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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-03-07 Bd Comm minutes em: APPROVED MINUTES HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL, IOWA CITY THURSDAY, JANUARY 19,2006 Members Present: Jerry Anthony, Lori Bears, Thomas Niblock, Brian Richman, Michael Shaw Members Absent: William Greazel, Matthew Hayek, Kelly Mellecker Staff Present: Tracy Hightshoe, Steve Long Public Present: Valdean Lembke, Pat Meyer, Sandy Pickup CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chairperson Anthony called the meeting to order at 6:36 PM. APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 17,2005 MINUTES Motion: Niblock moved to approve the minutes as submitted. Richman seconded the motion. Motion passed 5:0. PUBLIC COMMENTS OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA Long handed out a memorandum from the City's Clerk office and said that the City is currently going through the annual budgeting cycle. He noted that the commission could propose changes/additions to the budget. Bears asked if the commission had ever requested funds from the City Council. Anthony said that this might be an appropriate year to ask for funds, since the City's CDBG and HOME funds have been cut and the City may have conditional money this year. He added that the City, according to an article in the Press Citizen, may have a surplus and would need to decide how to use it or reduce the tax rate. He noted that if not used the money will be returned to the public. Anthony said that the Commission supports good community projects and our recipients would be grateful for additional sources of support, if additional funding could be found. Anthony said this year the City could have surplus revenue because of two reasons. First, the City could have a surplus of revenue collected from property taxes. Anthony mentioned that the City is anticipating a significant amount of money from the increase in property values. Anthony said that if the City would decide to return the money to property owners, it may not be a significant amount to an individual property owner, but it would represent a significant sum for the community projects. ~",-----~'~---"--~--'-"" "-.-----.,'...,.'----- ----------_._----_.._--_._------_._----'_.,,"--~-- -----~---------'-------'~..-_._-- Anthony said that the second source of surplus comes from the budget reserve decided by the City Council. He said that the Council had voted to keep 20% of the annual budget as a reserve. Anthony said that currently the amount going to the budget reserve is higher that 20%. He proposed that the additional money from the reserve above the 20% voted upon could be put in a trust fund, and the interest from that fund be added to the CDBG funds. Bears asked if additional funds are approved by the Council would there be a stipulation in terms of what the money could be used for. Anthony said that it is at the discretion of the Council to add such stipulations, but any additional funds that could be added to the CDBG program would be appreciated. Richman said that the commission should first come to a consensus about whether they should ask the City Council for additional money. Shaw said that if the commission will decide to ask for money, they should request a specific dollar amount to the Council. Sandy Pickup_said that the deadline for the CDBG aJ;plications is January 25th, and the deadline for budget recommendations is January 30 . She said that the commission could wait and see the amounts requested in this year's applications, determine the difference between the requested amount and the CDBG funds available, and use that difference as a proposal to the City Council. MOTION: Shaw made a motion that the Commission would ask the Council for additional money if funds are available. Bears seconded the motion. Motion passed 5:0. Richman said that he agrees that if money is available, the commission should request additional funds. He noted that without further review, he is uncomfortable about recommending a dollar amount. Niblock asked what the percent decrease in CDBG funds was for the current year compared with those from the last year. Long said that CDBG funds were reduced by 10.5% from last year. Niblock said that the commission could recommend restoring the funding levels from last year. Long added that in the past five (5) years there has been a 30% decrease in CDBG funds. Long said that the highest amount allocated from HUD to Iowa City for CDBG/HOME funds was approximately 1.7 million dollars. Shaw proposed that the commission choose a moderate money figure because the projects funded this year might not be self-sustaining in subsequent years if additional funds are not available every year. Richman said that the commission could reach a consensus to have the chairperson arrive at a dollar request after a dialogue with various City Council members. He noted that if there is a way of making more money available for allocation the commission should try to pursue it, however without studying the issue further he feels less comfortable voting on how much money to request. 2 --------,.,_._._-----_..,-~.~_._-_._-----_._~._-----_._.._--_._---_.~._._----_._,.__._,-_._._-~_.- ---_._-_..,,-----,~~----_._~._..-_._._------_._---~ Richman said that any additional funds received would be helpful. Anthony would represent the commission in discussions with the City Council, and would report back to the commission through e-mail. Hightshoe announced that the local religious communities organized an ecumenical reflection on homelessness in Iowa City, and members of the HCDC are invited to participate. Anthony said that he was invited to give a presentation at that session. IOWA CITY FREE MEDICAL CLINIC REQUEST TO AMMEND THEIR FY1997 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AGREEMENT Lembke said that the Free Medical Clinic has been housed at the Wesley Foundation for a long time. He added that the number of patients and frequency of visits had increased dramatically. He stated the current facility and working conditions are making it hard to effectively attract and utilize the staff and community volunteers. Lembke said that they found a building in T owncrest that offers more space and amenities for medical offices. He stated that the Towncrest property was vacant for several years, but is in very good shape. He said that it was built as a medical facility, provides parking, offers a subsidized rent, and provides a win-win opportunity. He noted that the Free Medical Clinic received CDBG funds in 1997 to assist in renovating the facility to a medical clinic. $25,000 was in the form of a conditional grant that is forgiven over a I O-year period, $2,500 forgiven each year as long as the Clinic remained at the Wesley location. Lembke said that they are requesting the remaining two (2) payments of the conditional grant be forgiven as of April 1st, 2006 to facilitate moving to the Towncrest property. Hightshoe said that the Wesley Foundation submitted an email in support of the Free Medical Clinic request; however the email stated that the Wesley Foundation does not forfeit their rights as Landlord by this request. Richman asked if they will have a long term lease agreement at the new location. Lembke said that the draft agreement is formulated for five (5) years. He added that they will include a purchase option and verbiage to protect their long term interests. He said that the chair of their board is a lawyer and would make sure the clinic is protected. Richman asked if additional funds from CDBG would be needed for renovation of the building. Lembke said that no additional funds would be requested. He said that the building is in good shape and they would be able to move without stopping the operation. Hightshoe asked about the size of the new facility. Pickup said that she does not have the exact measurements, but the advantage is not only that the building is bigger, but that it has a better layout, allowing all the offices to be on one floor. Richman asked what would happen to the space vacated at the Wesley building. Pickup said the Wesley Foundation is looking to lease the space to a different human service agency. Shaw said the Free Lunch Program remains in the building, and the Wesley Foundation is offering the spaces (medical clinic and offices on the 2nd floor) vacated at 3 ~___.._".___..____~___...,__...~______"_ __________.__.____..m_________..___."..___________.. very low rents and is making a large effort to lease to another human service organization. Shaw asked what would be the effect of forgiving the remainder of the conditional grant on our budget. Hightshoe said there will be no effect since the agreement was a forgivable grant. The conditional grant was set up so that the City would only receive funds if the grant recipient defaulted in the 10-year period. The City was not anticipating program income from this project. Bears asked if the new facility will be accessible. Pickup said that there is a ramp and everything is on one floor. Lembke said that there is a shelter for the bus in front of the building. He noted that the Towncrest line serves the area. MOTION: Richman moved to approve the request of Free Medical Clinic to amend their FY1997 CDBG agreement. Niblock seconded the motion. Motion passed 5:0. NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS OF JOHNSON COUNTY - BROADWAY REVITALIZATION PROJECT PRESENTATION Long introduced Pat Meyer from NCJC. NCJC received FY05 CDBG funds ($5,931) for a planning study of the Broadway area. Meyer_said that a community assessment study had been conducted by the National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice. She added that the City allocated $10,000 for the survey, and in addition helped them compile and publish 100 copies of a neighborhood welcome packet. She said that the neighborhood has high turnover with new comers continuously moving in and out of the area. She added that they employed people from the neighborhood to greet newcomers, and the packets are very helpful. Meyer said that some of their goals were to get people within the neighborhood connected within the community faster, to improve communication with newcomers, for the newcomer to learn about community resources, and how to make their voices heard within the community. She said that Iowa City needs entry level employees and newcomers might represent the future of the community in this sense. She noted that the neighborhood has a more than 50% minority population. She said that they are working together with other organizations within the County, so that the work, like translation of materials, is not repeated. Meyer noted that they also strive to make the area more kid friendly. She said that some parks have been renovated to achieve this goal. She said that another project is being pursued in collaboration with the Police Department. She said that as a lot of kids are scared of talking to the police, they have police officers tutor kids and an officer within the neighborhood who plays basketball and football with the kids. The response has been great. She noted that this sideways approach works very well. 4 Bears said she lives in the Broadway area and really appreciates the young kids in the neighborhood. She added that the kids sometimes help her take the groceries all the way to the door. She said that she really appreciates the recurring police cars and the fact that officers take their time in solving the issues, not just writing up reports. Shaw asked if the new chief of police had impacted the relationship with the neighborhood center. Loring said that the relationship has not been influenced by the new chief. Meyer said that they have a very good working relationship with certain officers. REVIEW OF THE FY07 ALLOCATION PROCESS & PROFORMA BASICS Long said that the proforma is used for rental housing projects. He said that the basic definition of a proforma is an analysis of income and expenses. He noted that a proforma is used to compare income and debt to get the debt coverage ratio (DCR). Long said they are looking for at least a 1.15 DCR. He noted that a typical proforma for a rental housing project has a 5% vacancy rate built into the analysis. If a proposed project used a 15% vacancy rate, that would raise concerns. He mentioned the proforma is also used to determine the return on investment. He noted that a 10-14% return would be considered standard. Long noted that if any projects do not look good on paper the staff would inform the commissioners. Bears asked if the training sessions for the applicants were well attended. Long said that the day session was attended by 12-14 people and the evening meeting had 7-8 attendants. Hightshoe noted that by this time she would have typically reviewed 5 applications, but for the current year only one application has been reviewed so far. She noted that the small amount of money available for public services might have discouraged a lot of applicants from applying. Long said that some people called with concerns regarding the payback terms. He said that when a loan is awarded, for accounting purposes the recipient has to carry it on their books as a liability for twenty years or longer depending on the period of affordability or compliance period. Richman explained that the assets are depreciated, but the liability stays on the books for the term of the loan. Niblock asked if there are any other benchmarks related to proformas that are commonly used. Long said that the presented benchmarks are the ones commonly used, but the staff also looks at management fees, development fees, and reserves. Hightshoe said that the projects need to be viable. Richman recommended for future proformas including the debt cover ratio on the spreadsheet. CONSIDERATION OF THE POTENTIAL 2006 AGENDA ITEMS Anthony said that he wrote a two page letter which is included in the package. He said that he would like to propose to the commission to move beyond just allocating funds, and use its policy advising capabilities. He said that the charter creating the commission notes that the HCDC is charged with advising the City Council on ways to improve the 5 availability of affordable housing. Anthony said that he would like the HCDC to consider various methods of increasing the supply of affordable housing in Iowa City and Johnson County. He said that there are several communities within Iowa that are fighting aggressively against homelessness, and Iowa City is not doing as much as they could in his opinion. He said that availability of affordable housing affects the schools. Anthony added that if parents do not have stable affordable housing they are moving from one rental unit to another and that mobility affects school performance. He noted that the availability of affordable housing also affects economic development within a community. He said that high housing costs and the lack of affordable housing might induce higher wage rates, and might drive off companies that would otherwise locate within the community. The first proposal, he said, could be an inclusionary housing program. He noted that this program would require new residential developments to include a small proportion of affordable units. Anthony said that the developers in Iowa City have consistently not used the allowable densities. He said that developers typically built with lower densities, larger lots, high square footage, and therefore higher priced units. Anthony said that single family homes below $200,000 generally are not being built in Iowa City. Anthony said that inclusionary zoning is not a new program, and many communities pursue this method. Anthony said that a community-investment linked deposit program for city funds could be a second possible program. He said that this would require the City of Iowa City choosing banks for its checking and investment accounts using measures of community- investment in addition to standard financial parameters. He said that these measures of community-investment could include factors like number of home mortgage loans made to low-income and minority households ofIowa City, and percentage of business loans to small and minority-owned businesses ofIowa City. Anthony noted that as banks compete to win the City's business, those with higher points on community-investment measures would be better placed in the competition. He said that this competition would result in more money being channeled to affordable housing and community development projects. Anthony mentioned that much of the data for such measurements is being collected and reported by all banks to comply with the federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, and the City should put this data to good use. He said that such a program could be adopted by an administrative decision by City staff. He added that this method would not cost anything, and is being used by scores of cities and counties across the nation. Anthony said that a one-cent restaurant food and beverage levy program could also be used. He said this would require all food and beverage serving commercial establishments in Iowa City to be charged a one cent affordable housing and community development levy for every dollar of customer billing. He said that if a meal costs $9.99, the consumer will still chose to eat if the price would increase to $10.09. He said that while a one-cent levy is a small and almost unnoticeable burden on patrons, the amount generated by it can be significant. Hightshoe asked if this is something the State would 6 need to approve. Anthony said the state does not need to approve it if there is a local referendum. Niblock said that is a good idea for HCDC to become a housing policy advisor. He said that focusing on affordable housing would be a great start. He noted that they should be cautious regarding inc1usionary zoning because when getting into price control a greater shortage could be created. Hightshoe said that land banking might be another solution. She said that the City would buy parcels of land with CDBG funds and develop it as affordable housing at a later date. Shaw asked what other similar sized communities have done. Long said that staff contacts communities and tries to discuss and borrow new ideas. He said that information is generally available on the individual web site of each city. Niblock said that another good resource would be the National Association of Home Builders. Richman added as a resource the National Association of State Housing Agencies. Richman said that it would be helpful to put together a package regarding the proposals to be discussed and have more intelligent decisions at a later time. Hightshoe said they would prepare an introductory package for the March meeting. Richman said that stakeholders should be included in the process. Shaw added that the commission should focus on a specific item to focus at each meeting to be able to be educated about pros and cons of each alternative. MONITORING REPORTS Emma Goldman Clinic-FY04 &FY06 Facility Rehabilitation Richman said that the Clinic completed the FY06 project. The roof and the door have been replaced, and the leak stopped. He said that for the FY04 project they installed energy efficient lightning, and the flooring will be finished by the end of the fiscal year, and the automated door is scheduled to be installed the first week of February. He added that if additional money will be available they will spend it on soundproofing one of the procedures room. Free Lunch Program- Facility Rehabilitation Niblock said that he will be able to give his report at the next meeting. Hightshoe said that they have not installed the flooring yet. She noted that part of the agreement with Wesley Foundation was that the Free Medical Clinic will use that space. She noted that the staff administratively would amend the agreement to install flooring for the space as it's only 4% of the total. Free Lnnch! Free Medical Clinic- Facility Rehabilitation Hightshoe said that Free Lunch is serving 90-100 people a day. She noted that she served last week and was impressed by the number of people attending. Long said that every time there is a fifth Thursday in the month people from the Planning Department serve at the Free Lunch Program. She noted that they got estimates regarding the fire suppression system and will proceed in the spring. 7 -~_.._.__.._,._---_.,--~. "- ---- ---,,-^-,~,-,----~-----"---~-,------~"--'-"""--"-'.,._----" IC Free Medial Clinic- Operations Niblock said that the Free Medical Clinic received $5,000 to help them towards operational salaries. He noted that he discussed the program with the case manager and was impressed to learn that she sees 350 patients. Compeer- Operations Shaw noted that Compeer hired a new director. He noted that the amount allocated was $1,300. He added that they used $534 for salary for the director, $511 for salaries from July to December, and are expecting to use $107.45 per month until all funds are used. Shaw said that the new director increased the volunteer recruitment efforts and is making more matches than they have in the past. ICHA- Tenant Based Rent Assistance Bears said that the allocated money will be OK for two years. She added that currently they have 19 active clients. She noted that one client was terminated, one client was moved to the Iowa City Rehabilitation Center, and one left the program. Old Brick Foundation- Historic Preservation/ Rehabilitation Anthony said that Old Brick received funds to refurbish the exterior of the building. He said that the project costs about $180,000 and was funded from three sources. He added that the foundation got a $75,000 grant from the state, $60,000 from the City of Iowa City, and they fundraised the rest. Anthony said that last fall they began the first part of the project, chemical cleaning, for which they used the money received from the City. He said that in spring they would do the second part of the project, which is repointing. Anthony showed before and after chemical cleaning pictures of the building. HACAP- Transitional Housing Shaw said that HACAP was allocated $300,000 out of which they spent $243,000. He noted they are struggling in purchasing the fourth property. He said they have $8,000- $9,000 less than the average purchase price of the other three properties. He said they are currently discussing if they will be able to purchase a unit, or will have to return the money. ICCSD- FYOS Wood Family Resource Center Shaw said that Grant Wood received $325,000 CDBG funds. He added that the project's cost is more than 3 millions dollars. He noted that they completed the preliminary plan in September and are currently 50-75% done. Shaw added that the work on the gym was delayed due to a suspicious smell. He noted that they started installing the flooring this week, and it is predicted to be finished next month. He noted that the improvements had a very high impact on students; everyone is very pleased with the project. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM. Minutes submitted by Bogdana Rus. 8 Housing & Community Development Commission Attendance Record 2006 I Term Name Exoires 01/19 , I Brian Richman 09/01/07 X I Jerry Anthony 09/01/08 X i I Kellv Mellecker 09/0 1/08 OlE I Lori Bears 09/0 I /07 X I Matthew Havek 09/01/07 OlE I Michael Shaw 09/01/06 X Thomas Niblock 09/01/08 X I William Greazel 09/01/06 OlE I Yolanda Soears 09/01/06 -- -- ! I Key: X = Present 0 = Absent OlE = AbsentlExcused NM = No Meeting -- -- = Not a Member 9 MINUTES IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2006--5:30 P.M. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. LINN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY ...,.. ~ FINAl: MEMBERS PRESENT: Gary Hagen, Saul Mekies, Michael Christians MEMBERS ABSENT: James Ehrmann, Bebe Ballantyne STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Mike Brau, Bob Hardy, Sue Dulek OTHERS PRESENT: Josh Goding, Kara Logsden, Susan Rogusky, Kevin Hoyland, Lee Grassley, Michael McBride, Phil Phillips RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL Hagen moved and Christians seconded a motion to recommend to the City Council that the P A TV contract be extended. The motion passed unanimously. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION McBride distributed UITV's annual report. Over the past year 224 programs were produced. Mekies said that UITV has improved substantially over the past few years. Goding reported that contract negotiations are continuing and a meeting will be held this coming Thursday, January 26. The school district has requested a bid for equipment upgrades. Hardy reported that the Media Unit has been working with the public works department on several project videos. The Community Television Service is working with Mercy Hospital on a series of programs promoting a healthy heart. The programs will feature a talk by Mercy doctors followed by an on-line chat. The CTS will also be taping a program on the Avian flu, the Emma Goldman Choice Dinner, and the Y oderville Biodesiel Coop. The most recent Avatar program was on binge drinking and the proposed 21 only bar admittance ordinance. The next program will be on the Englert Theater on February 13. Logsden said the library will be taping a new program beginning in February called "International Mondays", which is hosted by the University ofIowa. Shaffer reported the U.S. Senate will be holding a series of hearings regarding telecommunications issues over the month of February. Of particular interest is the hearing on video franchising. Shaffer will be a guest on the P ATV Program Live and Local along with former FCC Commissioner and University ofIowa law professor Nick Johnson to discuss pending federal telecommunications legislation. Mekies asked ifthere had been any response to the letter sent by the Commission to the City Council regarding the City Cable TV Division budget. Shaffer said that the City Council did receive the letter but there has been no response. In regards to the channel allocations on the basic tier and must-carry rules Grassley said that there are two channels left that given existing contract and must-carry regulations could be moved out of the basic tier if a change had to be made, like another low-power television station in the area. Those two channels are WGN and QVC. Mediacom is investigating setting up a family-friendly tier of programming similar to that of Time Warner. Grassley said if the legislation is passed by the Iowa Assembly allowing telecommunications providers to be awarded statewide franchises to provide video services, Mediacom may pursue that strategy, as they are now a telecommunications provider. The Commission reviewed the annual funding request from the Community Television Group. Shaffer noted that $10,000 is proposed to be allocated to the Senior Center for part-time staff. This is the 3rd and final year of an agreement to use the funds for operational expenses. The CTG made an exception to their policy to ensure this funding could go to the Senior Center. Christians moved and Hagen seconded a motion to approve the CTG funding request. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Christians moved and Hagen seconded a motion to approve the November 28, 2005 minutes. The minutes were approved unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS None. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. CONSUMER ISSUES Shaffer referred to the complaint report in the meeting packets and said that the number of complaints, four, is down from the usual number received each month. All complaints that could be resolved were. Hagen said that he recently needed to contact Mediacom's for a technical problem and the customer service they provided was very good. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA REPORT McBride distributed UITV's annual report. Over the past year 224 programs were produced. A third of those were programs produced by WSUI radio such as Live from Prairie Lights that were taped for cablecast. Students produced 116 programs. Student producers have been highly motivated and professional. Mekies said that UITV has improved substantially over the past few years. PATV REPORT Goding reported that contract negotiations with the City are continuing and a meeting will be held this coming Thursday, January 26. An episode of Open Channel will be produced Wednesday at 7 p.m. PATV's board will meet February 15 at 7 p.m. at PATV's facility. Staff is planning to attend the Alliance for Community Media Regional Conference in the Twin Cities Feb. 17-18. SENIOR CENTER REPORT Rogusky reported that due to the demands of school the 20 hours of staff time worked by Mark McCusker has been divided with a new employee, each working 10 hours per week. row A CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT Hoyland reported it is anticipated that many of the upcoming music concerts will be taped by the schools. A bid has been requested to develop a list of equipment and prices for an upgrade in video equipment. The basis of the bid request is the memo by Bob Hardy and Kevin Hoyland that reviewed the existing equipment and an outline of what would be needed to make improvements. Hagen noted that the sound quality has improved in recent months. Mekies said one goal of the questionnaire sent to each of the access channels by the ICTC was to determine how the Commission can help improve the channels. LEGAL REPORT Dulek said she had nothing to report. LIBRARY REPORT Logsden said a new program will begin in February called "International Mondays", which is hosted by the University ofIowa. The library has recently experienced some equipment failures. The computer running the information screens when programming is not playing on the Library Channel failed and the DVD playback machines keep going into a pause mode. Webber Days has been moved to May, which is Historic Preservation month. The library is working on a month's worth of programs for that event. Included will be walking tours and a possible bus tour following the route of the bus tour given by Webber that was taped by the library. The library has been trying to hire a part-time work-study student to do production work but has been unable to attract applicants since the listing was posted in August. KIRKWOOD REPORT No representative was present. MEDIA UNIT Hardy reported that the Media Unit has been working with the public works department on several project videos. The Human Rights Youth Awards will be taped. The Community Television Service is working with Mercy Hospital on a series of programs promoting a healthy heart. The program will feature a talk by Mercy doctors followed by an on-line chat. The CTS will also be taping a program on the Avian flu, the Emma Goldman Choice Dinner, and the Y oderville Biodesiel Coop. Info Vision has added a second user interface that allows callers to tab through links making it more user-friendly. The Town Hall Meeting on Media held recently at the University featuring national figures, included FCC Commissioner Adelstein, and has been added to the video on demand offerings on InfoVision. The most recent Avatar program was on binge drinking and the proposed 21 only bar admittance ordinance. The next program will be on the Englert Theater on February 13. CABLE TV ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer reported that the City Council will be holding a budget session on January 30 at 7 p.m. at which City boards and commissions may provide feedback. The U.S. Senate will be holding a series of hearings regarding telecommunications issues over the month of February. Of particular interest is the hearing on video franchising. A public service announcement was produced regarding the change in the Avatar Program playback times. The Avatar programs will now appear every 2nd and 4th Monday at 6 p.m. on City Channel 4. Mediacom is playing the psa across their channel line-up free of charge. Shaffer will be a guest on the P ATV Program Live and Local along with former FCC Commissioner and University ofIowa law professor Nick Johnson to discuss pending federal telecommunications legislation. The program will be live Monday, January 26 at 7 p.m. and will be played back at various times during the month. Mekies asked if there had been any response to the letter sent by the Commission to the City Council regarding the City Cable TV Division budget. Shaffer said that the City Council did receive the letter but there has been no response. MEDIACOM REPORT In regards to the channel allocations on the basic tier and must-carry rules Grassley said that there are two channels left that given existing contract and must-carry regulations could be moved out of the basic tier if a change had to be made, like another low power TV station started in this area. Those two channels are WGN and QVC. Grassley said there is nothing technologically that would prevent Mediacom from expanding the number of channels in the basic tier except cost. To do so would involve changing traps for each subscriber at a cost of about $20. Mediacom is investigating setting up a family-friendly tier of programming similar to that of Time Warner. Ifthe legislation is passed by the Iowa Assembly allowing telecommunications providers to be awarded statewide franchises to provide video services, Mediacom may pursue that strategy as they are now a telecommunications provider. Mediacom would prefer no changes be made to the franchising laws both at the state and federal levels. P A TV CONTRACT Shaffer said that PATV and the City plan to meet January 27 on contract negotiations. There are just a few items remaining and it is expected the contract will be ready for review shortly after that meeting. Dulak noted that the current contract will need to be extended until a final contract is agreed upon. Hagen moved and Christians seconded a motion to recommend to the City Council that the P A TV contract be extended. The motion passed unanimously. ACCESS CHANNEL OUESnONAIRE Christians asked if Kirkwood was sent a questionnaire like the other access channels. Brau said they were not. The Commission agreed that Kirkwood should be sent a questionnaire. Discussion of the questionnaires was deferred to the next meeting. CTG FUNDING REOUEST Logsden said that the timing of this year's CTG request was held back to allow the school district more time to determine their needs. The total amount requested is $4,000 less than the allocated $17,500 so if the schools wish to allocate matching funds for that amount that those funds could be available to them for video related purposes. If no school proposal is presented before the end of the fiscal year, then the CTG may put forward additional requests. Funding proposals typically are put before the Commission in the sunnner. Shaffer noted that $10,000 is proposed to be allocated to the Senior Center for part-time staff. This is the 3rd and final year of an agreement to use the funds for operational expenses, which is contrary to the normal CTG policy governing those funds. Christians moved and Hagen seconded a motion to approve the funding request as proposed. MUNICIPAL TELECOMMUNICA nONS Shaffer noted the information in the meeting packet regarding the vote in a number of Iowa cities to explore municipal telecommunications systems. Seventeen cities approved such measures and thirteen defeated the proposal. ADJOURNMENT Chrisitans moved and Hagen seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 6:49 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administrator TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 12 MONTH ATTENDANCE RECORD 01/01/03 to CURRENT Meeting Kimberly Saul Meikes Brett Castillo Terrv Smith Jim Pusack Date Thrower 6/2/03 x x x x x 7/28/03 x x x x x 8/25/03 x x x x o/c 9/22/03 x x x x ole 1 0/27/03 x x x x o/c 11/24/03 x x o/c x x 12/15/03 o/c o/c x x x 1/2/04 x o/c x x x 1/26/04 x x x x x 2/23/04 x o/c x o/c x 3/22/04 x x x x x 4/ 26/04 x x x x OIC 5/24/04 x x OIC x x 6/28/04 x x x o/c x 7/26/04 o/c x x x x 8/26/04 did not meet did not meet did not meet did not meet did not meet 9/27/04 X X X X X 10/25/04 X X 11/04 Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet Did not Did not meet meet X X X X X 12/20/04 1/24/05 X X X X X 2/28/05 X X X X Garv Hap-en 3/8/05 X X X X X 3/25/05 X 0 X X X 4/25/05 x o/c X X X 5/23/05 X 0 x vacancv X James X "- Bebe x Ehrmann Balantvne 6/27105 X x X X X x Michael Chritians 7/25/05 0 X X X X 9/26/05 0 X X 0 X 10/31/05 X X o/c X X 11/28/05 X X X X X 1/23/06 o/c X X 0 X 2.27106 X X X 0 x (X) = Present (0) = Absent (O/C) = Absent/Called (Excused) FINAL MINUTES IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM 410 E. WASHINGTON STREET TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2006 I ;;(i) MEMBERS PRESENT: Lisa Beckmann, GeoffWilming, Scott King, Beverly Witwer, Sara Baird, Martha Lubaroff, Sehee Foss, Kate Karacay. MEMBERS ABSENT: Paul Retish. STAFF PRESENT: Stefanie Bowers ALSO PRESENT: Billie Townsend, Jim McCue, David Shorr, Jane Balvanz, Blair Wagner. 1. CALL TO ORDER: Meeting called to order at 7:02 p.rn. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: It was noted that under New Business--Cultural Diversity Day (CDD) the year was incorrect and should be 2006. With that revision, a Motion to approve minutes of November 22, 2005 by Wilming and seconded by King. Motion passed unanimously. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: No. 4. NEW BUSINESS: a. Presentation of Certificates to Oute:oinl! Commissioners. Beckmann presented Certificates of Appreciation to former Commissioners Townsend, Shorr and McCue. b. Introduction of {ncomin\! Commissioners. New Commissioners Lubaroff, Foss and Karacay were introduced to the Commission. c. Relational A~eression. Witwer stated the Commission has selected bullying as a human rights issue and has worked with bullying in the schools. Witwer added there has been concern about bullying in the community and also with United Action for Youth (UA Y) and a variety of other organizations. Beckmann mentioned that last year the Commission sponsored educators and others to attend Odd Girl Out. Jane Balvanz and Blair Wagner started with why they do this program. Balvanz:" I'm going to tell you a little bit about why we do this. I've been a counselor in many, many different types of schools, many, many, thirteen different schools to be exact. And I've always seen this problem, but there was never a name put on it, and now there is a name called Relational Aggression (RA). I spend probably 90% of my individual counseling with girls on RA' and get quite concerned that kids get hurt, and that kids go underground and don't let us know that they're getting hurt. Also it always confounded me why they couldn't solve their own problems. They kept coming back and kept coming back, so that's my interest in it. And Blair has a much different interest." Wagner: "My interest came personally when my daughter last year was in fourth grade, and she was involved in some female bullying, and it got to the point where she spent a lot of her time sitting out in the hall crying for several times every day. I was in school quite a bit, and it got to be a real, real struggle. And so that's how I came to it from a personal need, and then also as a life coach and when I teach law of attraction, my interest came as far as putting the two, the problem and the solution together for a unique solution, and then hooking up with Jane, and that evolved from there." Balvanz: " So how it started was based on what was going on with Blair's child and what was happening you know in my business of school counseling. I like to give book studies. On the other side of your RA fact sheet, we studied Girl Wars: Twelve Strategies That Will End Female Bullying. And it was suppose to meet only six times for just six hours and it started meeting and it never quit. So, out of that was born a need to make this more public, and so we held a popcorn and movie night at Kate Wickham School, and the parents were invited to come and bring their children. Children of a specific age because the film was not totally age appropriate for young, young kids, not developmentally appropriate. And then we went into breakout sessions and talked things over about RA. We found out that we have to give warnings when we talk about RA because somebody has always suffered it in some way, and it's fresh and it comes back and we actually had one girl who left the room crying because it was happening to her at that very time in her life. So the group continued as Blair and I we're pretty passionate about this and we spent the whole last summer creating something called the Seven Series, where we give seven ninety-minute presentations on RA and how to heal through it at Wickham School. We're going to give our fourth session on this Thursday night, so we have been presenting RA things all through this month, and did so at Martin Luther King, Ir. Day. So to keep this brief I would like you to refer to your fact sheet because there are two parts that I want to bring up. RA defined, it's the very first one. RA is the use of power in relationships to hurt or control others. And with girls that typically includes gossip, exclusion, manipulation, intimidation, teasing, taunting, harassing, and name calling. This is the part I want to bring forth is that RA can start as early as preschool. Our kindergarten teachers see it. It's quite prevalent, and so we need to start lower than junior high. It peaks in middle to high school and can continue into adulthood. It's found around the globe in most every culture. Boys too can be victims ofRA; however RA is much more common among girls and women. So there's the definition. And the second part I want to bring forth to you is the third one down, and that's the players. The three primary roles in a RA situation are the victim, the bully, and the bystander. Girls may change roles in different situations and I like to give the visual of a lava lamp because it seems like girls are continually changing groups and it grows and it morphs and it breaks off and a lot of that can cause problems. The bystander role is significant. It may be the most significant role. Being a bystander is somewhat like being a witness who leaves the scene of the crime. He or she can help the victim best minimizing the bully's power. And I know you can read for yourself and I will leave you to do that. One of the things on this sheet I also find kind of staggering is the technology, and I'm not going to go through that, but I am going to read the last two sentences. Sometimes cell phones with cameras are taken into school bathrooms or shower rooms where others are photographed, and these pictures can be posted on the Internet within minutes. The other side gives you some resources and some prevention. When we presented to educators on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day our audience was educators so we gave them some tips on how to watch for when RA is occurring. And I'm gonua ask at this point if anybody has any questions?" Lubaroff: "Why do you think it's more prevalent in girls?" Balvanz: "Well you know 2 they always talk about the boys use the direct approach, and get it over with, and I think that's true. But I think it still festers underneath, and then that causes a more aggressive type of attitude. As women we're still in this culture we're supposed to sit back and solve it a different way, and not confront it. And even though we're given the messages, a lot of us are giving the message to, you know you need to confront someone, you need to tell someone. There was a girl who knows about RA she's a wonderful girl at my school, and I've known her since she was a kindergartner, but girls don't tend to report what's going on. They tend to hold it in more. So boys at least manifest it outwardly and girls let it simmer, and that's why I think it's a cultural thing. And I think it's pretty cultural worldwide. That was interesting to me." Wagner: "Girls tend to become pretty savvy at relationships and learning how to use relationships. Yes and kids can do all three of these. They can change, sometimes I'm the bully, sometimes I'm the bystander, and sometimes I'm the victim." Beckmann: "In a situation when you're able to identify who a bully is, how is that dealt with in the school context, if you're able to do that?" Balvanz: "Well there's a lot of investigation and it takes a long time because you've got to make sure its not hearsay, and that you can gather witnesses, etc. And then in our school setting the bully depending on the depth of the bullying, the degree of it. They can have an in-school suspension if its very, very horrible and has been long standing. We give green lights for good, yellow lights for caution, and red lights for this is something that needs to go home. What we tty to do, I usually try to get them in a circle and see everybody's part in it, and then try to work out the problems and get a resolution that way. Now that's not magic. I mean that takes a lot of work and if this is deeply ingrained and has been happening for a long time. You know you're just going to talk with the teacher and say watch this, and its also really pretty key to talk to your playground people because the teachers don't see RA that much because its very, very structured. But as soon as those kids get into the hallway or a lunchroom or outside, it's not as easy to catch it. It's kinda sneaky stuff. Any other questions?" Karacay: "What does the parent do if they think their kids are being targeted?" Balvanz: "The parents fIrst need to educate themselves; pretty much I would give these tips to parents." Karacay: "I mean if they have a kid that won't go to school or their grades are going down?" Balvanz: "Yeah, weU fIrst you're going to have to fInd out why, and you're gonna have to have a good relationship with your child to understand that, because a lot of times kids won't teU you, a lot of times. But if you're talking about little kids, you have little kids right now." Karacay: "Yeah but they will be in junior high someday." Balvanz: "We want to start early so what we want you to do is to be an extremely good role model, and that starts at home. I mean some of the time when you're not even thinking about it you're talking to somebody and your child is overhearing you. Just make sure you're a reaUy, really good role model, and I say that because with the women that we started with, they aU tended to be victims, and their children all tended to be victims. So they learned from their parents. I'm telling you start early because that's what I fIrruly believe that its rooted, and being a strong role model helps. Strong role modeling, and telling them how to handle themselves in a RA type situation, which would be tell the person to stop, and if they don't stop seek the help of a 3 grownup. Also work with allies, it helps a lot if the kids have friends that will see the situation and can take them away from that situation, say like corne play with me. And that's just the tip of the iceberg." Wagner: "There are some really good children's books. What I did when it happened last year is I started educating myself. There are some great books for parents, and then I got some bullying books that were geared toward the age range of my child and we read them together, and then we did role-playing. I'd pretend to bully her and then she would practice what she say or what she would do. And that was very effective. And we have our approach too for working it also can be used by parents." Balvanz: "Talk to the teachers and just get involved yourself. I think Blair has one of the best ideas, role modeling it. Let's pretend this happens. How will you handle it? My Secret Bully is a really good book for little kids. It's also a really good book for big kids and adults. It's a great example of a parent in a bullying situation, how she handles it---it is really good. I'd better stop." Wagner: HWe did want to make sure we pointed out that we talked about RA in schools, and in school aged children. There's also quite a bit ofRA that happens in the adult world, in the workplace settings. Whether it is for profit companies, non-profit companies, or government agencies. We're heard stories from different volunteer groups, social organizations. It really happens anywhere where there are adults, and so we're interested in working with that as well. We've started our focus at the elementary school age, but we're also interested in working with it beyond that because we've gotten more information on working with that as well. What we wanted to do was introduce you to our approach. In the workshops we hold, what we're doing is we took the problem ofRA and we're applying a certain solution and put the two together. And what I teach as a life coach, what my specialties on the law of attraction or quantum physics, or how to attract what you want in your life, or how to become aware of the vibes that we put off and the impact that has. Those are different ways of saying the same thing. And so what we've done is we've looked at the problem ofRA and I should have kept a couple myself. It had the de[mition there. The definition of law of attraction that we've been working with the kids is I'm a magnet for whatever I give my attention, energy and focus to, whether wanted or unwanted. So when we're working with the girls and with the parents what we're talking about is that idea of being a human magnet, and when stuff keeps happening and there's patterns, and I don't like it, why is that. Well its because so and so was mean and she did this and she did that, but why is that. Yeah its like okay, what's going on inside that's actually, that's attracting those types of people, or just those circumstances or situations. So we work with them on really looking at it, and we talk about vibes, which is really cool because they get that. You know we weren't sure when we first did that how this was going to work, but we do a lot of hands on work. We give actual magnets we've done, magnets in trying to pick up what they want with the idea of putting your attention on what you want. So we try to make it real kinetic as well, as just conceptual. We've done activities with mirrors. Practiced doing meditative breathing, which was really neat to see in a room full of moms and girls. Some of them were giggling and just couldn't get into it, and some of them were really doing the deep belly breaths, and it was really neat. We've done journaling, skits, and lots of activities. 4 So that's attraction and how we're applying it. We have another handout that's called The Attraction Cycle. And put a little dot by situation because that's your starting point. So what we teach is that a situation happens in our lives, and from that we form a thought. We have an opinion; we have a judgment, a belief, and a thought. We think whatever we think about it, and from that thought it creates a feeling. So ifl'm thinking angry thoughts at someone it's going to cause a certain feeling that I have. That feeling is going to emit vibes and send vibes out, and that's going to attract certain attractions, certain situations. I have another situation and then from that I form a thought, and you can see where it keeps going. So this is the cycle that we're teaching and then we ask----ifI want to make a change in what's happening to me where on here do I have control? If I don't have control with what other people do or the situation, where do I have control? The thoughts which lead to the vibes, because I own my vibes, and where I can start if you work back. It's with the thought or you could start at the feeling. There are ways of just getting in a feel good place without even thinking like in nature, exercising, or meditating." Halvanz: "That comes from the thought that goes to the feeling." Wagner: "This is the area where we start. And so what we do is we teach the girls to be aware of what their thoughts are. You know what are you thinking? What do you want in a friendship? Well I don't what someone who is like this. I don't want someone like that. We show that language, and it serves as a mirror and reflects back. Okay where do you put it? What are you putting your attention on? What you don't want, and what is, and what are you getting more of, and so what do you want. And so we've done activities where we talk about the ideal friend and what kinds of characteristics are there. So that's our approach---Iooking at it from what am I attracting? What can I change in myself to attract what I want?" Halvanz: "1 think one other thing that's important to add is after you understand what's going on there comes a choice. You can either choose to stay in a negative cycle, or you can flip over to the positive cycle, but it does come to a choice. We have girls that will continually stay in a negative group and hope that I will fix them or the other girls." Wagner: "So to summarize we have lots of quotes that we love that we use in the workshops. One of them is from Steven Kubby's, "In the end the only thing we really have control over is ourselves." And that is really the basis of what we're teaching. So that is what we do." Witwer: "As a group are you going from school to school? Is the school district?" Wagner: "That would be great if we could, but we promised to start a Wickham girl's program, and that's what we're creating right now. So we're piloting these workshops, so our official role is with Wickham Elementary SchooL We're very interested in taking it beyond like Jane said we spoke at Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with the other educators to let them know what we're doing, and there were some interested. You know as people hear about it, they say oh can you come to our school. But nothing has happened formally or officially, so we've gotten out feet wet, we've gotten to where we're comfortable with the material. We've had a lot of practice with it, and now we're ready to go beyond that and so we just, we're not at the point yet of knowing exactly what that form will be." Beckmann: "I was just thinking that it would be great you know if the school district bought into what you're doing. I mean there are kind of two choices, either you could go to school, or 5 you could train the trainer sort of thing and teach somebody at each school to facilitate these sorts of groups, which would be wonderful. My daughter just started junior high so [ can appreciate what you're doing." Wilming: "Has it worked?" Balvanz: "In some cases yes. In some cases some people are not willing to change. They want everybody else to change. [ swear the key in this is starting young [think, really young." Wilming: "That's why it occurred to me because you did mention that it can continue with adults and a light went off, oh yeah, that situation." Balvanz: "Backs tabbing, rumors, gossip, yeah." Wilming: "[ guess a lot happens in the work place too. Outside of here we'll probably be in touch about some issues, but [just wonder how possible it is to change a situation like that in the hustle and bustle ofthe workplace." Balvanz: "It's basically the same thing we talked about here real briefly. There are different tools that you can use to help people get self-awareness, and that's really the first step. Observing myself. What am [thinking? What's happening? What do [ like that's happening? And then recognizing that [have a responsibility for everything in my life, and not everyone is at the point where they're ready to accept that. Such as the girl at the school who's been educated, and that's all of her life, and when it came time to, she did not bring up RAjust until before winter break, and it was so deep and the hurt was so deep that her parents wanted her taken out of a particular class and put into another one. That's not something we usually do, but it was a kind of a unique situation so she did get put in another class. What I don't like about that is what did she learn? She knew what to do but she would rather die than tell us, so that's why again [ stress you must start really early. To answer your question, as far as in the business community--what we would do if we were asked to corne into address RA in the workplace? We would approach it from the standpoint oflooking to see if there was a team that was having dysfunction or some problems and really working with the team as far as recognizing what are the problems here." Wagner: "We do an activity that's called the tea tool. It's very simple. It is basically saying my ideal, whatever it is you want, you draw a line down the middle and you just vent everything you don't want. If it were my ideal project team that I were on you'd list everything that you don't want in a team. I don't want people who are this. I don't want you know, a boss whose micromanaging, whatever it is. And then you take each of those like Jane said earlier, you flip it. You flip each one over and then when you're finished you let that go and you don't ever go back to it. You use it. There's a term for that it is called contrast, which is what [don't want. You use it and then you're done with it and then you focus on what you do want, and there are ways of taking that and keeping your attention and your energy on what you want. Amazing, amazing things happen. I've seen a lot of stuff happen when you do that and people get amazed when they start realizing [ attracted that, wow. [mean it's just like its so empowering. So that's what we would do in a business situation. Some simple tools like that." Witwer: "What do the rest of you see our role in this or what can they do for us? What can we do for them? I'm curious to what the rest of you all think." Karacay: "Well I'll jump in. [ guess as a mom I'd like to see this in every school, and they didn't have this when [was growing up, and God knows [ think every girl went through this." Balvanz: "It's just that girl stuff, yeah brush it off. And that was before there was a 6 real term for bullycide, which is suicide from bullying and it has happened enough that it actually has its own term. So yeah it's gotten to where it's taken more serious." Karacay: "Is it possible to get it implemented in like you know the junior highs here and all the elementary schools?" Balvanz: "We're looking for ways to do that." Lubaroff: "Seems to me that training the teachers would be a big part of it because when I think about young kids, pre-school where you say it can start. They don't have, I don't think those kids have the words to be able to say I'm experiencing RA. So I think that teachers need to be trained on how to recognize it, and also have a model, and I think parents do too because I probably when my kids were little, I probably was talking to somebody, and you know saying mean things and my kids hear it or heard it. So I think there's a tremendous training before you can actually get the kids to the point where they have enough insight into themselves to be able to do what you're trying to get them to do or see it or solve it." Beckmann: "I mean I know we have a lot of interaction with Marion Coleman at the school district, and I think it's fair that we could certainly contact her and tell her we heard what you guys had to say. We thought it was a good program, but I don't know really what more we could do beyond that aspect. And that's different than going through the school district because then you have curriculum and other issues you know defined, whereas if it's public I would imagine you'd have more flexibility." Witwer: "So you're thinking like a public forum like the forums we normally hold except have you folks do some training or present your topic? And some of the kids who have been trained setting models of what other kids can do, and telling stories and relating this experience that they've had because that's where the power is. It's in the group that have been effected by the training now, that have the power to say something about what they thought about it. What was meaningful to them. And here again it has to be done sensitively, but I trust that can be done, and that the students will understand that they can't hurt others, that they need to speak in a voice that will be okay. And I wondered if you wanted to have it at Wickham? Has there been a public forum at Wickham inviting everyone?" Balvanz: "No, just the Wickham community because we are just starting and we're test driving this to see you know how we can tweak it, and if it was effective how we have done things. So we haven't had it public beyond Wickham, but yes we'd be happy to have it public beyond Wickham." Witwer: "But I was thinking, we've done most of our things at the ICPL. But we've also talked about how sometimes you pull more people in if you put it someplace where they are. Where you already have kind of a ready group that's gonna show up, and then you have your TV cameras going. Also, when we do public forums we always tape them and reshow them on channel four, so that's a constant replay." Wagner: "Yeah, we'd be happy to you know, if you had a structure of what you want. We could do activities with the girls. We could do question and answer. We could do more like lecture you know, sharing information, and teaching." Balvanz: "One thing that we didn't mention that we do in this and is quite effective is one of us takes a parent group; the other takes the children's group. And the parent group is a very healing group where a lot of stuff comes out, and Blair usually does that. We switch off sometimes and I usually take the kids and do some kind of skits, something like that. Then we come 7 back and the parents present to the kids, and the kids report back to the parents." Beckmann: "You know folks might balk at this, but I'm kind of a big fan of doing things more than once. You know like I imagine if! ever go sky diving I'm going to be scared to death and then when I get done I'm going to go cool, I want to go do that right away again. And I kind of think about that when we do public forums because I think that we don't always do the best job of getting our target group. Just because I think you're my target that doesn't mean that you are and you might not be interested in it, and so I often think that if we do things twice, or even a third time, that you come the fIrst time and you tell your neighbor. I went to this and it was great, but they only held it once. You know so I'm not trying to say that we necessarily want you to commit to more than once, but think about that." Witwer: "So we need to probably wrap this up, but how would you like to proceed as a group? Would you like to have a couple folks work with you? I'm pointing to you because it seems to be your area and tell me no if you don't want to. And your timeframe, we talked about how this group you're working with now will have a sort of peak time when things are fresh. And so we need to work with that time frame, and also with all of the issues of permission and all that." Foss: "From my experiences working you know coaching and I was a mentor for teenage girls and other children. I volunteered at Weber and I felt like the children there, I don't know ifit was my age or what it was, but they seemed to open up to me a lot more than say their teacher. Like I poured a lot of stuff that I heard from them to the teacher. I'm not sure if this is possible, but like you know having high schoolers or young college students kind of go in there and be involved in this training. Be involved and talking to these kids. I had girls who told me things like they don't tell their parents just because of simply my age." Balvanz: "That's a very effective model to do the mentoring and there are some places that have done that. We talked about doing that, having junior high girls come in and mentor Wickham, and then even high school mentoring at the junior high level. That model works for just the reasons that you gave. They just can relate better and they look up in awe to girls who are four years older. We had one girl that was really picked on last year and she's a wonderful kid, and just her group decided just last year in the sixth grade to ostracize her, and she went through a really hard time. And, I held a mini dance marathon at Wickham for The Children's Miracle Network last Friday and she came and she was very changed in a positive way and I was able to talk to her. What's it like for you now? Is it better? And could you come back and talk to our girls about it sometime? And that was the one that ran out crying last year at the popcorn, so she's had a lot of growth. Thank you very much." d. Election of Officers. Beckmann opened the floor for 2006 Chair. Witwer announced how pleased she was with Beckmann's work as Chair and would like her to continue as Chair. A Motion for Beckmann to be chair for 2006 by Witwer was seconded by Wilming. Motion passed unanimously. Wilming nominated Witwer for Vice-Chair. A Motion for Witwer to be Vice Chair by Wilming seconded by Beckmann. Motion passed unanimously. e. Avatar Proiect. Bowers started by mentioning a meeting she had with Jerry Nixon, at Cable T.V. and how nice it would be to be able to work with the City Cable Department to showcase the Commission and the Commissioners. Beckmann 8 thought it would be a good idea to showcase some of the events and/or programs the Commission has sponsored and also a great way to invite local connnunity icons like Kevin Burt to speak about their life and life experiences. King thought it would be nice to do a program on low income housing. f. Governor's Conference on LGBT Youth. Bowers wanted to know if Commissioners would be interested in attending the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Youth Conference in Des Moines on February 21 ". King thought he could get the day off and attend the event. Beckmann wanted to know if the Iowa City Human Rights Commission (ICHRC) could sponsor some students within the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) to attend the event and asked Bowers to forward notice of the scholarships to Marian Coleman. King said he could drive tbree people up to Des Moines and back. A Motion to contribute funds for 5 people to attend the event by Beckmann seconded by Witwer. Motion passed unanimously. g. GroDo Picture. Bowers took a picture of the Commission for advertisements for Cultural Diversity Day. Not pictured were Baird and Retish. 5. OLD BUSINESS: a. Cultural Diversitv Dav. Beckmann announced that CDD is February 19"'. Beckmann mentioned that the ICHRC needs Commissioners to volunteer to sit at the table. King stressed he did not want the table this year to be placed in the same place as last year because it was a terrible location. Bowers said she had spoken to planners of CDD and requested that the Commission have a different location. King wants a display board with the ICHRC name on it, versus just being there handing out information. King also mentioned he would like to put posters up. Beckmann wants the ICHRC to use an easel and pictures of diversity in Iowa City. King would like to hand out flyers advertising the movie series. King said he would work with Bowers. Foss mentioned the ICHRC should have its own list serve and King added that a sign up sheet could be placed on the table at CDD. Bowers mentioned that on the ICHRC website there is a list of events that the Commission will be at or is sponsoring. Wilming mentioned WSUI-talk of Iowa as a place that is always looking for events oflocal interest. Beckmann then requested Commissioners to volunteer to sit at the table for CDD. Lubaroff, Foss and Karacay volunteered to sit at the tables. Foss 12-2, Lubaroff2-4, Karacay 4-5. Wilming and King will lead the discussion at the Forum. Bowers said she will get some type of favors to place on the table to hand out. b. Youth Awards, Beckmann would like to have a commercial advertisement for the Youth Awards to air on City Channel 4. Bowers said she would contact Jerry Nixon and get a time set up for Beckmann. Beckmann announced the Awards would be May 9th and nontinations would be due April 14"'. Beckmann said in the past the Commission has accepted every nontination they received and that the first year they had 38 nontinations and the second year 72. Beckmann said she is always in favor of honoring everyone because we should encourage every child. King said it is recognition not a competition. Beckmann also rentinded all Commissioners that they needed to be present for the event. Bowers then asked Commissioners 9 to do follow-up with all the schools in about a month to see how the nominations were going. Bowers asked Commissioners to look over the list to see if there were any schools or organizations not listed that needed to be on the list. Witwer mention UA Y. King mentioned sending notice to the Iowa City Home Schooling Organizations. Witwer mentioned Heritage. Karacay mentioned Willowwinds. Beckmann also wants an advertisement to be placed in the Daily Iowan. Beckmann also mentioned that she would like to be able to read a letter from a famous Human Rights Leader at the A wards to show support for the youth's efforts. Beckmann mentioned possibly Jimmy Carter. Foss mentioned Tom Harkin and David Skorton. Witwer mentioned Bono. King mentioned Leach and Grassley. Beckmann agreed to write everyone and then if she gets a response she will copy the letter so that each youth can receive a copy at the A wards. Bowers agreed to help Beckmann with the letter campaign. This item will be placed on the February Agenda. c. Movie Series Uodate. Baird reported that the Lost Boys of Sudan will be shown at the Iowa City Public Library (ICPL) on March 7,2006 with a panel discussion following the event. Baird also would like to add I'm Still Here: the Truth about Schizophrenia to the film series list. Baird had hoped to show the film in May which is National Mental Illness Month but due to so many events thinks June or July would be better. Beckmann added that since the film is not a student based film we could show the film during one of the summer months. Bowers will check the ICPL schedule for available dates for the film in July. This item will be on the February Agenda. d. Tenant Landlord Prol!ram Uodate. Beckmann thinks this is a great program and Commissioners should think about sponsoring the program again in early 2007. Witwer reminded Bowers to get the information from former Commissioner David Shorr as to past participants. This item will be placed on the November Agenda. e. Handouts for Internatiooal Non-Native Soeakers. King reported that he will be working closely on this project with the International Women's Club and the University of Iowa Human Rights Center. King will get the handout translated into Chinese, Spanish, etc., so the parents of new International Students will be able to have access to the things their children deserve. King said that he made contact with Marian Coleman of the ICCSD who seemed very pleased about the project. King said there will be a meeting in early February. This item will be on the February Agenda. f. Emma Goldman Clinic's Annual Choice Dinoer (Saturdav. Januarv 28. 2006). Bowers reminded Commissioners of the upcoming Choice Dinner and wanted to know if anyone was interested in attending the event or afternoon talk with Rev. Satchel. Witwer said she would attend the afternoon event and Karacay said she would try. Witwer will report back to the group about this event at the February meeting. 6. READ CASES: Commissioners read one case where no probable cause was found. 7. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS: Foss mentioned a program, sponsored by the Center for Human Rights and the University of Iowa Law School about Immigration Detention the Program aims to teach about detention--a know your rights campaign. King showed a pampWet entitled Coming to America that relates stories of International School Students experiences in coming to Iowa 10 City. King also mentioned he and another individual are proposing a mentoring program for new incoming GLBT students coming to the University of Iowa. The Program would match faculty and/or staff member with the students. King also will be a part of a panel later this week whose topic is Internal Gay and Lesbian issues. In addition, King announced the date of the Pride Festival as June 17, 2006. Baird mentioned she was attending the Johnson County Board of Supervisors meeting next week to show support for the County passing its own Human Rights Ordinance. Beckmann stressed how happy she was with the group and that this was a good meeting. 8. STATUS OF CASES: Bowers updated Commissioners on the status of cases. Beckmann and Witwer liked the new format for the report. 9. ADJOURNMENT: Motion to adjourn by Lubaroff and seconded by Witwer. Motion passed unanimously 7-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.rn. II Board or Commission: Human Rights ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2006 (Meetin Date TERM NAME EXP. 1/24 2/28 3/28 4/25 5/23 6/27 7/25 8/22 9/26 10/24 11/28 12/26 12/27 Lisa Beckmann 1/1/07 X Paul Retish 1/1/07 OlE Geoft Wilming 1/1/07 X Sara Baird 1/1/08 X Bev Witwer 1/1/08 X Scott King 1/1/08 X Martha 1/1/09 X Lubaroff Sehee Foss 1/1/09 X Kate Karacay 1/1/09 X . KEY: x = Present o = Absent OlE = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting --- = Not a Member NMNQ - No meeting, no quorum 12