Human Rights Commission

City of Morgantown Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes for September 19, 2019 Present: Jacob Powers, Chair Kate Levine-Freedman, Vice Chair Kristen Cooper, Secretary Jan Derry Drew Bucy Tim Hairston (State HRC Liaison) Don Spencer (Program Associate) DeeDee McIntosh (PFLAG Liaison) Meeting called to order by Jacob Powers, Chair, at 6:31 P.M. The agenda was distributed and approved with no changes. Public Session: Mollie Kennedy from the ACLU and Ron Dulaney from the City Council were in attendance to share information with the commission. Minutes: Copies of the August 2019 minutes were distribution. Jan Derry moved that the minutes be approved as written; Kristen Cooper seconded the motion. The minutes where approved unanimously. Communications: Jan Derry was contacted by two WVU journalism students who are writing a report about the commission. Jan referred them to the annual reports and minutes that are available on the city’s website. Jan Derry volunteered to be the liaison for any future media inquiries and the commission agreed that she should take on that responsibility. Don Spencer and Jan Derry met with the City Attorney about the DEI Plan in an effort to keep the DEI on track. The DEI Plan is on the calendar for the City Council’s Meeting of the Whole on Tuesday, September 24th. Information about the DEI Plan was distributed in the packet. Jacob Powers reported on social media accounts. He has been actively posting articles on the Facebook account, and the Twitter account has been relatively quiet. The email account produced the inquiry 1 from the WVU students (mentioned previously). Jacob will check with Marlene Robinson in regards to how to check and update the phone line. Tim Hairston, representative from the State HRC, reported that the State HRC is currently in a holding pattern but working towards having more visibility in the state and working with individual commissions. The Executive Director could, for example, come to Morgantown to meet with the commission at some point in the future. Priority Items: Jacob reported that it is not possible to get around the copyright of the name and mission statement for the National Open to All organization. The Mayor was interested in creating a program that was contained to Morgantown exclusively – so that there would be no national accountability for our local businesses. Open to All is being put back on the agenda for the City Council, however the Mayor is waiting to hear from the national program so he can get some questions answered. It was suggested that we rename the program “Refuge Morgantown” or some other name to separate it from the national campaign. On Tuesday, September 24th, the HRC will be presenting information on the DEI Plan to the City Council and the public. The components of the Plan will be presented to better explain how the Plan can be successfully carried out by the city. Don Spencer reported that over the past year there has been some apprehension about the city’s capacity to handle the Plan. The explanation of Part 5 of the Plan will show how to improve diversity via a city mission statement and training for staff volunteers and City Council members. It was pointed out that “inclusion” is an important element of the Plan. Tim Hairston said that Mon Power is working on the same type of program to encourage greater inclusion. Don Spencer said that the City Attorney envisions a resolution adopting the Plan and personnel policies. Commissioners and others are encouraged to attend the meeting on September 24th or the following City Council meeting to show support for the Plan. Jacob will post information on the Facebook account. The Anti-Bullying Ordinance will be discussed at the City Council Meeting of the Whole on September 24th by the City Attorney. New Business: Mollie Kennedy from the local ACLU spoke about the group’s efforts to make people aware of their rights in regards to immigration issues. She reported that West Virginia is the most dangerous state for getting picked up by ICE as it is 7 times more likely to happen than the average. Also, in the state immigrants have fewer resources and are more easily targeted in the low diversity population. The ACLU is training people wherever they can. They recently held a Facebook fundraiser which produced funds to hire an Immigration Coordinator. She reported that 15 people were picked up in West Virginia during the recent raid. The ACLU put out a list of what people can do to help. They feel it is especially 2 important for people to know that they are not obligated to talk to agents without proper authorization or a warrant. She also mentioned that if a city in WV were to become a sanctuary city, it might trigger greater attention by ICE. Don Spencer gave a definition of sanctuary cities and the rights the cities afford undocumented individuals. In a sanctuary city police can only stop someone who has committed a crime (though ICE is still able to approach people outside of criminal suspected criminal activity). Additionally, holding someone in jail until ICE shows up is unconstitutional. Generally, police support sanctuary city principles. The question arose about Morgantown becoming a sanctuary city. It was suggested that the use of a different term might be helpful – such as a constitutional city. The International Human Rights Day Observance checklist was briefly addresses. A decision was made for the commission itself to nominate and select the recipients for the annual awards. Further planning for the awards and ceremony will be discussed in October. Jacob Powers will contact the City Council to get on their calendar for the first Tuesday in December for the awards. One nomination was offered – Mavis Grant. We will also solicit nominations via Facebook. It was noted that the “Inclusive City” sign on Don Knotts Blvd. needs to be made more visible by trimming back surrounding foliage. The commission will contact the City Manager about the issue. The need to find a storage area for the HRC’s documents and signage was raised. It can no longer be stored at Jan Derry’s office. It was decided that we would use the vault at the city clerk’s offices which was offered for our use. Ongoing Projects: City Councilman Ron Dulaney spoke on behalf of a citizen who is concerned about utility costs for people on fixed or with limited incomes. Rob Tressler spoke with Ron to suggest that MUB and Republic Services provide financial assistance to low income persons. There was a question about how the costs will be offset. Ron Dulaney also reported that the city has sent out an RFP to consultants who will do a housing assessment for the city. Announcements: The next meeting of the Human Rights Commission will take place on October 17, 2019. The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 pm. Submitted by Kristen Cooper 3