Human Rights Commission

MORGANTOWN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION Minutes for the Regular Meeting on December 19, 2024 At the Morgantown Public Safety Building, 300 Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV ATTENDANCE: Commissioners: Chair, Annie CRONAN YORICK; Vice Chair, Danny TREJO; and Secretary, Ashley SWANSON, Commissioner, Laura FLETCHER via videoconference 6:48 pm-8:25 pm. Liaisons: Brian Butcher, City Council Absent: None (3 Vacancies) CALL TO ORDER: A quorum was present, so the Chair called the meeting to order at 6:48 p.m. MINUTES: SWANSON moved to accept the Minutes for the Regular Meeting on July 18, 2024, and the Minutes for the Special Meeting on October 17, 2024. TREJO seconded. Unanimously approved. There was no November meeting due to the lack of quorum. PUBLIC PORTION: • Mimi Ferguson from the WVU Student Government and Jackson Bragg hung the flags at the Aull Center for our 2024 Human Rights Poster & Flag Exhibition. • Two new applicants requested consideration for posts on the HRC. The interviews are tentatively set for early 2025. COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: ● Our Final Score on the Municipal Equality Index is 100, the highest possible score. Our Raw Score is 110, the highest in WV, and among the best in the country. ● Commissioners must submit a new parking pass application to the Parking Authority for 2025. ● The funding application for the next calendar year is due on 12/31/2024. The Chair completed the application, requesting $4500 for FY 2025/26. ● Pathways to Help is advertising the United Way’s services and connections. Some people are having difficulty getting through. UPDATES: Chair, Annie CRONAN YORICK: ● She sent a memorandum to City officials pointing out major problems with the 2024 City Employees Health Insurance policy and its denial of gender-affirming care. (Brian requested a copy) ● The 2025 International Human Rights Day Awards Reception went off without a hitch! The University Avenue and Suncrest Starbucks donated beverages. The manager of the Suncrest store, Manny Doty, baked homemade cookies & muffins for the event when she realized that the store didn’t have any pastries to send along. She wrote a thank you letter to both managers for their generosity.  City Ambassadors, Travis Smith and Jessi Hersom photographed the event for us. City Councilors Bill Kawecki (2nd Ward) and Weez Michael (3rd Ward) attended. Mayor M. Joe Abu Ghannam (1st Ward) presented the awards and certificates to this year’s honorees. ● We haven’t gotten any updated DEI numbers for City employees. ● She spoke at the December 3rd City Council meeting to oppose the rate increase for garbage and recycling services. The vendor is routinely late or does not show at all. Door-side services for people with disabilities and the elderly are routinely skipped in violation of the City’s human rights law. ● She attended the Fairmont-Morgantown Housing Authority Board Meeting seeking support for the Source of Income housing forums. They voiced support and asked for updates. ● She attended a completed training for veterans’ issues. The HRC is charged with protecting veterans’ human rights, but it doesn’t look like we have done much for them in the past. We should reach out. ● She met with the Assistant City Manager about the Minority Liaison Coordinating Council. It has not functioned for some time. She agreed to take the MLCC under the HRC umbrella as a Special Committee appointed by the HRC commissioners. Hollie Gregory has agreed to be the LQBTQ+ liaison for City employees and the Administration. She is working with the MPD to name a new liaison for MPD employees and any citizens whose concerns come to their attention. ● She audited the City Council meeting of another WV municipality at the request of its Pride! Chair. She offered suggestions to the group on how to advocate for an HRC of their own. ● There are seven municipal Human Rights Commissions in WV. She would like to coordinate with them for the betterment of all the HRCs. Vice Chair, Danny TREJO: ● He is concerned about immigration and the state of immigrants with the new incoming federal administration. He reminded us of a 2017 City Resolution in support of immigrants, refugees, and asylees. He would like to meet with the City Administration and the MPD to discuss how we intend to enforce the new federal policies and cooperate with ICE. ● His How to Work with Latinos presentation to the Courts was received well. He is encouraged for future engagement. He is working with a local woman who wants to start a legal services project for Spanish- speaking residents who are involved with the courts or need services. He will keep us posted. Secretary, Ashley SWANSON: ● She attended the December 3rd Legislative Priorities Committee of the Whole meeting on 12/3/2024 with the Chair. No human rights issues were addressed. This is concerning, considering the last legislative session. ● She attended the December 3rd City Council meeting to accept the Human Rights Day Proclamation with the Chair. Commissioner, Laura Fletcher: ● She posted the HRC’s Flag & Poster Exhibition & Art/Essay Contest flier at the Monkey Wrench Bookstore and Suncrest Elementary. She plans to email the Parent-Teacher Organization with the contest information. ● She has taken a temporary job as a technical assistant for the Sustainable Agricultural Research & Education (SARE) program grant for historically underserved farmers. It is run through the USDA and could be an avenue to fund a food rescue program for Morgantown.  ● She has engaged with the Abortion Ambassadors Program. Its goals are to help women navigate reproductive healthcare and provide resources, including those for post-abortion complications. ● She found a documentary to recommend for the Human Rights Film Series. “Desde Cero” is an NBC- Chicago/Telemundo production about a Venezuelan immigrant asylum-seeker community in Chicago. She will contact Bonnie before the end of the year to submit our suggestion and to advise her that the HRC can commit funds from its budget to the series. City Council Liaison, Brian BUTCHER ● HRC applicant interviews do not show on his Council schedule. ● He attended a webinar, The Bridge Project, that provides cash payments for new mothers in their first trimester through the first three years of their child’s life. The program will come to the Appalachian region in January 2025, when 500 Appalachian women will be selected by lottery to receive the benefits. He would like to work with the ARPA fund to sponsor 2 or 3 mothers from Morgantown. He is unsure how much control we will have over where the money goes. ● The WV Coalition to End Homelessness is now running the transitional homeless services shelter at West Run under the direction of Cassidy Thompson. PRIORITY BUSINESS ADDRESSED: ● All commissioners must review the proposed Source of Income Ordinance to be sure it is what the commission wants to advance before we schedule Public Forums. ● We need to remove the Poster & Flag Exhibition materials from the Aull Center on the morning of Saturday, December 27th. Everyone should be there to do their part. ADJOURNMENT: There was no further business. SWANSON moved to adjourn the meeting, and TREJO seconded. The Chair adjourned at 8:52 p.m. Next Regular Meeting is scheduled for January 16th, 2025. Minutes: Written by Secretary, Ashley SWANSON and edited by Annie CRONAN YORICK for approval at the January 16th, 2025, Regular Meeting.