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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBHRCMinutes_2015_10_16 Brookings Human Rights Committee Minutes Friday, October 16, 2015, at 11:30 am Suite 230, Room 241 - Brookings City & County Government Center Attendance: Penny Hauffe, Lawrence Novotny, Steve Bayer, George Hamer, Chandradhar Dwivedi, Judy Karen and Shafiqur Rahman. Absent: Sam Jennings and Kanbi Faith Knippling. Also present: City Staff Shari Thornes. Chair Hauffe called the meeting to order at 11:30 am. A motion was made by Dwivedi, seconded by Karen, to approve the agenda. All present voted yes; motion carried. A motion was made by Dwivedi, seconded by Karen, to approve the minutes of September 11, 2015 meeting. All present voted yes; motion carried. Schedule next meeting. Thornes will conduct a doodle poll to find a date for the November quarterly meeting. Executive Session: Novotny moved, Bayer seconded, to go into executive session at 11:35 am to discuss two discrimination complaints that were received. All present voted yes; motion carried. Novotny moved, Bayer seconded to come out of executive session at 12:05 pm. All present voted yes; motion carried. Bayer moved, Karen seconded, the HRC determined Complaint #10-02-2015 did not meet the requirements of being a valid complaint. The complainant will be notified of this finding. Regarding Complaint #10-01- 2015, the HRC determined it needed more information in order to make a determination of validity. A sub- committee of Bayer (as chair), Novotny and Hauffe will visit with the complainant. Request for Presentation at High School: Dan Berg, Brookings High School Business/Personal Law teacher, requested a presentation on the role of the HRC. Bayer volunteered to schedule a time with the teacher for the presentation. He will notify the HRC regarding the time in case other committee members would like to join Bayer in the presentation. Reports/Updates: a. Fall Diversity Potluck, October 4 – Attendance was between 125 -140, with more than half students. Most students brought a potluck item – mainly purchased desserts. Punch and water ran out before the end. b. Mental Illness in the Workplace and Beyond Panel, October 5 – Rahman and Karen attended the forum. Over 60 people attended this successful public forum. The panelists spoke about the services in Brookings for the mentally ill. c. Educate for Equity, October 9 – Through email HRC approved an expenditure of $625 to co-sponsor this program dealing with promoting positive relations with Native Americans. Charlotte Davidson, SDSU special diversity assistant, apologized via email that she was not able to attend this meeting. The report was postponed to the November meeting. d. Meeting with SD World Affairs Council Delegation, October 9 – Dwivedi and Novotny explained the programs of the HRC to a delegation of eight Ukrainian citizens who are examining the workings of US non-governmental agencies and citizen involvement in government. The delegation was interested in HRC’s complaint process and how many complaints are processed. The Ukrainians brought up an interesting fact; in the Ukraine 80% of television is broadcast in Russian. e. EEOC Fall Workshop, Diversity/Bias/Respect, October 20 – The HRC and the Brookings Committee for People who have Disabilities sponsored the workshop. The 3-4 hour workshop will be held at the Brookings Public Library Cooper Room. f. Community Common Read Events – Committee members were asked to distribute the promotional bookmarks. City staff will obtain tickets for the November 19 lecture by Wes Moore. It was announced that Wes Moore will not attend in person but will appear via videoconference. a. Youth Mentoring Panel, Community Common Read Event, November 12 – The panel is in place. Questions still need to be drafted. The sub-committee will work on promotion. g. Commission Transition – Thornes just received the Sioux Falls Human Relations Commission policies and procedures. City Attorney Steve Britzman and Thornes will review them and hopefully have draft procedures and policies to review at the November 23rd meeting. h. Committee Membership – Mayor Reed and Thornes are interviewing eight applicants for two positions on the HRC – one of them being Bacon’s vacant position. Sam Jennings announced that he will be resigning from the HRC creating the other vacant position. Concern was expressed regarding the non- attendance of the student representative on the HRC. The Mayor will be asked to send a letter to rescind the student representative’s appointment and appoint a new student representative. The appointments are expected to occur at the November 10 City Council Meeting. Announcements/Correspondence/Calendar. October 4 – Fall Diversity Potluck, McCrory Gardens Visitor Center, 5-7 pm October 5- Mental Illness in the Workplace Panel, Brookings Public Library, 7 pm October 20 – EEOC Training Workshop, Brookings Public Library October 29 – Combined Awards Event, Performing Arts Center 5-7 pm November 12 – Youth Mentoring Panel, City & County Government Center, 7 pm December 12 – MLK contest entries deadline Meeting adjourned at 12:55 pm. Submitted by Lawrence Novotny, recorder.