Human Relations Committee

Name: Human Relations Committee — Laconia, NH
Start: 2024-02-12
End: 2024-02-12
Location: Laconia, NH

Regular Meeting

Laconia, NH · February 12, 2024

Minutes

Laconia Human Relations Committee February 12, 2024 Meeting Minutes I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Patrick Wood 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 3:30 pm. II. ATTENDANCE Present – Chair Patrick Wood, David Stamps, Carol Pierce, Rev. Judith Wright, Matt Soza, Janet Simmon, Heather Stanley, Trish Weatherbee, Kay Anderson, Jasmine Sanborn and Carrie Chandler Zoom – David Osman and Richard Littlefield Excused – Mayor Andrew Hosmer and Seifu Ragassa Pat Wood introduced and warmly welcomed Jamine Sanborn and Richard Littlefield as new committee members. III. OLD BUSINESS Minutes Approval – Motion was made by David Stamps, seconded by Matt Soza, to accept the minutes of the January 8, 2024 Laconia Human Relations Committee meeting (LHRC); with no further discussion, the motion passed unanimously. Sub-Committee Work: Martin Luther King Jr Celebration – a wonderful uplifting event with great press coverage. Rev. Judith Wright held a sub-committee debriefing meeting:  there was 211 people in attendance  definitely include children again  too long in duration  total expenditures at $1,090  thank you notes written Rev Judith thanked members of the sub-committee for all their hard work. Rev. Judith will co-chair next year’s event; Jamine Sanborn, Matt Soza, Richard Littlefield and Janet Simmon volunteered to serve on next year’s planning committee. Endowment for Health – David Stamps reported the news that we have been awarded the grant. There is a meeting in Manchester on March 20 with another city recipient who is interested in discussing process. A grant sub-committee meeting will be 1 scheduled in the near future. Laconia grant focus is “Social Equity;” narrowed down to 1. Mental Health, 2. Stable Housing, 3. Inclusivity/Belonging. The sub-committee will include the full LHRC in the development for input. The goal is to build “Trust” within our community. Banners – City Council meets tonight; this is not an agenda item. Patrick Wood will attend to determine the status of the proposal. Pat will email the draft proposal to LHRC members for review. Vigil/Signage – Matt Soza stated that the purpose of meeting was in response to hate graffiti messages. The sub-committee had differing opinions in terms of next steps including message and timing. There was unfortunate confusion about postponing the vigil. This subject needs further discussion as to what actions the LHRC should take to support marginalized groups and combat hate in the city. We need a certain process approved by the city (we are the mayor’s committee). Are we able to be proactive? Or just reactive? This needs to be an ongoing effort. Community education is a piece of this. The committee stands with Matt Soza as Chair, Kay Anderson, Carol Pierce, Richard Littlefield and Jasmine Sanborn. IV. NEW BUSINESS Incident - A Laconia citizen contacted the City Manager stating that he was poorly treated at the ER; felt dehumanized. They were invited to attend the LHRC meeting but did not. Pat Wood will follow up with this person. The committee agrees that we should not react to an individual issue such as this. Yom HaShoah (Sunday May 5 – Monday May 6) – waiting to hear from Rabbi Jan Katz what they have planned. Letters to Individual Members – discussion as to transparency should a member of LHRC receive a hostile letter (either signed or anonymous); to be continued. Nancy Brown – suffered an injury; a plant was sent on behalf of the LHRC. March Meeting Minutes – Carrie will be on vacation; Trish Weatherbee offered to take minutes. V. PUBLIC COMMENTS There was opportunity but no public comments were made. 2 VI. ADJOURNMENT The Meeting was adjourned by the chair at 4:57p. Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11th, 2024, 3:30p, City Hall Room 200A and via zoom invite. Respectfully Submitted, Carrie Chandler, Recording Secretary 3

Agenda

Laconia Human Relations Committee Monthly Meeting February 12, 2024 - Monday 3:30pm – 5:00pm City Hall Rm 200A & Zoom Agenda Welcome and Introduction of New Members Jazmine Jackson and Richard Littlefield Roll Call Review and Acceptance of January 8th , 2024, Meeting Minutes Work Groups  MLK Celebration Review  Endowment for Health  Banners/flags on City Property  Vigil/Sign Exploratory Committee Old Business  Yom Hashoah – May 4th – with Temple B’nai Israel New Business  Discrimination Issues – Concord Hospital - Laconia, Dexter Smith  Anonymous Letters  Nancy Brown  Other Business  Next Meeting Room 200A, Monday March 11, 2024, at 3:30 pm also via Zoom Public Comment – The public is invited to offer their opinions. Initially, they will be limited to four minutes until all have had an opportunity to speak. Each person is constrained to their time period or to ask questions of the committee. Everyone is expected to speak respectfully. If on Zoom, the public will be visible but muted until unmuted by the chair. Members of the public wishing to speak will use the “raise hand” option. ------------------------------------------------------ Note: The meeting will also be held online through Zoom and will begin at 3:30pm although people are encouraged to check in early. You are invited to a Zoom webinar. Topic: Human Relations Commission Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81922296874?pwd=M0E4a1pES0VGV0Rsa1hmT0ZDU3Bmdz09 Passcode: 793636 Or One tap mobile : US: +16465588656,,81922296874#,,,,*793636# or +13017158592,,81922296874#,,,,*793636# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 Webinar ID: 819 2229 6874 Passcode: 793636 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/k661pCha Laconia Human Relations Committee January 8, 2024 - Meeting Minutes I. CALL TO ORDER 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 3:33 pm. II. ATTENDANCE Present – Chair David Stamps, Carol Pierce, Rev. Judith Wright, Matt Soza, Patrick Wood, Heather Stanley, Trish Weatherbee and Carrie Chandler Zoom – David Osman, Janet Simmon Excused – Mayor Andrew Hosmer, Kay Anderson and Seifu Ragassa III. OLD BUSINESS Minutes Approval – Motion was made by Pat Wood, seconded by Carol Pierce, to accept the minutes of the December 11, 2023 Laconia Human Relations Committee meeting (LHRC); with no further discussion, the motion passed unanimously. Sub-Committee Work: NH Endowment for Health – application submitted. We should be notified near end of January if we received the $20,000 grant funding for project related to building trust in Laconia. Martin Luther King Jr Celebration – Rev Judith provided an update and program outline for the event to be held this Sunday at the Colonial. Jim Rogato will moderate. There will be speeches, videos, quotes, poetry, music and artwork displayed. Former Governor now Senator Jeanne Sheehan will be a speaker. Rep Chris Pappas and Senator Maggie Hassan have been asked. The program will end with a solidarity march through downtown. Cookies will be provided and donated by the Laconia High School Culinary Program. The sub-committee has done a great job organizing the event. Committee members should be there by 12:30p to offer whatever support is needed. The event has been publicized. It will be a special day for the city – honoring the life of the great Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Flag/Banner Policy – A meeting of the City Council’s Government Operations Committee was held on January 3rd (Pat Wood, David Osman by cell and Carrie Chandler in attendance). A few modifications to the policy were requested. The City Manager offered to make the changes and forward to the City Council and then city attorney. On January 22nd the City Council will do a final review with Public Hearing on February 12that 7p. All available Laconia Human Relation Committee members are asked to attend in show of support. A vote will be taken that night. Sign/Vigil against Hate – Trish Weatherbee gave an update from the December 18th subcommittee meeting with members of the community. Half of the group are looking for strong messaging and the other half would like another approach. Trish is unavailable to continue in the role of chairing this group. Matt Soza offered to chair this group. There was discussion of how to respond more quickly and what we are able to do to show support. It was stated that we are somewhat limited as a committee. We cannot always react quickly in certain situations. We have done statements condemning actions. We can work to educate and support other groups. This was tabled for further discussion at next meeting. IV. NEW BUSINESS Future Discussion with Mayor - should the Laconia Human Relations Committee become a standing committee of the city? Comment was made that we should be more bi-partisan in makeup. Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27th – Rabi Katz would like to know if the committee would like to be part of the remembrance planned for January 19th at 7:30p. Will need to let her know who is coming. The Ken Burnes 3-part series on PBS is airing. Officer Elections Chairperson – David Stamps is stepping down as chair after 6 years. David was thanked for his dedication and service. Nominations were requestd. Matt Soza nominated Patrick Wood, seconded by Carol Pierce. Pat accepted the nomination. There were no other nominations. A vote was taken and it was unanimous to elect Pat as Chair for 2024 year. Secretary – Carrie Chandler has served several years and offered to step down if someone else is interested; there were no other nominations. Matt Nominated Carrie and David Stamps seconded the nomination; a vote was taken and it was unanimous to elect Carrie Chandler as Secretary for the 2024 year. There was some discussion about creating a Treasurer role or Co-Chair or Vice-Chair role. This discussion was tabled until the next meeting. V. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments made. VI. ADJOURNMENT The Meeting was adjourned by the chair at 4:55p. Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 12th, 2024, 3:30p, City Hall Room 200A and via zoom invite. Respectfully Submitted, Carrie Chandler, Recording Secretary

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