Human Relations Commission

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION March 1, 2016 The Human Relations Commission held a Meeting on March 1, 2016 in City Hall Council Chambers. Chair Larry Apperson calling meeting to order called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. A. ROLL CALL The following members of the HRC were present: Larry Apperson (Chair), Joe Gastiger, Norden Gilbert, Lisa King, Ellingsworth Webb, Robert Williams and Cameron Zelaya. The following City staff members were present: City Manager Anne Marie Gaura, Chief Gene Lowery and Management Analyst Lauren Stott. Notes were taken by Analyst Stott. B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA – ADDITIONS / DELETIONS The agenda was approved with no additions or deletions. C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioners identified two errors within the minutes document and approved the minutes with the corrections. D. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION No public comments were made. E. OLD BUSINESS 1. Discussion on Public Assemblies. Commissioner Webb indicated that the group should discuss the proposed mass gathering ordinances in the context of the public comments made at recent Human Relations Commission meetings. Commissioner Gilbert indicated that he thought the City Attorney could review the municipal code to address other concerns: public drunkenness, guns and traffic control. He Regular Meeting March 1, 2016 Page 2 of 6 indicated that toughening those provisions may ensure a higher level of safety in the community. Commissioner Gastiger said he does believe the ordinances were drafted to protect people in the community, but the heart of the problem lies with gun control. Commissioner King said the fact that the ordinance was raised and that it moved so quickly through the legislative process is concerning. She said she hopes DeKalb can emulate communities such as Chicago’s Hyde Park, Oak Park and Evanston. Commissioner Zelaya said he doesn’t believe the ordinance should be considered by the City Council. He also said he believes some parts of the ordinance are relevant and should be considered administratively. Commissioner Webb said he believes the key for the community to move forward, including the City, is cultural competency training and other positive reinforcements. Commissioner Gilbert said he also believes the “safe way out” provision in the proposed ordinances is of value, but other elements do not provide the same value. Commissioner Webb said he would like to make a motion to recommend to the City Council that the proposed mass gathering ordinances are not adopted. He also said he would like the recommendation to include a statement the Police Chief and the Police Department provide positive leadership in the community. Chair Apperson said he does believe elements of the ordinance would provide value and that the Police Chief may be the appropriate staff person to lead the efforts. Chair Apperson indicated that the Commission should perhaps make a motion to recommend a withdrawal of all versions of the ordinances from consideration by the City Council, and that staff should conduct a review of current City Code to attempt to identify any other items that need to be addressed. Commissioner Webb said he wants the recommendation to include enhanced communication with student stakeholders on previous issues and considerations. Commissioner Gilbert said he would like the recommendation to include a clause regarding the Commission’s support of City staff on its good intentions in bringing the recommended ordinances to the public bodies. Commissioner King said she also believes cultural competency training is important to understand issues of the constituents, for all Police Officers and Aldermen. She indicated that the ordinance consideration process revealed some shortcomings of the legislative process. Chair Apperson said he would like to invite the Police Chief to provide his comments. Chief Lowery said he was most concerned about the comments from Commissioner King, who indicated that she does not trust the intentions of the staff members who created the draft ordinances. He said that every university town in the state has an ordinance similar to the ones proposed to City Council, although DeKalb’s were more detailed. Chief Lowery said he feels accountable for the perception that DeKalb did not reach out to enough stakeholders. Chief Lowery said he hears the comments from people saying that it is important for the students to have a voice in the legislative process, but he also believes that it is important for non-students in the community to be represented. Chief Lowery said that staff never intended for the proposed ordinances to infringe on First Amendment rights. He contested claims by many who said the proposed ordinances were “rushed through,” and indicated that they were brought to the City Council in the typical way, with a first reading and a second reading at a following meeting. Chief Lowery said he agrees with the comment from Commissioner Gastiger indicating that gun control is presenting many problems in the community. Chief Lowery said he wishes he hadn’t wasted the community capital used during the process of considering the ordinances, but that he is pleased that the community engaged in a process of review. He said he intends to attend the next City Council meeting and request the City Council to withdraw its consideration of the previously proposed ordinances. He said he intends of reviewing the topic again at a later time, and that the City will work to gather input from various community groups and stakeholders. He thanked the HRC for their service. Chair Apperson said he appreciates the Chief’s dedication to the community and his work to enhance safety in the community. Commissioner King said she doesn’t believe a person has to be a Police Officer or Police Chief to understand the difficulties of what excellence public safety service looks like. Commissioner King said she appreciates that the Chief attended the HRC meetings to understand the opinions of the community. Chief Lowery said the Police Department is working to identify methods for cultural competency training. He said he believes the dialogue regarding public assemblies has been healthy. He said there is sometimes too much focus at the bottom of the process, and that other, wider elements such as background and family, are not addressed. Chief Lowery was asked by a member of the audience whether he has considered yet his method for communicating his decision to withdraw the request for consideration of the ordinance to the City Council. He said he would say that will keep it as simple as possible and would use some of the basic framework he has used during the present meeting. Audience Member Kay Shelton said she believes the proposed ordinances should have been presented at a City Council Committee of the Whole meeting. Audience Member Michael Haji-Sheikh said he would have known at first glance that the proposed ordinances would be controversial. He said staff and the HRC should present related concepts in the future to the University Council. Regular Meeting March 1, 2016 Page 4 of 6 Chair Apperson said he wanted to share a draft recommendation with the HRC for review and comment. Chair Apperson read the draft recommendation (included as an attachment to this Minutes document) and Commissioner Webb asked for a motion and a second. The Commission discussed the wording of Chair Apperson’s draft recommendation. Commissioner King asked when the discussion on cultural competency would occur, and Chair Apperson said that the discussion would occur during the item called “Update on Training Proposal” on the meeting agenda. Commissioner King asked whether the HRC recommendation should include a note that the Police Chief is withdrawing his recommendation for the proposed ordinances. The Commissioners discussed the question and determined it would not include that information. Commissioner Webb asked for the Commissioners to indicate their support or choice to not support the draft recommendation from Chair Apperson. The motion passed 7-0. Commissioner Gastiger indicated that he had a recommendation for a revision to one line on the draft. He wished to add: “If, after these ordinances and the ability to amend them have been reviewed, the City staff still believe a new ordinance regarding mass gatherings is needed, community stakeholders should be consulted.” Commissioner Webb indicated the Commission’s re-visitation of the motion, and the motion passed 7-0. Update on Training Proposal Chair Apperson indicated that the Commission had previously discussed a subcommittee to contemplate cultural competency training, but did not move forward with that concept because of Open Meeting Act concerns, and therefore the discussion is being picked up at this time. Chair Apperson said due to perceived funding issues, he reached out to the DeKalb County Community Foundation for guidance on potential grants for cultural competency training. He said he reviewed a DCCF grant application and determined that he did not feel comfortable indicating that the training could not be fulfilled without approval of the grant. Chair Apperson indicated that through discussions with City staff, he understands that a high level of commitment can be expected for the training. City Manager Anne Marie Gaura said she believes that the City may not qualify for the grant because it cannot prove that dollars are not available for the training, but that the City is open to other funding opportunities and partnerships for the cultural competency training. She also said that the upcoming change in fiscal year should assist with budgeting for the training. She said it will be important to consider turnover and develop an ongoing training plan instead of a one-time session. Commissioner Gastiger said he would like to understand the level of priority assigned to the training item, and that he hopes the training is conducted in a way that promotes conversation and buy-in. The Commission discussed the concept of department-by- department training versus a group setting that includes people from various City departments. Commissioner Williams said he is concerned with the length of time it will take for trainees to experience a shift in their consciousness. He said he would like to see another training model proposal. He said he is unsure of the aim of the training. He said he would like a continued assessment of the training program. Commissioner Gastiger said he believes institutions often have a default setting, and it is challenging to change that atmosphere. Chair Apperson indicated that there is no guarantee that all goals will be achieved in a training, but he doesn’t believe that is a sufficient reason to not attempt the training. NIU Chief Diversity Officer Vernese Edghill-Walden indicated that, at a prior HRC meeting, the HRC had indicated that it didn’t want the impression that the training was occurring only from a compliance standpoint. She said consistency is a concern the Commission should consider. The Commissioners discussed training funding. Liaison Stott said staff cannot responsibly consider the training during the budget process until a proposal is made from the HRC. Commissioner Gastiger said he would like at least a general indication of the amount of money allocated for the training. Commissioner King asked the City Manager if she can indicate where on a priority list the cultural competency training would lie. City Manager Gaura explained the budget process, and said that the training is a high staff priority but that it is not possible to list it definitively on a list at this point in the budget process. Chair Apperson said he wanted to remind the Commission that the point of this discussion is to readdress questions and consider more elements of the training recommendation, not to necessarily make a decision on a proposal tonight. Update on Community Dialogue Group Regular Meeting March 1, 2016 Page 6 of 6 Chair Apperson asked Commissioner Zelaya to provide an update on the Diversity Dialogue planning. Commissioner Zelaya indicated that the first dialogue will cover the topic of First Amendment rights. Commissioner Zelaya provided the details of the March dialogue meeting. Dr. Edghill-Walden provided details on the presenters booked for the March dialogue. Commissioner Zelaya indicated that NIU has requested for the HRC to assist in disseminating information about the event. He said that the NIU representatives hope for a continuance of the dialogue hosted by the HRC between March 23 and April 20. Chair Apperson asked for a vote for the Commission to co-sponsor the follow-up dialogue event. The motion passed 7-0. Commissioner King asked that, before the meeting adjourned, the Commission recognizes the recent controversy occurring at DeKalb High School. Commissioner Zelaya said Dr. Edghill-Walden indicated that partnering with the High School following the incident is a plan NIU has had. Dr. Edghill-Walden said NIU is currently having a dialogue with Dr. Moeller of DeKalb High School and she will follow up on this item with him. Commissioner Webb said he thinks he might feel uncomfortable with the word “training.” Chair Apperson said the Commissioner can consider the use of the word “training” in future discussions. F. NEW BUSINESS No new business was addressed. G. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:49 p.m. __________________________________________ LAUREN STOTT, Management Analyst Minutes approved by the Human Relations Commission on May 3, 2016. Notes for HRC Meeting 2/1/16 Public Assemblies: (hief''.:i c,mdu�;ici; Specifics on the tooi that Ord. provide'.; police-· use specific large group party that spills into ,treets olockiPg tr atfi..:. Scenario: lnrg� grc�,p panv '_un ent!y with ei.:i ,ting St:;;+ e ia vs and o,cliri.-1;,c('S i_vh,,t do 7· Hm" ab'.lc;t wh•�n arre';t so:11eor�? _.,,;. l',! ., . l . ·, Recorrnnendations 10 City Council from the Human Relation� Con1rnission regard,ng the Assernb1y Ordinar,ces refured to the HRC at the January 25, 2016 City Council Meeting. The Hu 1 an "elc,tio11s ComMission has received community i11put via two public hearin�s and numerow ·:>t,"ails , ·K::: tlw J.,r, �·s Counc'I Pfr:n di Aft·-: Ii ,c·. m'! t-; th'• r:,>'Tl'llt:niiv '.nput ar1r\ t'-,, ·_·,f 1 1, ·t· 1· 1 �r t •'.J•-ij·c1nc• ',)_..i ',,..,,tqi>-1,,·c; ,·.. 1)/1• 1'l·1, · ·r �·-·.. •' => �:.i 1 ·.:,-p· 1' : · \' n,. •-1� enwlies r)e withOi"cJWn 111w' -on. 1t:Prdti')'l hy tne C!�y ( ou,,r· 1 . t t/11�. fGI)e . . It'\,. w J, rne ::urr1�·1t City OrdinJnct"� i>t' c.endL1<:kd bi :-·ty stc1tt to dft2r:n:t1l' tfo:> ,,o;l,tv ..:,1 r'·,t'5l od:na11ce, to prov,de tlw City v1•,h the desired r;uss f;atheiing controls and ;eve! of �n,·:,r, · •f· 1t_ r,�flect the orip,1n.:il •!'tent of Ordin"nr.e, c. L'.1? .-ind '<'.Cl.�. -� lf -1,H '': , ,, ;:i•;:, gathc·irig ;·c 'trc .� 1rHi/cr) 1,1c •o;".- ..1re 1clert f0d ai till being 'lce.dcd t_. the · ·=tv': ,, l.:t:r I'' Pqlic-.2 and other Ct-,· t·,ff t!�e,, tht,�c addi+ior1-:i! •.eed•: 5houid be ir'ro,µ::irdt.:C.' ; 1 u . ", ,._,_;.- ,, � c,rdir!dnCt"S f.Jr 1 -:11·,•'• bv tlH. hRC drio tf, .. c. c.l>nHnunity ;;cal<el1oloers. i +. 1 f ,tt, til ·ma!ys1s of existing ordinanc;e<; 3nd the .:ibr!ib; '.) 1dd to these ordinances ,my "1C :·r· a i�sh:c:' 1,;,s:, g1ther�ng cla11,c� tfw '1t1 sraff.?!.tJ.li. believe that a stand a!on€ new c1td1•1¥1,.e i c, recessary, then thf' dr"lfting of surq .:i ne v mass assembly ordinance '>houla b P i'cVit:wed with the community sta1,,,eholders for input and sugge:,tions. These stakeholders wouic include the HRl, f\iiU students groups and administrators, and ability for community wide :nput ,efore th0. new ordinance is presented to the City Council for consideration.