Discussion ensued in regards to trying to understand the reason(s) the language recommendations by the HRC were not incorporated into the changes and to understand the realm of changes HRC is able to recommend. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt asked for clarification if there are any recommendations or changes to the mission statement as presented in the ordinance. Mr. Gilbert asked if the HRC requested changes were made. Mr. Webb and Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt both stated yes. No recommendations or changes were provided. C. Update on Municipal Code Recommendations for Non-Discrimination Statement Discussion on this item is included in discussion under Section 4, New Business, A., of the agenda. D. Discussion and Review of Models for Re-Entry of Ex-Offenders Mr. Williams stated he approached this topic approximately three months ago and at that time, and he still believes, this is a central issue for many municipalities. He also advised of his current personal time constraints and stated that he didn’t believe he could be the lead person on the issue, but had other ways he could contribute. Mr. Webb volunteered to be the lead person. E. Follow-up on Service Animal Recommendations 1. Review City Council Memo and Draft of Ordinance Amending Section 49.01 Discussion on this item was included in discussion of prior item B. 2. Review Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business  Human Relations Commission July 7, 2015 Page 5 of 6 Mr. Webb stated he believes the document is fairly clear but would like to see a header, like the example he provided earlier, included to improve the visual of the document. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt has asked Management Analyst Stott to make it a brochure with images and color and to review it to offer any editorial changes. F. Community Member Recognition Mr. Webb stated he did research and found Greenville, North Carolina does HRC individual community awards. While the HRC has not defined what is to be included, he believes this could be a good starting point. Ms. King stated Chicago also has HRC awards. She has seen a video of the awards and will try to find out more information. Chair Apperson asked Mr. Webb to send links to HRC members to allow review so members can come to the next meeting with more information. IV. NEW BUSINESS A. City of DeKalb Website Demonstration and Work Session for HRC Website Landing Page with Management Analyst Lauren Stott Management Analyst Stott gave an overview of the new website. Discussion ensued regarding the website in general. Management Analyst Stott asked the HRC to review their page for any changes needed. The non-discrimination statement was then discussed. The statement will be placed on the HRC landing page. A shorter version of the statement needs to be recommended by the HRC so that it can be placed on the website home page and in Mayor Rey’s message. Mr. Williams stated he thinks the new website is a great site and for the first time it makes him think the City has moved into the 21st century. He hopes contemporary progress continues to happen. HRC members are to bring their changes/suggestions for the website to the next HRC meeting. B. HRC Brochure Chair Apperson stated the reason he added this to the agenda was not to discuss it at the meeting, but since the mission statement of the HRC is close to being finalized, members could begin work on the HRC brochure. He then asked for volunteers to make a draft of the brochure. Mr. Gastiger and Mr. Gilbert have volunteered. C. Strategic Plan Mr. Williams, as part of NIU Center for Governmental Studies, provided an update regarding the City of DeKalb’s ten year Strategic Plan events and progress. Discussion ensued regarding HRC suggestions for communication with citizens. V. CITIZEN INPUT None VI. ADJOURNMENT Human Relations Commission July 7, 2015 Page 6 of 6 Mr. Gilbert moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Mr. Zelaya. Motion carried on voice vote. Chair Apperson declared the meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Julie Abraham Administrative Assistant / Deputy City Clerk Approved by the Human Relations Commission Date: August 4, 2015