Human Rights Commission

City of Morgantown Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes for May 16, 2019 Present: Marlene Robinson, Vice Chair Kristen Cooper, Secretary Kate Levine-Freedman Jena Martin Don Spencer (Program Assistant) Judith Wilkinson (Volunteer) Meeting called to order by Marlene Robinson, Chair, at 6:41 PM. The agenda was distributed and approved with no changes. Public Session: No one from the public was present at the meeting. Minutes: Copies of the April 2019 minutes were not copied for distribution; therefore those minutes will be reviewed and approved at the June 2019 meeting. Communications: Tim Hairston, representative from the State HRC, was not present to make a report, however he communicated with Jan Derry who reported the following: “Someone other than the who has been their chief council and acting director since the last director was let go was recently appointed as the new Director of the State Human Rights Commission. According to Tim, the board was not consulted about the appointment whatsoever and he did not tell me who it was.” Priority Items: The Commission received a complaint from Victoria Hecker regarding a situation that is occurring at HealthWorks where she believes she is being discriminated against in regards to the billing of her aqua therapy sessions. Jena Martin was appointed to investigate the complaint. Jena will send written acknowledgement of receipt of the complaint and that an investigation will take place. Jena will make a determination if the complainant lives within the city limits, if HealthWorks is located within city limits, and if the complaint meets the threshold of a violation based on sexual identity, sexual orientation or veteran status. 1 Regarding the DEI Plan, Don Spencer has requested a meeting time with the City Manager. Jan Derry will working on the scheduling of that meeting. The Commission is still in need of Attachment K which is being written by Drew Bucy. Drew communicated by email saying that she will work on the Attachment before the end of this week. There still remains the need for the City Attorney to put together ordinances that support the DEI Plan’s concepts and authorizes strategies. Ron Dulaney, City Councilman from the 5th Ward, joined the meeting to discuss a zoning ordinance and equitable housing efforts. A meeting took place the past Wednesday which included Ron Dulaney, Rachel Fetty, Alexa (last name unavailable) from CHAP, Jan Derry, and Don Spencer. The group talked about the status of affordable housing in Morgantown. The group is working on a resolution that is based on the Amherst, MA zoning policy. The resolution was reviewed by the Commission. Ron Dulaney stated that affordable housing was a campaign issue and he is interested in inclusionary zoning, Accessory Dwelling Units, and land trust for housing (to lower price point of a home). One option is to look at vacant and delinquent housing for redevelopment as affordable housing. It needs to be determined which tactics are appropriate to use for Morgantown. A housing assessment was scheduled for 2018-19 but did not take place. Ron Dulaney is working to get the assessment carried over to 2019- 20. There have been some opposition to any of the solutions put forward, and there have been challenges to the changing of zoning districts. There are plans for Ron Dulaney, Rachel Fetty and the mayor, Bill Kawecki to meeting with the Paul Brake to move initiatives like the resolution and assessment forward. Announcements: Due to time constraints and the departure of two of the Commissioners, the remaining items on the agenda were tabled until the June meeting, and the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting of the Human Rights Commission will take place on June 20th, 2019. Submitted by Kristen Cooper 2