Human Relations Committee

CITY OF LACONIA – HUMAN RELATIONS COMMITTEE July 14, 2020 - Monthly Meeting Via Zoom MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER a. David Stamps welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Laconia Human Relations Committee. Committee member roll call was taken, a quorum was established, and the meeting was called to order at 3:00pm. The Chair reviewed procedures related to public access to electronic meetings as required under Governor Sununu’s Emergency Order #12. II. ATTENDANCE a. Present - Chair David Stamps, Carol Pierce, Rev. Judith Wright, David Osman, Janet Simmon, Mayor Andrew Hosmer, Matt Soza, Margaret Donnelly, and Kate Bruchacova b. Excused – Dennis Bothamley, Carrie Chandler III. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES a. A motion was made by Carol Pierce, seconded by David Osman, to accept the following minutes of the Laconia Human Relations Committee meetings: b. Review and Acceptance of June 16, 2020 Regular Meeting Minutes c. Review and Acceptance of Jan 7th, 2020 MLK Minutes d. Review and Acceptance of Jan 30th, 2020 Program Planning Minutes e. Review and Acceptance of Feb. 27, 2020 Program Planning Minutes f. A roll call vote was taken, and with no opposition, the minutes were accepted as written. IV. AGENDA Committee Reports: a. FINANCE - Financial Report (3rd Quarter Fiscal Year 2020) – Appended to these minutes i. Please note the Profit & Loss is for FY 2020 as the City's fiscal year is from July ii. 1, 2019 to June 30th, 2020. The Balance Sheet includes the latest $2,000 reflecting the 2021 appropriation. As of July 12, 2020, the current balance is $3,378.62. iii. A motion was made by Janet Simmon, seconded by Rev. Judith Wright, to accept the financial report of the Laconia Human Relations Committee. A roll call vote was taken, and with no opposition, the financial report were accepted as written. b. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 1  i. How to connect with the chairman The chairman is only available over the phone for the members of the committee. The only way to connect with the chairman during these times to email him. The email is on the Laconia City Website. ii. Forum on Policing – July 29th, 2020 Discussion was held regarding postponing the forum on policing due to the police department currently going through an accreditation process. 1. No action was taken V. OLD BUSINESS o Immigrant integration initiative – Kate Bruchacova announced that the Partnership for Public Health has a new director, Tammy Carmichael who has recently moved to Laconia from Florida. o Statewide virtual cookbook/recipe project - In next month and a half collecting recipes and perhaps little accompanying stories or fun facts and even photos of the dish and/or the contributor, then last few weeks of August and first bit of September can be spent on creating a web page to display it all. The goal would be to launch the page during Welcoming Week! o International film series – on hold o MLK Jr Celebration – Sunday January 1, 2017 – To Be Determined at a later date VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Focus on specific projects that are a challenge to the city due to circumstances  Black Lives Matter – Carol Pierce and Kate Bruchacova provided an update regarding work on a resource guide for children and adults. Library is currently just opening; we will need to visit the idea with them again in a few weeks.  School history curriculum – David Osman talked about the 1135 House Bill and what work is getting done at the state level. Would like to see education about Holocaust at schools. A subcommittee on Holocaust and Education was formed: David Osman, Carol Pierce, Rev. Judith Wright and Chair David Stamps.  Police Community Forum – discussion was held earlier on during the meeting  White Fragility – “Why is it so hard for white people to talk about racism?” Book discussion  Other business - Suggestion to have the meeting last 90 minutes in the future. VI. PUBLIC COMMENTS 2  b. Jim Thompson – brought up a concern about the Black Lives Matters movement and what is really going on; “Do we have that issue in the area?” Also Mr. Thompson had a concern about the materials/resource guides we would like to partner with the local library on – to make sure the materials are appropriate. He would like to see the committee focus on All lives matter. c. Mr. Bordes - stated that he thought it was an excellent idea to bring the community members and police together. He also thanked for allowing him being part of the meeting. VII. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by David Osman, seconded by Margaret Donnelly, to adjourn the meeting; and with no further business the meeting was adjourned at 4:10p by the Chair. Next meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, 3p, via Zoom invite. Respectfully Submitted, Kate Bruchacova, Secretary Pro Tem 3