Human Relations Commission

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION December 1, 2015 The Human Relations Commission held a Meeting on December 1, 2015 at City Hall Executive Conference Room. Chair Larry Apperson calling meeting to order called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. A. ROLL CALL The following members of the HRC were present: Larry Apperson (Chair), Joe Gastiger, Norden Gilbert, Lisa King, Ellingsworth Webb, Cameron Zelaya, Robert Williams. Also present was Management Analyst Lauren Stott. B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA – ADDITIONS / DELETIONS All agenda items were approved. C. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There were no public participation items. D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A correction to Commissioner Cameron Zelaya’s name was recorded for the October 7, 2015 meeting minutes. The October 7, 2015 and November 3, 2015 meeting minutes were approved. E. OLD BUSINESS 1. Promotion of Diversity Programming a. Dr. Cohen proposal on Diversity Training The Commission discussed the October presentation by Dr. James Cohen of Northern Illinois University on diversity programming and next steps for recommending the programming to the City Council. Chair Apperson indicated that a proposal was required before the City could approve the cost of the diversity programming, because the programming was not included in the FY2016 budget. Chair Apperson also recommended that the group may consider waiting until the January meeting with Drs. Edghill-Walden and Caldwell to make further decisions on a diversity programming proposal. b. Dr. Edghill-Walden & Dr. Caldwell – January Meeting Regular Meeting December 1, 2015 Page 2 of 4 Chair Apperson presented his preparation ideas to the Commission regarding discussion at the January HRC meeting. Assistant City Manager (ACM) Patty Hoppenstedt invited both Drs. to the meeting to discuss diversity programming. The Commission discussed the need for consideration of all programming options before a formal proposal was formulated. The Commissioners approved the preparation ideas presented by Chair Apperson and to be forwarded to Drs. Walden and Caldwell. 2. Discussion and Review of Models for Re-Entry of Ex-Offenders Commissioner Webb provided background information about Senate Bill 2123: Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015. Commissioner Webb also presented additional materials from media outlets regarding the return of former prisoners to the population, including an article from the Chicago Sun-Times regarding a cluster of state parolees on Chicago’s west side, dated Sunday, November 22. 3. Community Member Recognition Commission members discussed recognition of members who have served the Commission in the past and Chair Apperson indicated he is continuing to gather historic information about the potential honorees. 4. Website Recommendation Updates Commission members indicated that they would be comfortable with their names being listed in the City’s website. Commissioner Gilbert indicated he would like the City’s website to include a more detailed description of the Commission. Commissioner Gilbert also said he would like the to-be-developed HRC brochure to reflect the information posted on the City’s website. Chair Apperson said he hopes the brochure would list various resource agencies beyond what is listed on the City’s website such as federal and state offices of civil rights for filing formal claims of discrimination. 5. Update and Discussion on HRC Brochure The Commissioners agreed that the brochure could be finalized after the language on the web page is finalized. 6. Community Conversations Update The discussion on community conversations was determined to be included in the Strategic Plan Review and Discussion item under “New Business.” F. NEW BUSINESS 1. Strategic Plan Review and Discussion The Commission members discussed the draft of the City of DeKalb’s Strategic Plan and the following comments were made. Overall, the Commission felt that the Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) had done a good job of condensing all the community input into categories. The resultant Vision, Goals, Strategies and Action structure was understandable. The document included many of the concerns of city neighborhoods. However, many of the Actions described were not specific enough to indicate what was to be done. Commissioner King indicated that she would like to see DeKalb Township included as another body to add into the Strategic Plan that the City can cooperate with to achieve many of the Strategic Plan goals. Commissioners Gilbert and Zelaya indicated the plan lacks some concrete detailed, action items. Chair Apperson said he agrees that the plan is broad, but it is similar to plans he has been involved. The next steps will be to make the action plans more specific to be actionable. Commissioner Gastiger indicated that the plan may lack prioritization, and he would recommend a stricter explanation of where energy will be directed. Several commission members indicated their desire to see the plan include more benchmarks for accomplishments, and to indicate people who are responsible for the promotion of items within the plan document. Chair Apperson said a plan he was previously involved in had tracked each item and all responsible parties on a large database so accomplishments were recorded and reportable. Commissioner King said she is concerned about the amount of community group input into the plan. Commissioner Webb also said he hopes for continued community involvement in the plan. Commissioner Gilbert said he is concerned about the lack of representation from Wards Six and Seven in the plan. Commissioner Williams said CGS struggled to reach all desired populations, and some recommendations to CGS were made to wait until the fall 2015 semester started, rather than gather input during the summer when students aren’t present. Commissioner Williams indicated the associates at CGS faced several issues during the information gathering stages of plan development. Commissioner Webb compared the lack of involvement to voter apathy and said that while the draft plan may be lacking certain input, the City can still bring in involvement from others as the plan moves forward. Chair Apperson thought greater representation of community voices was important in developing the specifics around action plans and with implementation of these actions in neighborhoods. Commissioner King said she is disappointed in the manner and frequency that University Village is discussed in the plan. She said she doesn’t believe it is appropriate that University Village is called out as the only isolated and poor neighborhood in the City. She recommended either include other similar neighborhoods as examples or don’t be specific as to any City areas. Just that we have several isolated and poor areas. Regular Meeting December 1, 2015 Page 4 of 4 Chair Apperson recommended gathering input on the Community Conversation questions via social media and other avenues. Commissioner Williams indicated that the same people who typically participate in community events were at the events, and although the effort was in place, there are still community members missing from the plan. The concern was expressed that based on the plan as written, resources will be committed to the airport despite an apparent lack of interest by the citizenry. The sections on the airport apparently were added by city staff. At the very least, staff should explain the importance of the airport to economic development. It was also pointed out that funds for the airport would probably come from federal grants and not city tax dollars. Commissioner Webb said regular Community Conversations need to be held to ensure gaps in the plan are filled on an on-going basis. Commissioner King said she doesn’t think the outreach was as effective as it could be, and that there are a variety of ways to reach underrepresented groups. Commissioner Gastiger said he wonders how the document will be used and whether it is an actual action plan or if it’s just going to be used to demonstrate needs of people who took the time to provide input. Chair Apperson said that the Strategic Plan includes too many ideas to be implemented by the City Staff alone. We must include other community individuals and more of those underrepresented voices in the further refinement of the plan and in the implementation of the Strategic Plan. Chair Apperson indicated that he hopes the Commissioners provide input on the plan separately as well as in the formal HRC recommendation. Commissioner Webb said he hopes the Commissioners will share the draft plan with other community members for input. 2. Commissioner Webb shared an article from today’s Daily Chronicle that outlined development in the community. G. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:31 p.m. __________________________________________ LAUREN STOTT, Management Analyst Minutes approved by the Human Relations Commission on January, 5 2016.