HomeMy WebLinkAboutHRCMinutes_2017_07_10Brookings Human Rights Commission Minutes
Monday,July 10, 2017
Room 300 Community Room, Brookings City & County Government Building
Attendance:Steve Bayer, chair;George Hamer, vice-chair;Lawrence Novotny, recorder;Chandradhar Dwivedi;
Penny Hauffe; Judy Karen;Maggie Owens;Shafiqur Rahman (county representative);Shari Thornes, city clerk-
staff; Nathan Ziegler, SDSU liaison.
Absent:Laura Renee Chandler; Meagan Irvine-Miller (student representative).
Chair Bayer called the meeting to order at 12:01 pm.
A motion was made by Dwivedi, seconded by Rahman,to adopt the agenda with the addition of item 6J
speaking engagement. All present voted yes;motion carried.
A motion was made by Karen, seconded by Owens, to approve the minutes of the June 12 meeting. All present
voted yes; motion carried.Novotny will not be attending the August meeting, so a recorder needs to be
designated.
SDSU Liaison:
Nathan Ziegler has been hired to serve as SDSU’s Director of Diversity,Equity,Inclusion & Access.He fills a
position,which has been vacant for 3 years. Ziegler has a PhD in educational psychology and arrived at SDSU 4
years ago as the English language coordinator.He has previously lived in Korea and Spain.As SDSU’s liaison,he
wants to build bridges with the Brookings community and will be invited to partake in all HRC meetings and
discussion but will not be able to vote.BHRC and the SDSU Office of DEIA want to have joint participation in and
sponsorship of events.
Vice-chair:
A motion was made by Hauffe, seconded by Hamer, to nominate Maggie Owens as vice-chair.All present voted
yes; motion carried.
Master Plan:
The chair and vice-chair of HRC, Sustainability Council, Disability Committee, Historic Preservation Commission
and Bicycle Advisory Committee have been invited to meet with the consultants developing the city’s
Comprehensive Master Plan on July 11 from 1:30-2:30. Each group is to present their two or three key points.
The HRC’s key point is an intentional message of inclusion for all diverse groups as the master plan is being
developed.Ziegler was also invited to attend the meeting to discuss SDSU’s social equity plan.
Inclusivity Signs:
About 40 of the 240 “You Are Welcome Here” signs are available to the public.It was less expensive to order the
signs from the national vendor ($6.24/sign) then to print locally ($50/sign).A suggestion was made to have the
sponsors included on the sign (HRC and Brookings Interfaith Council).
Dianne Nagy from the Brookings Interfaith Council presented signs to each City Council Member at the June 13
City Council Meeting. A suggestion was made to have the signs around the SDSU residence halls during move-in
weekend.Twenty signs will be set aside for this and then made available to the public after move-in weekend.
MEI:
The Human Rights Campaign issued our draft scorecard, and Brookings received 62 points.Thornes will ask for a
deadline extension from July 21 to August 4 to see if an additional 12 points in the areas of transgender health
policy (which the city has but was not recognized on the scorecard)and upcoming diversity training can be
included.
Butler Award:
HRC members are to be at McCrory Gardens for the Mayor’s Awards Reception by 4:45 pm to greet guests.
City Diversity Training:
Thornes and Owens met with the City’s Human Resources Manager and the Police Chief to discuss diversity
training.Owens will be conducting the training and developing the handout materials.A situational leadership
training is scheduled for August and a mandatory training for all city staff is planned for November.Training will
also be considered for the county staff.
Owens, Hamer and Ziegler will work on developing a plan on how the city should respond to a hate crime. A key
question is who decides what should be considered a hate crime –is it the investigating officer, the clerk
tabulating reports or an administrative officer?
Safe Zone:
The entire staff in the City & County Government Center need to receive safe zone training before the building
can be designated as a safe zone space.
Speaking Engagement:
Upstream Coffee Shop has started to host political Mondays each Monday from 11 am –noon.The coffee shop’s
owner, Matt, invites a community leader to meet with the public for discussion.Novotny suggested the HRC
should speak at one of the Mondays.The commission agreed and Novotny will schedule a date.
Other:
The King Essay Judging Rubric, Community Common Read and Diversity Potluck agenda items were postponed
until the next meeting.
Calendar:
July 11 –Meeting with City Comprehensive Master Plan team
July 19 –Mayor’s Awards Reception
August 14 –HRC meeting
October 8 –Diversity Potluck
November 2 –Community Common Read Speaker
Adjourn:Motion made to adjourn at 1:14 pm.All approved.
Submitted by Lawrence Novotny, recorder