Community Relations Commission

COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES July 18, 2013 Persons in attendance: Steven Gorski Joe Kuffel Mary Marusek Police Chief Dean Strzelecki Village Manager Steve Vinezeano (arrived at 5:17 p.m.) Cathy Spadoni - Secretary Commissioner Gorski called the meeting to order at 5:10 p.m. He welcomed new Commissioner Kuffel and asked that each person present introduce him/herself. He explained that the mission of the commission is to address fair housing and discrimination in housing issues; that the commission is set up to address complaints; and the quarterly meeting schedule. I. Approval of Minutes Commissioner Gorski made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Marusek, to approve the minutes of the April 18, 2013 meeting. On voice vote, all concurred. II. Reported Citizen Comments / Complaints a) Police Department Police Chief Strzelecki stated that he has received complaints from the Leaning Tower YMCA residents regarding mold and heating/air conditioning issues and wondered if these would be something for the CRC to address. Commissioner Gorski stated that those complaints should be referred to the Community Development Department as they are not discrimination issues. Chief reported that no housing complaints were received. b) Other Village of Niles Departments Commissioner Spadoni reported that no complaints were received from other departments. c) Telephone Hotline Commissioner Spadoni reported that no complaints were received via the phone hotline. d) Email Hotline Commissioner Spadoni reported that no complaints were received via the email hotline. e) Other The commissioners reported that no complaints were received.  Community Relations Commission July 18, 2013 III. Report from the Commissioners Discussion of Community Relations Commission Flyer/Brochure Commissioner Gorski presented the quote from Viki Rivkin of Open Communities to develop a CRC brochure. The quote was $4700 and included fees for design, writing, postage, printing and translation. All present agreed that this was expensive. Village Manager Vinezeano suggested that this brochure could be developed and printed in-house by Village personnel. After discussing the merits of developing a brochure in-house, all agreed that this is the best course of action. The group also discussed what languages the brochure should be published in; online translation; who would most benefit from the brochure; the targeted audience – renters, realtors, landords; the ability to control the content and update the brochure as necessary; and presenting the brochure as more legal than promotional. Once the group determines the content and style of the brochure, we can set a goal of publishing it this winter. Commissioner Gorski will call Viki Rivkin to inform her that we have decided to decline their proposal. Open Meetings Act Training Commissioner Kuffel will complete online Open Meetings Act training and will submit his certificate to the Village. Secretary Spadoni will contact Commissioners Haido and Thomas regarding this mandatory training. All other commissioners have completed training and are in compliance. IV. New Business CRC Meeting Times The Commissioners reviewed and discussed the meeting schedule. Commissioner Marusek made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kuffel, to change the meeting time from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. On voice vote, all concurred. Disclosure Statements Secretary Spadoni explained that all Village employees, elected officials and appointed officials are required to complete a Disclosure Statement, and distributed the forms. V. Next Meeting The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. VI. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Community Relations Commission, Commissioner Gorski made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Marusek, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 5:37 p.m. __________________________ Catherine Spadoni, Secretary Community Relations Commission 2  Community Relations Commission July 18, 2013 2013-2014 Community Relations Commission Commissioners Ex-Officio Members Steven J. Gorski – Chair Trustee Rosemary Palicki Billy Haido Village Manager Steven C. Vinezeano Joe Kuffel Human Services Director Mary Marusek Police Chief Dean Strzelecki Bob Thomas Secretary Cathy Spadoni 3