Human Relation Commission Meeting

MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING _____________________________________________________________________________________ URBANA HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION DATE: Thursday, December 9, 2015 TIME: 5:30 p.m. PLACE: Urbana City Council Chambers Urbana City Building 400 South Vine Street Urbana, Illinois 61801 _____________________________________________________________________________________ MEMBERS PRESENT: Frances Rigberg Baker, Kevin Bowesox-Johnson, Daniel Larson, Jeniece Mitchell, Lisa Mosley, Peter Resnick MEMBERS NOT PRESENT: Aisha Lamb Sobh STAFF PRESENT: Alex Bautista 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM a. Chair Larson called this meeting of the Urbana Human Relations Commission to order at 5:33 p.m. Roll was taken. A quorum was present. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA a. Mr. Bowersox-Johnson made a motion that the Commission approve the agenda as presented. Mr. Resnick seconded the motion. Chair Larson called for a voice vote. All were in favor. The motion carried unanimously. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. November 12, 2015 Meeting i. Mr. Bowersox-Johnson made a motion that the Commission approve the draft minutes of the November 12, 2015 meeting. Ms. Rigberg Baker seconded the motion. Chair Larson called for a voice vote. All were in favor. The motion carried unanimously; the draft minutes were approved as presented. 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION a. There was none. 5. OLD BUSINESS a. There was none. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Committee Reports i. Community Relations Committee 1. Ms. Mosley and Ms. Rigberg Baker reported on recent Community Relations Committee activities. Discussion among Commissioners and staff ensued. ii. Criminal Justice Committee 1. There was nothing to report, per Mr. Larson. iii. Ordinance Enforcement Committee 1. There was nothing to report, per Mr. Resnick. iv. Training & Development Committee 1. Mr. Bowersox-Johnson provided comments to the Commission on current and future Training & Development Committee activities. He noted his plans for the Committee to meet prior to the January 2016 regular meeting of the Human Relations Commission. Discussion among Commissioners and staff ensued. 7. STAFF REPORT a. Approval of EEO Workforce Statistics i. The EEO Workforce Statistics were reviewed and staff recommendations for approval were as follows: 1. Ideal Environmental Engineering a. Recommend 1 year 2. J.H. Moore, Inc. a. Recommend 2 years 3. Rice Tree Service, Inc. a. Recommend 2 years Mr. Bautista gave a brief presentation to the Commission on supplemental information submitted to the Human Relations Office from Ideal Environmental Engineering. Mr. Bautista further presented to the Commission regarding the workforce statistics of each renewing contractor/vendor. Discussion followed. Mr. Resnick made a motion that the Commission approve Ideal Environmental Engineering for one year; J.H. Moore, Inc., for two years; and Rice Tree Service, Inc., for two years. Ms. Rigberg Baker seconded the motion. Chair Larson called for a voice vote. All were in favor. The motion carried unanimously. b. HRO Activity Report i. Mr. Bautista reviewed the monthly activity report with the Commission, addressing Commission comments and questions during the course of his review. c. Budget Report i. Recording Secretary Tony Weck presented the Commission with the budget report. 8. ANNOUNCEMENTS a. Mr. Bautista noted that he had been appointed as Human Relations Officer by the Mayor and that said appointment had been confirmed by City Council. b. Mr. Bautista announced that copies of the Final Report of the IDOT Traffic Stop Data Task Force had been presented to the Commission. Mr. Resnick provided a review of his presentation as chair of the Task Force to City Council and offered comments on the same. 2  c. Mr. Bowersox-Johnson recommended that a resolution be drafted and approved by the Commission, thanking the IDOT Traffic Stop Data Task Force for its work and making recommendations to City Council regarding Commission involvement in implementing the recommendations contained in the Task Force’s Final Report. Discussion followed. Chair Larson requested that a draft resolution be ready for discussion and approval by the January 13, 2016 regular meeting of the Commission. d. Mr. Bautista made note of a movie covering the subject of racial bias, entitled, “Racial Taboo.” He recommended that members of the Commission see said movie. e. Mr. Bautista noted that the 2016 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Countywide Celebration would take place on Friday, January 15, 2016 at the Parkland College Student Union. 9. ADJOURNMENT a. There being no further business to come before the Commission, Chair Larson declared the meeting to be adjourned at 6:09 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Tony Weck Recording Secretary 3