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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHRC 05 21 19 AGENDA Human Rights Commission (HRC) Tuesday, May 21, 2019 5:30 P.M. City Hall, Helling Conference Room 410 E. Washington Street, Iowa City 1. Call Meeting to Order and Roll Call. 2. Approval of the April 16, 2019 minutes. 3. Public Comment of Items not on the Agenda. (Commentators shall address the Commission for no more than 5 minutes. Commissioners shall not engage in discussion with the public concerning said items). 4. Items to be discussed: a. Funding Request: World Refugee Day (June 15). b. Iowa City Pride Proclamation (June 4). c. Iowa City Pride Vendor (June 15). d. Juneteenth Proclamation (June 18). e. Suggestions for Human Rights Breakfast Keynote Speaker (October 23). f. Committees: Public Safety; Education; Community Outreach; Housing. g. Inclusive High School Teacher Award (June 28). h. Correspondence. 5. Updates/Reports: a. Youth Awards. b. Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant. 6. Staff/Commission Announcements. (Commissioners shall not engage in discussion with one another concerning said announcements). 7. Comments of Staff. 8. Adjournment. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate in this meeting please contact the Equity Director, Stefanie Bowers, at 319-356-5022 or at stefanie-bowers@iowa-city.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. Draft Minutes Human Rights Commission April 16, 2019 Helling Conference Room, City Hall 1 Members Present: Jeff Falk, Cathy McGinnis, Bijou Maliabo, Jessica Ferdig, Barbara Kutzko, Tahuanty Peña, Adil Adams, Noemi Ford, Jonathon Muñoz. Others Present: Ellsworth Carman, Denise Brotherton, Jody Matherly. Staff Present: Stefanie Bowers. Recommendation to Council: No. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM. Approval of March 19, 2019 Meeting Minutes: Kutzko moved to approve the minutes; the motion was seconded by McGinnis. A vote was taken, and the motion passed 6-0. (Maliabo, Adams, Muñoz not present). Funding Request for An Evening of Chinese Performing Arts: This is a funding request to offset the costs for the performing arts professionals and amateurs from the local Chinese community who will showcase their talents in performing arts, while providing the opportunity to share their culture with the diverse and inclusive Iowa City community. Muñoz moved to approve $150.00, the cost of the food and drinks, McGinnis seconded. The motion passed 8-0 (Maliabo not present). To date, the Commission has supported community funding in the amount of $1,106.00 for fiscal year 2019. Library update by Director Elsworth Carman: the library is now translating its brochures into Arabic, Swahili, Spanish, French, and Simplified Chinese. The new waiver of fines for children and teen materials begins in June. Borrowers will receive notice after the item is two weeks past the due that states if the item is not returned it will be replaced at their cost. So even though fines are waived, a replacement fee will still be required if the item is not returned within a certain realm of time. Police Department update by Chief Matherly and Captain Brotherton: Over the last year crime is down in Iowa City; violent crime saw a slight rise. There is now parity on citations and on traffic stops in terms of minority contact. The department has over two hundred and twenty hours of training that was conducted in 2018, that is up from 1100 hours of trainings in past years. The Wetherby and Grant Wood Neighborhoods are where the police receive the most calls for youth related offenses, within the last year the number of calls have gone Draft Minutes Human Rights Commission April 16, 2019 Helling Conference Room, City Hall 2 down. The number of referrals the police make to juvenile court services has also gone down. Community outreach has included afterschool programs and activities going on during the day and safety village. There are also two community officers. Outreach materials includes handbills on how to contact the police in Spanish, Swahili, Arabic, Chinese, and French. The handbill includes emergency and non-emergency contacts. The handbills will be distributed throughout the community. All officers are trained on crisis intervention some are even trainers. Strategic Plan and Committee Updates: There are four committees that assist in advancing the strategic plan. The four committees are Housing (*Falk, Adams, Peña); Public Safety (*McGinnis, Maliabo, Muñoz); Education (Ferdig, Falk, Peña, Kutzko); and Community Outreach (*Adams, Falk, Muñoz). Asterisks designates chairs of the committees. Housing committee: no report. Public Safety: the brochure on bias based incidents is still being worked on. The committee will be meeting with representatives from the Iowa City Police Department, and the Sheriff’s Office to discuss bias-based incidents. The Associate Dean of the University of Iowa will also be invited to this meeting. Education Committee: has established a charter, meeting date/time, and also set up a list of priorities primarily focusing on elementary aged youth. Community/Outreach Committee: no report. Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant: Commissioners received the scheduled reports from the Iowa City Community School District, Center for Worker Justice, and the Shelter House updating their use on the grant funding from fiscal year 2018. Commissioners expressed concern about the District’s small use of the funding provided to them. Staff will reach out to District representative and set up a future meeting to discuss why more of the funding has not been spent to date. On May 15 the Commission will hold a work session that allows feedback from the public on the grant process. All the groups who submitted applications for fiscal year 2019 will be invited to come and provide feedback as well as the general public. A news release will be sent to spread the word. If more time is needed for the Commission to discuss the grants May 23 at 5:30 will be held for that purpose. Draft Minutes Human Rights Commission April 16, 2019 Helling Conference Room, City Hall 3 Youth Awards: The event will be May 8 at The Englert. The Mayor will deliver brief remarks. Peña will deliver the welcome, Muñoz the presentation, Ferdig will distribute the awards, and Kutzko will deliver the closing. Commissioners should plan on being at The Englert by 6. There are 45 recipients this year. The number includes the Youth Ally recipient. Reports of Commissioners: Kutzko attended the Black Voices meeting and they will be sponsoring a reception to support Black administrators recently hired by the School District on April 30. Adams celebrated the Sudan Revolution with other Sundanese in the community. Falk attended the School District’s Equity Committee meeting. He also participated in an advocacy training sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility. The training taught participants how to advocate in a productive manner. Ferdig attended the Health Equity Summit sponsored by University of Iowa Public Health and every year it gets bigger and better. She and her husband also led a roofing seminar at Build Our Future (her and her husband own a roofing business together). The event was sponsored by ACE. There were 160 students in attendance. She also plans to attend the panel discussion on Restorative Justice being hosted by the School District at the Coralville Library. Ford is speaking at a June 9 fundraiser and panel discussion on the psychological trauma of immigrant children and families. It is sponsored by RAICES and being held at the North Liberty Recreation Center. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn at 7:15 PM. 4 Member Attendance Sheet KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting --- = Not a Member Member Term Exp. 1/8 1/24 2/19 3/19 4/16 5/21 6/18 7/16 8/20 9/17 10/15 11/19 12/10 Maliabo 1/2021 Present Present Present Present Present McGinnis 1/2021 Present Present Present Present Present Muñoz 1/2021 Excused Present Present Present Present Kutzko 1/2020 Present Present Present Present Present Falk 1/2020 Present Present Present Present Present Peña 1/2020 Present Present Excused Present Present Adams 1/2022 Excused Present Present Present Present Ferdig 1/2022 Present Present Present Present Present Ford 1/2022 Present Excused Present Excused Present Ma y A g e n d a P a c k e t Human Rights Funding Request Cover Letter (required reading) Thank you for your interest in seeking sponsorship from the Iowa City Human Rights Commission. The Commission provides funding to organizations and agencies to offset the costs of organizing, planning, and facilitating educational public forums or programs and activities that are designed to eliminate racial, religious, cultural, and other intergroup tensions, including but not limited to, sex, color, creed, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, and national origin. To process your request for sponsorship, we need you to take a few minutes to fill out this application form. Please note sponsorship requests are due by 5 p.m. on the second Monday of each month. The Iowa City Human Rights Commission will review the request at their monthly meeting and staff will contact you to let you know whether the request has been approved. If you are awarded funding, you will be required to submit a full (one page) summary of funding impact, including but not limited to, number of persons involved in your project, anecdotal stories to share with the team about the event, frequency of the event, and other essential information. If you have any questions about the application process, please do not hesitate to contact Equity Director Stefanie Bowers at 319-356-5022 or Stefanie-bowers@iowa-city.org. Please sign here to verify you have read the cover letter to this form.* Item 4a Application Date* Group/Organizaton Name * Contact person* Phone number* Email* Date of activity/event/program* If your event occurs on multiple dates, list here Event location and address* Is the event wheelchair accessible?* Is the event accessible to individuals with visual impairments?* Describe the activity/event/program and how it contributes to Human Rights.* Amount of funds requested. Attach an itemized budget (field below).* Attach itemized budget.* List other funders below: Has this organization applied for any other City of Iowa City funding for this activity/event/program? If yes, what department were the funds requested through? 5/10/2019 Refugee and Immigrant Association Jim Olson 3195120007 jimolson921@gmail.com 6/15/2019 1499 Dubuque Street, North Liberty, Iowa Yes No Yes No This is a community observance of World Refugee Day, and will honor 2019 refugee and immigrant high school graduates in Johnson and Linn counties. It will feature a speaker and affirm the contributions and achievements of refugee and immigrant youth. It will encourage further education and community engagement. A musical performance will showcase the cultural traditions of refugee and immigrant communities. 300.00$ RIA WRD 2019 Budget.docx 13.38KB JC Chapter, United Nations Association Refugee and Immigrant Association Several other funding requests pending Yes No How much funding was requested? Was this request granted? Has the organization received any funding from the City of Iowa City in the last year?* If yes, what department were the funds requested through? How much funding was requested? How will this activity/event/program be marketed? Will sponsors be mentioned and/or logos be used in the marketing of the activity/event/program? Is the activity/event/program a fundraiser?* $ Yes No Yes No HR Commision for Refugee and Immigrant Recognition Dinner 300.00$ Flyers, refugee and immigrant churches and other organizations and networks; invitations to public officials, press release. Yes No Yes No Refugee and Immigrant Association World Refugee Day Observance June 15, 2019 Liberty High School Income Donations and Sponsorships $ 9,348.00 Expenses Rental of Venue $ 548.00 Food* and Supplies 2,000.00 Postage and Printing 180.00 Mileage 120.00 Gifts to graduates** 6,500.00* Total Expenses: $ 9,348.00 * Most of food will be donated and prepared by members of the refugee and immigrant community. ** Contingent upon raising sufficient funds, we intend to give a computer to each graduate, calculated at $65 x 100 graduates = $6,500. Item 4c Item 4g DO YOU HAVE A GREAT TEACHER WHO MAKES EVERYONE FEEL INCLUDED? Nominate your teacher for an Inclusive High School Teaching Award! Nomination forms can be found online at icgov.org/Teacher or in your guidance office. Forms are dueby 4:30 p.m.on Friday,May 17,2 0 1 9. Teachers within the Iowa City Community School District and at Regina are eligible. Selected teachers will receive an award from the City of Iowa City at a program and reception on June 28th. Questions? Call 319-356-5015 or email kristin-watson@iowa-city.org. May Correspondence Funding Impact Report Event: An Evening of Chinese Performing Arts Organizer: Iowa City Area Chinese Association Time: Monday, May 6, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. Location: Recital Hall, Voxman Music Building Number of performers: Over 60 Number of attendees: About 250 Number of volunteers: About 40 Event frequency: Annually Impact: An Evening of Chinese Performing Arts demonstrated the diversity and inclusion of the Iowa City area community, as its population body has grown ever more diverse over the past years. Performing arts professionals and amateurs from the local Chinese group take great pride in their culture and heritage. In addition to showcasing their talents in performing arts, this event was a chance for us to be better heard and represented in this community. Event attendees from different backgrounds, races, and religions had an opportunity to experience Chinese culture and arts, and learn more about the local Chinese group.