Community Relations Commission

COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION Minutes from the Meeting held on Thursday, April 12, 2018 Persons in Attendance: Jenny Lee (Chair) Joe Penze – Deputy Chief of Police Brian Sweeney Katie Schneider – Secretary CRC Tony Hollenback – Director of Family Services Joe Kuffel Persons Absent: Dan Ryan Steven Vinezeano – Village Manager Luis Tigera – Chief of Police Trustee John C Jekot Carolyn Drblik Commission Chair Jenny Lee called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, April 12, 2018 in the 3rd Floor Family Services Group Room at the Human Services Building, 999 Civic Center Drive. All in attendance were asked to introduce themselves. Joe Kuffel motioned to approve the January 11, 2018 meeting summary, seconded by Brian Sweeney, all were in favor, none opposed. Summary approved. Reported Citizen Comments/Complaints a. Police and Other Village Departments Joe Penze discussed new outreach initiatives for the summer so that police officers are out in the community and meeting with people. In addition to active social media outreach including Facebook, Twitter, and NextDoor there is a mobile command unit that will be visible throughout the community. The department has established 14 crime prevention beats and each one has a phone number and email. The designated beats allow for better communication between residents in that area and the police department. The police are also gearing up for this summer’s festivals and events including the National Night Out which is hosted by the police department. Niles Police continue to work on traffic calming initiatives. The police department will also hire 25 college students for summer bike patrol. Jenny Lee asked Joe Penze about local security for our schools and what role the police department plays. He commented that an SRO works with the public grammar schools and talks with them regularly. Those schools are “fairly secure” without police presence. Most of our national concerns about school security center around high schools. There is only one high school (and its private) in Niles, and our police department works with them on a lockdown system. Tony Hollenback discussed activities through Family Services and he stated there has been an increase in mediation cases particularly with neighbor conflict and family/spousal. Family Services will typically get involved to help communicate between parties and work with both sides to find a solution. Often times matters are handled before the police department gets involved. Sometimes there are fairly simple solutions, for instance neighbors are fighting because one party is too loud at night, and the police department is asked to enforce the noise ordinance after hours. Family Services also has a working relationship with Conflict Resolution Center (Chicago) which often times provides services in multiple languages. Niles Family Service’s dispute services and mediation are offered at no charge to Niles residents. Jenny Lee asked how the services are promoted and if Tony knew how people found Family Services. Tony reported that their promote services available through the Village’s website, e-newsletter and Focus newsletter. b. Telephone/Email Hotlines Nothing new was reported to the Commission. c. Commissioners Both Jenny Lee and Brian Sweeney stated that there was nothing further on the Jason Trunco issue from last meeting. Old Business Jenny Lee had followed up with Elaine Heinemann from the Y.W.C.A about using her services in Niles however nothing further developed. New Business Jenny Lee asked the commissioners how we could promote the CRC and be of assistance to the community. She particularly asked about the Arts and Culture Art Stop bench program. Katie Schneider responded that just helping to promote the program would be of assistance. Katie also stated that the Public Arts and Culture Council was in the process of putting their short term and long term goals together and that we should continue to partner or coordinate initiative in the future. The commission also discussed having a flyer or tri- fold available at Block Parties or local events like National Night Out. The current tri-fold was distributed. Tony Hollenback talked about a program he did for School District 63 called Behavior Red Flag Training. He offers a 60-90 minutes presentation on to how to identify mental health issues in the workplace and how to respond. It is relevant for anyone and could apply to students, neighbors, co-workers, businesses. Tony Hollenback and Katie Schneider would like to work for with our local churches and recently met with the Pastor at Harvest Bible in Niles. Both believe it is important to foster communication between the congregations and our Village. Often times churches and Family Services have complementary services and could refer clients or share resources. Jenny Lee announced that due to scheduling conflicts and changes in her work responsibilities, she is resigning from the Community Relations Commission. She thanked everyone for their involvement and was disappointed to no longer be on the commission, but would hope to stay informed. Public Comment No members of the public were present to make public comment. Next Meeting The next meeting is Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 6:00pm. Adjournment With no further business or discussion to take place, the meeting adjourned at 6:54 p.m. On voice vote all concurred. Minutes Submitted by: Katie Schneider, Secretary Community Relations Commission