Human Rights Commission

City of Morgantown Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes for September 20, 2018 Present: Jan Derry, Chair Kristen Cooper, Secretary Marlene Robinson, Vice Chair Jacob Powers Drew Bucy Tim Hariston (Liaison with State HRC) Don Spencer (Program Assistant) Ramsey Kinsella (Volunteer) Meeting called to order by Jan Derry, Chair, at 6:46 PM. The agenda was distributed. Jan Derry added Law Enforcement Training and Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. Pubic Session: Derek Israel, a Morgantown resident briefly attended the meeting and offered is support. He stated that he is looking for an outlet for his concerns and may attend again in the future. Minutes: The minutes for August 2018 were distributed and reviewed. Drew Bucy moved that the minutes be accepted as written. The motion was seconded by Jacob Powers, and the motion passed unanimously. Communications: Jacob Powers announced that he will be getting married on December 22nd and his involvement in events in December will be limited. The hate speech taking place in a Fairmont church was addressed. Via email, Cris Mayo at the University sent Commission members a YouTube link to a sermon. Though it was found to be very intolerant of the LGBTQ community, there is very little the Commission can do about it. Jan Derry responded to Cris Mayo and encouraged anyone in the city of Morgantown who is feeling harassed can fill out a complaint to the Commission. Tim Hairston from the State Human Rights Commission had nothing new to report other than their upcoming meeting next Thursday. 1 Jacob Powers reported that there were no messages to the phone line or email. He noted that people have been visiting and liking the Facebook page. Priority Items: The topic of the Hate Crime Prevention Forum (in conjunction with the Department of Justice Community Relations Service) was discussed. Currently Jan Derry is not in a position to organize a Forum in the next month or two due to time restrictions. However, Jan will reach out to the DOJ representative and ask about next steps. The Commission will try to get the City onboard with the possible Forum, and Jacob Powers expressed interest in helping to plan a Forum. The Human Rights Day check list was examined. The dates of December 4th or December 18th were suggested. Jan Derry will inquire about the availability of the Aull Center and the City Council on those dates to determine the final date for the Awards. The event will then be promoted on our Facebook page. Everyone on the Commission will contribute food in a “pot luck” fashion with to the event (with details to be confirmed at the November meeting). The Commission will select the recipients of the Awards for 2018. Jan Derry will email Award qualification information to Commissioners and volunteers. Commissioners were asked to submit nominations (and contact information) via email to Jan before October 12th so that nominations can be presented at the October Commission meeting. Ideas for an event speaker will also be entertained at the October meeting. Kristen Cooper will develop a press release about the Awards event which will be sent to the Dominion Post so it can appear in the paper on Thanksgiving Day as well as the Sunday before the Awards event. Jan Derry will request that her contact at the paper facilitate this request. The press release and event information will be shared with the CCSJ and other community organizations. All Commission members and volunteers were asked to share the Award event information with their contacts. Progress Reports: The latest version of the Diversity Equity Inclusion plan was distributed. Drew Busy was thanked for her work on the latest version of the plan. Census information obtained since 2010 will be solicited from the City Manager and information for Appendix i will be solicited from the City Attorney. The Commission is ready to set a meeting with the City Manager, the City HR official, and possibly the City Attorney (and representatives from the Commission – Jan Derry, Marlene Robinson and Don Spencer). Huntington’s “Open to All” campaign was introduced by Kristen Cooper and Don Spencer. A copy of the campaign’s brochure was distributed. Kristen and Don will have a phone conference with representatives from Huntington tomorrow to discuss the campaign’s formation in Huntington and get their advice on creating the same campaign in Morgantown. The information for that meeting will be shared with the Commissioners and volunteers. Law Enforcement Training for the city police was suggested to improve the police’s work with those with disabilities. It will be important to get the City Manager on board with this initiative. Jan Derry has 2 experienced resistance to this type of training in the past. This topic will be kept on the Commission’s agenda. Jan will also reach out the DOJ to them involved in the training program and the topic will be added to the Commission’s annual calendar. It was mentioned that the Commission needs to schedule a meeting with the Chief of Police to get his support. New Business In regards to the Gun Resolution, Don Spencer will meet with Barbara Fleischauer to discuss what will be brought up in the legislature in relation to this type of resolution to ensure that the resolution has a chance of acceptance. The Commission will wait to get input from Barbara Fleischauer about the bigger picture in regards to the state legislature as that will affect any local action. The topic of the Anti-Bullying Ordinance was raised. Jacob Powers suggested the title be changed to incorporate the term “zero tolerance” since simply prohibiting bullying is not effective. Don Spencer suggested a meeting take place with BOPARC, the city library, and other city programs officials. It was noted that the ordinance does not have an enforcement element. Don discussed a recent newspaper column and website article on the results bullying has on individuals’ lives. Ramsey Kinsella offered to take the lead on creating a committee about the ordinance. Jan Derry with talk with Ramsey about moving this forward. The topic of a “Blue Zone” was introduced. Blue Zones are created to encourage healthy outcomes and results such as lower incidence of disease and longer life. Don Spencer suggested that Colleen Harshberger come to a future Commission meeting to provide more information on the program. It was noted that there will be a Blue Zone meeting presented by the City Wellness Commission on October 2nd from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the WVU Alumni Center. The League of Women Voters will hold a Candidates Forum for senatorial and delegate candidates (October 11th) and county commissioner candidates (October 18th). In the past some important issues were not brought to vote in the senate and this forum presents an opportunity to change that. Topics to consider for senatorial and delegate candidates include employment and housing non-discrimination, Amendment 1, gun violence, PEIA insurance, Title 19/Medicaid, roads, inclusive public transportation, corporate dollars, campaign finance, and regional jails. Topics for county commission candidates include In Touch and Concerned services, county surpluses/underfunded city services, county growth, and human rights. Everyone was encouraged to submit questions to the League of Women Voters. Jacob Powers asked that Don Spencer circulate the list of topics via email so they can formulate questions. The HRC legislative docket was circulated and it was noted that we now have drafts for each proposal and need to begin scheduling them to go before the City Council. The DEI Plan is set In regards to Inclusionary Zoning, it was suggested that the Commission help the city council put in in an ordinance so that it will be moved along. Don Spencer and Jacob Powers will discuss the issue with Ron Delaney. 3 Announcements The CCSJ’s annual meeting will take place September 23rd at the WVU Creative Arts Center at 6 pm. The League of Women Voters fall membership meeting takes place September 26th t the Aull Center at 7 pm. Professor Bob Bastress will discuss Amendments 1 and 2. THE NWVCIL’s 25th Anniversary celebration talks place on October 13th at Atria Restaurant. The LGBTQ Caucus of Mountaineers for Progress are giving presentations about LGBTQ History at the city Library on October 10th and November 28th. The next meeting is scheduled for October 18th. The meeting adjourned at 8:58 pm. Submitted by Kristen Cooper 4