Human Rights Commission

MORGANTOWN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MINUTES REGULAR MEETING ON June 20, 2024 At the Morgantown Public Safety Building 300 Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV Attendance: Commissioners Present: Chair, Annie CRONAN YORICK; Commissioner, Danny TREJO; Commissioner, Ashley SWANSON Liaisons: Tim HAIRSTON, State of WV Human Rights Commissions; Brian BUTCHER, Morgantown City Councilor Members of the Public: Don SPENCER Absent: Vice Chair Bonnie BROWN (excused) and Secretary Bronson HERR. (2 Vacancies) Call to Order: A quorum was present; the Chair called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Minutes: The minutes from the Regular Meeting held on May 30, 2024, were reviewed and approved with minor edits. Swanson moved to adopt the minutes; Trejo seconded. The May 2024 Minutes as Amended were unanimously adopted. Public Portion: Don Spencer inquired about how the public is informed about when the HRC meets. He was referred to the HRC webpage, the City Calendar, the HRC Facebook page, and the Agenda postings at the front door of City Hall. The Facebook page is the most reliable source for last-minute cancelations. Communications and Announcements: • Councilor Brian Butcher read the LGBTQI+ Proclamation at the City Council meeting on June 4th. Ash Orr, Chair of Morgantown PRIDE, drafted the proclamation and brought frames to preserve them. The HRC co-sponsored the Proclamation; the Chair accepted the HRC’s copy of the framed document. • The Community Coalition for Social Justice’s (CCSJ) exhibition, “Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”, will be on display for most of July. The Opening Reception will be Tuesday, July 2nd, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on the second floor of the Morgantown Public Library at 373 Spruce Street. The HRC is assisting with publicity and marketing and is co-sponsoring the event. • Commissioner TREJO was unanimously reappointed to the HRC at the June 18th City Council meeting. Updates: Chair – Annie Cronan Yorick: • has drafted several proclamations and attends most City Council meetings, always soliciting new applicants to be HRC commissioners. • purchased a flagpole and a floor stand with weighting sand for the HRC to use when tabling at events. • contacted the Music Director at Morgantown High to check for the availability of a student String Quartet to play at the International Human Rights Day Awards Ceremony. She will also contact the Morgantown Community Orchestra to inquire about availability. • continues to work to get MEI updates from the city so the HRC can continue improving the City’s LGBTQ+ relations and MEI score. • met with City Manager Kim Haws again to get the DEI numbers for the City’s mandatory DEI Report on City employees and appointees; he referred her to the new Director of Human Resources for the information. She continues to work with the City Clerk to revise the Boards & Commissions applications to collect DEI information for the first time. Vice Chair – Bonnie Brown (Absent) Secretary – Bronson Herr (Absent) Commissioners – Danny Trejo: • interviewed with the City Council to renew his position on the HRC; he was pleased to learn that he was appointed to another two-year term. • reported that the Civilian Police Review and Advisory Board will be researching and reporting on racial disparities in the arrest rate by the MPD in 2018. He has long been advocating for this review and looks forward to participating in an upcoming focus group for the project. Ashley Swanson: • will take charge of the HRC Facebook page to leverage communications and connect with other City organizations to publicize events and improve visibility in the community. • has met with the City Ambassador, Cam, to improve the HRC connection. He is interested in the HRC’s work and plans to attend an HRC meeting soon. Liaisons - Tim Hairston, WVHRC: • There will be an exhibit at the Farmers Market Pavilion on July 13, 2024, as part of the CCSJ’s 60th Anniversary Celebration of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is an exhibition event that will feature conversations with other community members. Booklets on Civil Rights designed by Eve Faulkes will be distributed. The event flier will be posted to the HRC Facebook page. • attended a webinar titled “How Prosecutors Can Engage Their Communities for Hate Crimes Prevention and Response”; he will look for the link to share the webinar with the Commission. Brian Butcher, City Council: • reported on the state of services for the Unhoused population. He suggests doing focus groups from all demographics to determine the demand for services as part of the HRC’s Community Needs Survey that should be done this year (the last survey was in 2014). • asked the Commission to support the proposed Ordinance to forbid discrimination based on one’s Source of Income. Priority Business Addressed: • how to proceed with ADA Compliance and Code Enforcement in the City and develop a strategy to advance stronger disability advocacy. • the process for periodic reporting to the City Council on grievances filed with the HRC. • the continued efforts to comply with the 2020 DEI Plan. The Chair will meet with Human Resources and the City Attorney to gather information. • Commissioners must start considering candidates for the 2024 HRC’s Human Rights Awards. • Officer elections will be held at the July meeting. Adjournment: As there was no further business, Trejo moved to adjourn; Swanson seconded. The Chair adjourned the meeting at 8:32 p.m. The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for July 18, 2024. Minutes by Commissioner Ashley Swanson for approval at the July 18, 2024, meeting.