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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-04-19 Bd Comm minutesU4-l~-Il 3b (1 YOUTH ADVISORY COMMISSION Sunday, March 6, 2011- 4:00 PM Lobby Conference Room, City Hall FINAL Members Present: Jerry Gao, Alexandra Tamerius, Caroline Van Voorhis, Leah Murray, Sam Fosse Members Absent: Matt Lincoln Staff Present: Marian Karr, Ross Wilburn Others Present: None RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCI L: (become effective after separate Council action) None CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 4:00 PM. MINUTES: Van Voorhis motioned to approve the minutes as amended, Murray seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, 5/0, Lincoln absent. ELECTION OF OFFICERS City Clerk Karr reported Commission Member Lincoln would not be attending the meeting due to a performance at his school, but did express interest in serving as an officer. Moved by Tamerius, seconded by Murray, to elect Lincoln as secretary. The motion carried unanimously, 5/0, Lincoln absent. Commission Members discussed the procedure if an officer needed to resign. City Clerk Karr stated the procedure would be similar to that of a Commission Member, in that the Member would notify the City Clerk in writing of the resignation and a vacancy would be announced. In the event the Member is also an officer, the Commission would select a replacement to fill out the remainder of the term of the officer. Temporary Chair Gao stated he was interested in continuing as Chair, and Tamerius said she too was interested in continuing as Vice-Chair. Moved by Van Voorhis, seconded by Murray, to elect Gao as Chair and Tamerius as Vice-Chair. The motion carried unanimously, 5/0, Lincoln absent. UPDATE ON VACANCIES: The Commission currently has one Tate vacancy. Gao stated he may be gone for the summer months, and Vice-Chair Tamerius would serve in his absence. In the event the Chair and Vice-Chair are absent a temporary Chair would be elected, always remembering 4 Commission Members are needed for a quorum. City Clerk Karr noted that the Commission may also adjust their schedule and take off some time in the summer. BUDGET UPDATE: City Clerk Karr reported no new expenditures in the 2011 budget. GLOBAL VILLAGE /SUMMER OF THE ARTS OPPORTUNITIES: Commission Members noted that the event occurred on June 4, and school was out for the summer. Gao noted he would be out of town for the summer starting the third week of May. Van Voorhis said the information stated that volunteers were available to assist in staffing. City Clerk Karr noted the event was optional but she felt it was important to have a YAC member present at all times during the event. Commission Members discussed displaying the Youth Advisory Banner and wearing the Youth Advisory shirts to promote the Commission. City Clerk Karr noted that the request for YAC volunteer activities had been forwarded to the Volunteer and Sponsor Relations Coordinator and other activities may be forthcoming. Van Voorhis stated she had volunteered for Jazz Fest and often people are assigned individually and she felt YOUTH ADVISORY COMMISSION March 6, 2011 Page 2 of 4 this might be the best format for a group. In response to Gao, City Clerk Karr estimated costs previous years for supplies for a Global Village booth was $200 +. Gao stated he enjoyed_the experience last time. Tamerius stated she would be taking the SAT that day, and getting ready to leave town but would assist in providing ideas prior to the event. Gao recalled the advantage in selecting a country early. Tamerius questioned why the event had been removed from the budget. Gao reported that former member Heywood said the event did not follow the mission of the group. Individual Member expressed their views that the event should be viewed as a promotional activity for the Commission and did follow their mission statement. Van Voorhis, Murray and Fosse said they could help with the event. Tamerius suggested Maya and teaching numbers or the alphabet. Van Voorhis suggested creating bookmarks. Gao questioned whether the country had to be current for the event. Gao suggested India. City Clerk Karr stated that often a print from the country could be offered for coloring at the booth. Fosse liked utilizing a soccer theme for Brazil. After discussion, the majority agreed to participate in the event and listed the preference for the countries as: Maya, India, Brazil. City Clerk Karr was directed to make an application for the Commission and report back at the next meeting. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS: Appointments -Gao noted that appointments had been made at the last meeting and questioned if anyone wanted to make changes. City Clerk Karr questioned if a Global Village Committee should be formed. Murray suggested using the existing Website and Advertising Committee for the Global Village event. The Commission agreed to wait until the April meeting with Commission Member Lincoln present to discuss further. Grant Programming - No report Website and Advertisements -Commission Members viewed two youth websites • ProjectCS, Coral Springs, FL • Independent Living PA: Youth Advisory Board City Clerk Karr reported that the ProjectCS site provides an activity calendar of all teen activities which is updated often and fades in and out rather than the traditional calendar. The site also advertised a Teen Success Day including completing applications and writing resumes. Gao noted the advantage of the Commission doing their own site rather than incorporating the City format, and asked if it were possible for the Commission to do their own site. Staff will report back. Commission Members viewed the current City YAC site. In response to questions, City Clerk Karr stated the current City site is updated with appointments and alumni status only. Gao requested the typical City website traffic per month. Staff will report back. Murray noted the Independent Living PA: Youth Advisory Board site which incorporates color and font changes and attracts more high schoolers. Gao questioned other City Board websites. All departments are under the City site but wasn't sure about Boards and Commissions. Tamerius noted an environmental group that appeared before council with a budget request had a different site. City Council Liaison Wilburn explained they are not a Board or Commission under the City government. Gao expressed an interest in doing a separate site with a link, a little less governmental. Murray stated she liked the sidebar set-up. Tamerius stated there was more the group could do to helping the students knowing more about Iowa City, for example the curfew. She wished they could work on facilitating discussion. Gao said over 90% of teenagers don't care about government. Tamerius stated City High Student Senate is more like a spirit club, always fighting for members Gao said West High Student Senate is large and allows anyone who wants to join, to join, and all events are social. Tamerius encouraged members to think about what direction the Commission should be headed in the future and what they wanted to see long term on the site. YOUTH ADVISORY COMMISSION March 6, 2011 Page 3 of 4 CITY COUNCIL UPDATE: Wilburn passed along information on the Human Rights Commission upcoming panel or forum on bullying and wondered if the YAC would be interested in co-sponsoring or getting involved in the event. Murray reported that West High had spent a week on the issue recently. Wilburn said it was more of a panel discussion, with a community focus. Tamerius thought the focus was more community oriented and would provide exposure not only to the issue but to the Commission. She stated she would be interested in YAC participation. Majority expressed an interest in getting more information on possible involvement. Staff will follow up and report back at the next meeting. City Clerk Karr noted the Commission was also looking into the Sanctuary City request from the City Council. Wilburn said Council is interested in hearing more from the community and the Sanctuary Committee about problems and solutions; but shared concerns on recent legislation that would directly impact Iowa City. He reported that research form the City Attorney indicated that if we didn't exchange certain information with the State the City wouldn't have access to critical state enforcement information. MEETING SCHEDULE: The Commission set a date of Sunday, April 3 at 4:00 PM. for the next meeting Tamerius motioned to adjourn, which was seconded by Van Voorhis. The motion to adjourn passed unanimously, 5/0, Lincoln absent. Adjourned 5:20 PM. Minutes submitted by Karr. Z O ~~ ~~ ~O O w r- U~ ~ W N ~ Z ~ fn Q W 0 Z ~ Q ~ F=- Q O M M X X X X ~ X X X X X O X N X X X X X X G. ~ r r M ~ r r M ~ M T M ~ r t~ M ~ r r M ~ r r M ~ r r M W X N N N N N N N F- W ~ ~ ~- r- ~ r W ,-. ~ ~ Q ~ ~ ' ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Z ~ (~ j ~ ~ L ~ L c~ U d an a ~o O a~ a 0 ~ CJ O 7? ~ V ~~ W ~ ~ ~ ~ f+ ~, _ ~ d ~ d ~ t0 N! N a`aaZZ II II LlJ II I XO~~ OZ ' W Y 3b 2 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MARCH 3, 2011 - 7:00 PM -FORMAL CITY HALL, EMMA HARVAT HALL APPROVED MEMBERS PRESENT: Ann Freerks, Josh Busard, Charlie Eastham, Elizabeth Koppes, Michelle Payne, Wally Plahutnik, Tim Weitzel MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Bob Miklo, Karen Howard, Tabatha Ries-Miller, Sara Greenwood Hektoen OTHERS PRESENT: Tom Gelman RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: The Commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval of an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan to adopt the Southeast District Plan for property generally located south of Court Street, east of Sycamore Street and First Avenue, north of Highway 6 and west of the city's eastern growth boundary. The Commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval of SUB11-00001/SUB11-00002, an application submitted by Eye Physicians and Surgeons for a preliminary and final plat of EPS First Addition, a 1-lot, .78 acre commercial subdivision located at 2615 Northgate Drive. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ITEM: Public hearing to amend the Comprehensive Plan to the Southeast District Plan for property generally located south of Court Street, east of Sycamore Street 8- First Avenue, north of Highway 6, and west of the city's eastern growth boundary. Howard distributed a memo detailing proposed changes to the plan based on comments made by the public and the Commission. Howard noted that the language in the plan that deals with Planning and Zoning Commission March 3, 2011 -Formal Page 2 of 5 open spaces in Village Green had been clarified. Howard pointed out proposed alternative language outlined in the memo which she hopes will make it more clear that the open spaces are privately owned. Howard said that staff would also like to replace the term "pocket parks" with "small neighborhood parks" in order to broaden the perception of that particular kind of open space. Staff also tried to incorporate some of the principles and language of the code requirements for open space in new developments into this district plan, such as the idea that neighborhoods should be walking distance from some kind of public gathering space. Eastham asked if staff had intended to remove the term "pocket parks" from the document entirely, and Howard replied that they did not. They simply wanted to change the title of that section to "Small Neighborhood Parks." Howard said that there had been a slight error on the open space map in the Scott Park area which has since been corrected. Eastham asked that the term "mobile home" be replaced with "manufactured housing" throughout, and Howard said that had been done. Freerks opened the public hearing. No one wished to comment, and the public hearing was closed. Payne moved to amend the Comprehensive Plan to adopt the Southeast District Plan for property generally located south of Court Street, east of Sycamore Street & First Avenue, north of Highway 6, and west of the city's eastern growth boundary. Plahutnik seconded. Freerks invited discussion. Eastham noted that there had been awide-ranging discussion about this plan. He said that in his view the plan is both comprehensive and well thought out. The inclusion of areas for industrial development has been clearly identified as a community need, as has the buffering of those industrial areas with green space from potential residential areas. He said that there is also a lot of attention paid to commercial areas along First Avenue and Kirkwood. Eastham said that the eastern growth boundary for this plan has turned out to be satisfying both to the extensive manufactured housing area east of Scott and to the redevelopment of the area east of that as future residential uses. Eastham said that he feels the plan both preserves manufactured housing as a modestly priced housing option and plans for the future. Plahutnik thanked staff for going through the very thorough process involved in creating such a well-thought out document. Freerks said that there had been a great deal of community involvement in creating this plan and she intends to support it. A vote was taken and the motion carried 7-0. Freerks asked if anyone who has come and signed into a meeting would be notified that this issue is moving forward to the City Council. Miklo said that typically that is not the case; however, we will seek press coverage for the public hearing. Planning and Zoning Commission March 3, 2011 -Formal Page 3 of 5 DEVELOPMENT ITEMS: SU610-00014/SUB10-00015: Discussion of an application submitted by Craig Haesemeyer for a preliminary and final plat of Mackinaw Village Part 3, a 13-lot, 7.89 acre residential subdivision located north of Foster Road on Mission Point Road and Algonquin Road. Eastham stated that he would not be participating in the discussions for this application because he is a board member of anon-profit that has apurchase-agreement to purchase nearby or adjacent property. Miklo said that the applicant is considering some minor changes to the plan and would like to defer to the March 17'h meeting. Weitzel moved to defer the item until the March 17th meeting. Payne seconded. A vote was taken and the motion carried 6-0 (Eastham abstaining). SU611-00001/SUB11-00002: Discussion of an application submitted by Eye Physicians and Surgeons for a preliminary plat of EPS First Addition, a 1-lot, .78 acre commercial subdivision located at 2615 Northgate Drive. Miklo introduced Tabatha Ries-Miller, a graduate student in Urban Planning who is interning in the Planning Department. Ries-Miller explained that the property was subdivided in 1984. Sometime after that, a portion of Lot 19 was added to Lot 20 to serve as parking for the existing medical office on Lot 20. The applicant is now proposing to subdivide the area to create new lot that will be referred to as Lot 1. The subdivision does not include any proposed streets. The lot has two access points, one on Lot 19, and one on Lot 20, and no new access points will be created. There would, however, be across-access easement established for access to Lot 1. Because Lot 1 currently serves as parking for the medical facility consideration will have to be made as to whether or not there is adequate parking on-site to serve both Lots 19 and 20 if Lot 1 is developed in the future. Ries-Miller noted that all of the discrepancies and insufficiencies indicated in the staff report have been remedied and staff is recommending approval of the application. Miklo noted that the recommendation for approval is subject to the City Attorney's Office approving the legal papers. Payne asked if the applicant intended to correct the directional arrow on the plat for the power- line easement and Miklo said that they had done so. Freerks opened the public hearing. Tom Gelman, 714 McLean Street, appeared on behalf of the owners and offered to answer any questions the Commission might have. Weitzel moved to approve SUB11-00001/SUB11-00002, an application submitted by Eye Physicians and Surgeons for a preliminary plat of EPS First Addition, a 1-lot, .78 acre commercial subdivision located at 2615 Northgate Drive subject to approval of the legal papers. Planning and Zoning Commission March 3, 2011 -Formal Page 4 of 5 Payne seconded. A vote was taken and the motion carried 7-0. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: February 17, 2011: Busard noted an error in the vote counts. Plahutnik moved to approve the minutes as amended. Payne seconded. The motion carried 7-0. OTHER: Greenwood Hektoen noted that the Commission by-laws require the election of officers at the first meeting in February or soon after. Payne noted that both she and Koppes would be gone the week of spring break. Weitzel moved to elect Freerks as Chair, Koppes as Vice-Chair, and Plahutnik as Secretary. Payne seconded. A vote was taken and the motion carried 7-0. Miklo noted that now that the Southeast District Plan was complete, staff will be focusing on updating the general Comprehensive Plan with a focus on downtown. He said that they will likely be bringing the Riverfront Crossings district before the Commission to be considered as an element of the Comprehensive Plan. Plahutnik stated that some zoning had been rushed into for the Heironymous Project, and he did not feel like it had been very carefully considered. He asked that staff carefully consider that area as they looked at the Riverfront Crossings district. Freerks asked for an update to be given at some point about what is going on in that section of Burlington Street, since the University had acquired some property there. Miklo said that Heironymous Square may come back before the Commission since it is likely that changes will be made to the plan that had been approved under a conditional zoning agreement. He said that he did not know the timeframe for when that might come back before the Commission. ADJOURNMENT: Payne motioned to adjourn. Koppes seconded. The meeting was adjourned on a 7-0 vote. Z O v_~ p ~~ ~O OU U~ Z W ~- O Q N Np oiS Z ~ W Z ~ H za Z Q J a M X X X X X X X X X X X ~ X X N N X X X X X X X rn ~W ~ e- M N ~ ~ M wa ~ ~ ~n ~ ~n ~ ~n , ~n ~ ~ ~ ~n ~X o o o o o 0 0 W 1 W ~ w ~ I J Q ~ J ~ W m J J Q _ a Z Q N 2 3 I N = U Z Q . Y ~ ~ ~ W U_ _ ~ N ~ Z J ~ _ ~ W W ~ N W ~ a v~ y- v>' w w a a z >- = Q ~ - W Q z ~ m Q w m u. O Y Q a J a 3 i N X X X X X X X N M X X X X X X X r c°~ X X X X X X X ~W r r M N ln lf') M wa ~ ~n ~ ~n ~ ~n ~ ~ ~ ~n ~ ~n ~ ~n I...X o o o o o 0 0 w W ~ W J J J 2 = Z ~ ' W ~ U Z a 2 1 ~ D W U ~ p a Y N ~ F' w w OC a = r ~ w W a W z p = N ~ ~ Q cn ~ v~ Q w ~ a O >- Q a J - w z m w u. Y a a ~ c7 z H w w Q C LL E `o ~ C1 ~ o `~ Z ~~ U p~ x ~ a~ ~, c ~ ~ c N E vii ~ ~ O ~~QZ ~ Q ~~ n n n w ~ XOOZ w Y FINAL/APPROVED CALL TO ORDER: MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES -February 9, 2011 Vice Chair Joe Treloar called the meeting to order at 5:38 P.M. Melissa Jensen, Peter Jochimsen, Royceann Porter (5:47pm) Donald King Staff Catherine Pugh and Kellie Tuttle Sgt. Heick of the ICPD RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL None 3b 3 CONSENT CALENDAR Motion by Jensen and seconded by Jochimsen to adopt the consent calendar as presented or amended. • Minutes of the meeting on 01/11/11 • ICPD Use of Force Report -September 2010 • ICPD Use of Force Report -October 2010 • ICPD Department Memo #11-01 (Sept-Oct 2010 Use of Force Review) • ICPD Use of Force Report -November 2010 • ICPD Use of Force Report -December 2010 • ICPD Department Memo #11-02 (Nov-Dec 2010 Use of Force Review) • ICPD Quarterly/Summary Report (Qtr 4 & all Qtrs) IAIR/PCRB, 2010 • ICPD P.A.U.L.A. Report -December 2010 Jochimsen asked for clarification as to the reference in the draft minutes of Treloar forwarding minutes from when citizens came to Council to request a citizen's review board. Treloar stated he thought it was very interesting to read what the views were at that time and thought the Board would benefit from reading it and would forward the link to the minutes. The Board noted some corrections to be made to the draft minutes. Motion carried, 3/0, King and Porter absent. OLD BUSINESS Draft response to the Hawkeye Area Chapter A.C.L.U. of Iowa -Board members reviewed the draft response prepared by Treloar and Jensen handed out at the meeting and made amendments. Motion by Jochimsen and seconded by Jensen to approve the letter as amended and forward to Hawkeye Area A.C.L.U. Board and City Council. Motion carried, 4/0, King absent. PCRB February 9, 2011 Page 2 NEW BUSINESS Jochimsen confirmed with the Board that a citizen could file a complaint at the Police Department and the Board would not receive notice or a copy of that complaint and was concerned that it didn't represent the total number of complaints when the Board compiles its annual report. It was discussed that the citizen can choose whether they want to file with Police, PCRB, or both and if they choose to only file with Police and is happy with the outcome that's their choice. PUBLIC DISCUSSION None. BOARD INFORMATION Treloar recommended the Citizens Police Academy to anyone who has not done it before. There are 44 people in the class and he thinks it's extremely informative and a fantastic public relations tool for the four agencies involved. STAFF INFORMATION None. EXECUTIVE SESSION Not needed. TENTATIVE MEETING SCHEDULE and FUTURE AGENDAS (subject to change) • March 2, 2011, 5:30 PM, Lobby Conference Rm (moved from Mar Stn) • April 12, 2011, 5:30 PM, Lobby Conference Rm • May 10, 2011, 5:30 PM, Lobby Conference Rm • June 14, 2011, 5:30 PM, Lobby Conference Rm Motion by Porter, seconded by Jensen to change the March 8th meeting to Wednesday, March 2nd. Motion carried, 4/0, King absent. Staff will evaluate and discuss with the Chair the need for the Board to meet in March and inform members if there is a cancellation. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Jochimsen, seconded by Jensen to adjourn. Motion carried, 4/0, King absent. Meeting adjourned at 6:05 P.M. d ~~ WO ~~ W LY W N W ~ W ~z~" -~, w U H W ~ U O a~ N D'C 0 D'C >'C DC ti ~ ~ ~ ~ O ~a a~ ~W ~ ~ a ~ a ~ a i G ~I /-i ~ ~ ^O A ~' R ~ ~J H C vii ~ ++ U QI h C O y s. ~/ N a ,- a~ bi C r:+ d b ~ ~. ~ tin ~ ~ ~/~ ~i ~ ~ ~ 5~. ~ .O p O a,~~zz ~coOZ MINUTES HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION March 15, 2011 EMMA J. HARVAT HALL 3b 4 APPROVED Members Present: Orville Townsend Sr., David Brown, Dianne Day, Diane Finnerty, Howard Cowen, Connie Goeb, Harry Olmstead, Martha Lubaroff. Members Absent: Wangui Gathua. Staff Present: Stefanie Bowers, Sue Dulek (Assistant City Attorney). Others Present Who Addressed the Commission: Charlie Eastham, Karla Detweiler. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (to become effective only after separate Council action): No. CALL TO ORDER Day called the meeting to order at 18:04. PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE February 15, 2011 MEETING: Olmstead, moved to approve. Townsend seconded. The motion passed 8-0. SANCTUARY CITY Day/I think that ah what I would like to do is propose a little sort of a format here and that possibly the Commissioners could briefly discuss what their feelings are now that you have a rather large packet that you could read. Then open it up to the public if you would like to make comments, and then perhaps after that then come back to the Commission as far as what actions we might want to take, as far as responding to the public comments. What we want to do next. If this is in agreement or are you all in agreement with this type of format? Commission: Fine, yes Day/Do we need a motion on this do you think? Bowers/ I don't know if you need a motion, but are you going to set up time restrictions or are you just going to talk? Day/We could. Are you in agreement with maybe like 15 minutes or so for us and then public discussion? If we end this time on the agenda somewhere around by 7:00 or before. Does that feel like we all have a chance to? Several Talking/Right now I think it's good Day/I think in general public comments are limited to three minutes when there is a large audience where we want everyone to speak. I think if any of you want to speak we can start with that, but if we have time if you have other questions, that might work. Is that alright with everyone? Several Talking/Yes Human Rights Commission March 15, 2011 Page 2 of 11 Day/Keeping within that timeframe. Just as a review what I'd like to do is read what was in the packet from the City Council, in that the City Council directed the Human Rights Commission to meet with the Sanctuary City Committee. The Consolidation of the Religious Communities and the public to provide recommendations to the Council, given the research from the City Attorney. My impression is that we have several things to do with our recommendations to the City Council. I just made a list of these from being at the meeting last Monday (Council Work Session 2-28-11). It doesn't mean that those have to be included; this was not in your packet so I'm just framing this so you can certainly add or subtract. Some of the things I think we might want to discuss is if there is a need for the ordinance which was brought up. Would an ordinance contribute to more confusion within the immigrant community? If so how could this be resolved? Assuming that such an ordinance was passed within the parameters of the Secure Community legislation, would this ordinance help to make our immigrant community feel more comfortable working with the Police when they are a victim of a crime or are a witness to a crime? How do the other approximately 70 cities that have already enacted similar ordinances balance their ordinance with the Secure Community legislation? We could do absolutely nothing and send the ordinance back. So again that is another option. Another one might be which areas of the City is citizen status required, and where is it not required. That would be including different City services, offices, etc., and is there a problem in any of these areas. If so then where would we go from there? So whether you know those are some ideas on my part, questions I have, but I would like to open it up to the Commission as far as response or questions from especially the packet you received. Olmstead/I would like to start by saying that I would not be in favor of taking and sending this back to the Council without further work. Day/Is that something we all in agreement that we need to get more information or to send the ordinance? Townsend/I have some concerns as to whether or not we are the appropriate body that should be dealing with this due to the new law that we got into upon a stand that thinks somewhat different now than they were when we looked at it before, and you know what boundaries do we function with? I mean an immigrant that is documented in terms of breaking the law. If I understand it correctly certain laws have to be fingerprinted and other laws, other laws broken do not. So we have got something that is mandatory here, so I think things have changed somewhat since we, since it was dealt with before. Cowen/I don't know, maybe. I don't think so. It was my impression that there's a big confusion I'm going to be honest. My perception everybody has a different perception, I think of where we were at one time or where we're going with this. I think that the name sanctuary is the problem. I don't think it's a sanctuary. I think it is for anybody, that no one, and I don't think that there's any question about the don't enforce. I don't even know where that came from. We always enforce. There is no such question as not enforcing. It's similar to me the don't ask don't tell that they had in the military. I think that this whole process, I would like to continue on with it. I do think that the name has potential problems in the community, thinking that it's a sanctuary for immigrants to come and do as they may without being carded or asked what, if they're an immigrant. I think the question is if you're walking down the street and you see a Hispanic person and they're speaking Spanish, do you have the right to say let me see your Passport, let me see your Visa, let me see your Green Card for no reason except you look suspicious to me. I think that's all we're talking about. We're not talking about anything that's unenforceable anytime. I think a big problem might be for instance if you're driving a Human Rights Commission March 15, 2011 Page 3 of 11 car and the driver gets pulled over, and he gets pulled over for running a red light or speeding, a legitimate pull over. The officer says let me see your Driver's License and he says I don't have a Driver's License. Ah let me see you know some sort of identification. I don't have that. Well you're not supposed to be driving a car. Let's go down to the police station and find out who you are. What's your immigration status? They have the right to do that. We're not questioning whether they have the right, but can they question everybody in the car as well. Okay the whole group of you come on down. Let's check all of you out. I think that's what we're looking at here is just the basic human rights for people without having some suspicion of who they are for no reason. Townsend/My concern though is that what boundaries should we function within. For example if I'm driving my car as an African American and I'm stopped and I don't have a Driver's License. When we go down to the Police Station the focus should be on whether or not I have a Driver's License and give me the opportunity to produce it. Now the other people in the car shouldn't be affected about that because they're not driving. Cowen/Absolutely. Townsend/So you know I, I just feel that we, this Commission, what we do is already in place. Day/So are you saying there may not be a need for an ordinance? Townsend/No I'm not saying that. I'm just saying should we be the body that's dealing with it. Finnerty/I would speak to that I think we are an appropriate body and I do think it needs more work so I would encourage us to keep working on this and work with the what's called currently the Sanctuary City Committee to understand the multitude of issues. I think for me it's the narrowly defined ordinance that we're talking about, is also expands to human rights issues, even beyond the do we comply or don't we with the Secure Communities, and I, I have no interest at this point of recommending to the City that they not comply with the federal mandate. I haven't heard that from anyone. I will tell you personally I think it's inappropriate and I think federal immigration policy is dead wrong on these issues with enforcement only. But that as a Commissioner would not be an encouragement I would make to the City to not follow a federal mandate. I think the term sanctuary is appropriate coming out of the faith community. I think the encouragement to the faith community to do as they wish, providing sanctuary and there's a long tradition of that in this nation. I think that's a whole separate issue, but what do we as a Commission want for our community around immigration justice if not the appropriate treatment of immigrant rights. So I would encourage, I'm learning a whole lot about the Secure Communities. I didn't know much about that. I'm surprised that only eight counties in Iowa out of the 99 are currently participating, and I've very, I'd love to know why Johnson County is one of those. Why we were in the first tier of going along. I understand by 2013 it will be nationwide, but I'm curious why and when and how it happened that we'd be the first in line or second in line it sounds like of implementers. So I have a lot more to say on it and have been doing a lot of homework and want to think creatively about looking at the data of part of the concerns about the Secure Communities are issues of racial profiling for peoples that are perceived to be either immigrant and or undocumented. I'd love to see what kind of data that looks like and is that going on. Also then I heard via the testimony or the work session kind of the conversation also of what other types of documentation are needed for other City services, and to create a welcoming community, and to really be able to educate on that. I need to educate myself and I would love to be part of educating the community about that as well. Human Rights Commission March 15, 2011 Page 4 of 11 Brown/I just want to add that I think data is needed, more data that's absent from the material that we received. I need to figure out what the origins are and what the people who brought this to the attention of the Council. What their idea was because it might have taken on a course of its own. I think that can spin out of control. You're using a lot of the information based on a Secure Communities and then the sanctuary city also because that name in itself I think ah I want to address what Mr. Cohen said was that yeah it is a little misleading, and I want to make sure that its clear because anything we set in place will set a precedent. So I want to make sure that we have all the data ahead. Goeb/ I would agree. I mean I support going further with this and trying to figure out a way that will make this proposed ordinance something that the City Council can consider seriously. I also think we need more data on what other services might be affected by this. We've been kind of focusing or I've been focusing a little bit on law enforcement, and I think other services that are affected, it would be helpful to have that information. I also would weigh in on the fact that really since the beginning I've thought that just the term sanctuary is kind of an inflammatory title, and I understand that some cities have done pretty much the same thing without calling it a sanctuary. I don't know now if we can retreat from that and make it, make it make sense. But I also I guess my strongest feeling from reading over the material is that in reading the City Attorney's analysis and opinions and such. I just think that the Secure Communities issue to me is kind of what I would call a red herring because I just don't see how Secure Communities, how when that is implemented or going along with that is really in practice much different than what we're doing with the City and the County is doing now in terms of sharing information on fingerprints, sharing fingerprint information with, I understand with the Iowa what is it the ah, the Central Iowa Police Organization whatever they're called. I understand that that's being done right now, and I really don't understand how Secure Communities puts anymore of a road bump or a speed bump in this process than we had before. So I think that is again a false speed bump so to speak. Day/My understanding of that if you could maybe help me on this is that the main difference would be with Secure Communities the fingerprints would go to the immigration, where before they didn't. Is that? Dulek/That's correct as of March 8th when Johnson County went on-line anyone fingerprinted, those fingerprints are now automatically matching up with the ICE database and a hit will come back to Johnson County. Before March 8th that was not the case. Goeb/I understand that it goes to ICE directly, but certainly fingerprints were, you know I don't think that that really makes a fundamental difference to what we're doing because we, I don't think any of us were interested in withholding fingerprints of people that were arrested for crimes in the first place. I mean that is being sent to some other higher law enforcement agency right now. It's not being directly to ICE and what I have read in the background material is that certainly ICE was always privy to that information if they wanted it because it was; it was given to other law enforcement agencies in the state. Dulek/That's not correct. Goeb/The state didn't get the fingerprints before? Human Rights Commission March 15, 2011 Page 5 of 11 Dulek/The state did, but the state database did not interact with ICE. Goeb/Oh right I understand that it wasn't automatic, but it certainly wasn't withheld from them. Dulek/I understand that your opinion um, I can just tell you what the change was and what that means. Goeb/It's just a more direct... Finnerty/I think the sheriff is quoted as saying it's a simpler transfer process at this point because it's automated and on-line. They just enter it in and then the biometrics picks it up. Dulek/Absolutely. There's no question. Finnerty/Do you have the answer to the question about why Johnson County and the second tier of the counties in the State of Iowa? Dulek/I do not. Olmstead/I think part of the confusion has come in in the fact that we didn't convey properly to the City Council that we were not interested in harboring fugitives or criminals. I think that's one of the things that we have to think about in a future ordinance, is that we have to convey very clearly because Secure Communities doesn't really come into effect in terms of what we're really interested in because that's for a person that does commit a crime, and we're talking about law abiding citizens. Day/I think if I could make one comment and then I think we need to open it up some to the three that are present. In answer to your question a couple of them, to me perception is as important as reality, and I believe that those of us who are not living within the immigrant community may feel one way, but perceptions of what is not allowed may be totally different in the immigrant community. So my take on this if it were to be anything close to what was presented, is that it's more of a definition of practice, consistent practice for the immigrant community as from the standpoint from law enforcement. I want to reemphasize at the end of the proposed ordinance, it does state no entity employer agent of the City of Iowa City shall request information about or otherwise investigate or assist in the investigation of the national citizenship or federal residency status of any person unless, such inquiry or investigation is required by the Iowa state statute, federal regulation or court decision. So that t think this states that we would be automatically following that and this was written before. So I mean there's no intent to be in conflict with state or federal law enforcement. My take on this is more towards the immigrant community and the protection of victims, which can be outside of the immigrant community. I'm not sure and I would like to know for instance if someone witnesses a crime, a local crime, whether its burglary or if I'm hit by a car and the only person that sees it is an immigrant of some status. I don't know what that status is. Would they feel safe to come forward to help me in finding out who hit me? I would want that individual to feel safe to come forward. To me it is much more of a definition of local, when you get into the law enforcement and the residence of our community, is that there's equal protection for victims, whether I'm a victim of a crime or someone witnesses it or if I'm an immigrant of some sort of status and I'm a victim of a break-in. Can I, go to the police? Human Rights Commission March 15, 2011 Page 6 of 11 Bowers/: I'm going to interrupt just real quick just for the transcript. When you said just to answer or to respond to your questions or your comments, who were you referring to? Day/I'm sorry to Orville. Does that make sense from that? Townsend/Yeah and you know the way I see it is that what we're focusing on is that there shouldn't be a problem or need for identification and things like that unless a law has been broken. Now the example you used and a person goes forward, that person hasn't broken a law, so that wouldn't be an issue. If under those circumstances that person would be caught or something like that, then that's what we should put the focus. So I think the focus should be on legality. Day/We have one more. Lubaroff/I just would like to add something. This material was fairly new to me because I wasn't in Iowa City, but I think it needs more study and more discussion, and I do have a concern about an innocent bystander who may witness a crime and be afraid to report it to the Police because they're undocumented. So I think the bottom line is that I really support the, support what's behind this, but I think we need to study it more. Day/an I open it up to those of you, and if you'd like to speak if you could come to the podium and state your name and spell it, and then take three to five minutes if you'd like. Eastham/Good evening my name is Charlie Eastham and I'm a resident of Iowa City. First of all I'd like to thank the Commission for undertaking this effort, and I hope we all come to a place which we can be happy with in some fashion or another. I've been a member of what is called a Sanctuary City Committee for a year or so now, and as many of you I think understand the Sanctuary City Committee is ah, has been asked by the Consultation of Religious Communities to develop policies or make recommendations to the City about policies and practices that will improve the, or ease the status of people in the community who are immigrants. I have about three comments to make and I'll try to keep it within three minutes. One, the name Sanctuary City, my personal feeling as a member of the Committee is that I don't care what the ordinance or policy is called. You can call it ordinance one, two, three or ordinance x, y, z. I don't care. I'm not sure the full Committee has that viewpoint, but I certainly do. In regard to federal legislation I think that the ah, I agree with the comments made by many of you that the trying to figure out how a policy could work with a Secure Community is federal regulations not really what we're asking for. Actually most people in the community never get arrested for anything, whether or not they're immigrants or not immigrants. We have never proposed, we've never even talked about wanting to have opposing federal regulations, which requires a submission of fingerprints for people who have been arrested for certain offenses to federal immigration authorities. So I personally am not, I don't think that's an issue. I have been trying to figure over the last several weeks, trying to talk with folks in the community that are actually in fairly frequent contact with people in Iowa City and Johnson County, who are immigrants and who may or may not be authorized immigrants, and asked them what they think the people within those groups might be interested in the City doing to increase their ability to function as community members. One of the people I talked to asked put a question to me that goes kind of like this. Would the proposed ordinance increase the comfort level of a person who is an immigrant coming to a City Council meeting and addressing the City Council, and in the course and at that meeting the Police Chief was sitting in the room. Whether or not that person during the course of the remarks to the Council said anything about their immigration status whether they were authorized or unauthorized. That example Human Rights Commission March 15, 2011 Page7of11 to me has a couple of features that I think are important. One, it shows what I think I've heard quite a bit in the community is that a lot of the people in the community who are immigrants are very cautious about participating in public civic life because they're uncertain about what will happen to them from local officials as opposed to federal officials. I think one of the things we're trying to get at is to try to make those folks in the community, give them assurance that local officials, law enforcement or city officials in some other role. Those local officials are not interested in investigating their residency status. That's a little hard to do, I understand that, but I think that's really what I think the Sanctuary City Committee is getting at. I think that example shows that um one, a Council Member who is at the meeting, or I'm sorry. A Council Member is at the meeting does not, would not be obligated by City policy to say anything about the person's immigration status or residency status, and the Police Chief who is sitting right there wouldn't be obligated to say anything to that person later on about their residency status. I think then the person could come and talk to the City Council and ask them I want another street light in my area, which is kind of what everybody should be able to do. Day/I think we have a question for you. Olmstead/Yes, I wanted to find out, I appreciate your comments. Do you feel that your Committee would be open to a different title rather than Sanctuary City, something like Safe Cities? Eastham/We've had discussions about that and I'm not speaking for the Committee Mr. Olmstead, but I think personally, I would be and I think there are other Committee Members that would also be open to some other title. Olmstead/Also would your Committee be willing to meet with the Commissioners? Eastham/Oh for sure. Detweiler/Good evening I'm Karla S------ I'm the pastor at First Mennonite Church. For simplicity you can use Detweiler. I also want to thank you very much for taking time to address this very important issue here. I also have been a part of the Sanctuary City Committee since its inception, which is over a year and a half ago out of the Consultation of Religious Communities, and just to give a little more background. The Consultation of Religious Communities began to explore in earnest what we could do on behalf of immigrants in our community following the Postville raid, and that was really the impetus for us seeking how we could make a statement in our community, and take the lead in our community to provide safety for immigrants in our community who were terrorized. Not only the people of Postville were living in fear following that horrendous investigation. It was inhumane, but immigrants in our community felt the shockwaves that rippled out from that, and there are immigrants in our community now who moved here from Postville, who continue to live in fear of what if the helicopters fly over here. What if the Federal Government would come to do an investigation in Iowa City. So our intent was to cast a broad welcome in our community and to make a statement that Iowa City is a place that welcomes people of all nationalities, which is something I think Iowa City is proudly um, we call ourselves a diverse community and we're proud of that. We want to make it a place that immigrants feel welcome and safe. I am privileged to interact with immigrants regularly. There is an immigrant congregation that shares our church building, and I know that the pastors of that Congregation are upstanding citizens with a work permit and yet feel like they're always under having to live under, ducking their heads undercover. Um super careful so that they will not run in with law enforcement because they feel vulnerable. So a big part of what we were wanting to do is to educate our community, including the immigrants that live there, that the City is not Human Rights Commission March 15, 2011 Page 8 of 11 out to get them. Yes crimes will be, you know there will be consequences for crime, but in for immigrants who are contributing members of society we want them to feel safe and know that the safety of one member of the community is linked to the safety of their neighbors, and safety for one means safety and contributes to the wellbeing of all. I also wanted to say that the Secure Communities law is new for us and we're learning what kind of implications, how that interacts with this sanctuary idea, but I also feel like that development of late makes its an opportune time for Iowa City to take a step and to say you know here are our values, not that we want to contradict, we're not going to contradict federal law. But that given these parameters we want to do the most we can to say we are a community that is humane, that believes in welcome and justice for all of our residents. Thank you. Day/Does anyone have a question? Okay. Is there further discussion within? Townsend/Yeah. I you know saying if you really want to do me justice you need to walk a mile in my shoes, and I agree. We should have a committee and if we're going to commit to it and work on it, but we really and I think this was mentioned earlier, we really need to have people that are directly involved on that committee giving input because only they know the issues, negative issues, that they're being impacted by. If we're going to effectively put something in place we need to know exactly what we should be focusing on in trying to change or trying to secure. Finnerty/Who are you suggesting services or? Townsend/Well you know we've got individuals from the community that's working with them, and they can be a part of the community, or you know it would be ideal if we had individuals that are impacted being on the committee because just in communicating and dialogue things just happen, and we can put a ruling on it, but it may not really get to the issue that needs to be dealt with. Another thing is you mentioned Postville and you know we can put things in place in Johnson County, but was Postville a federal initiative? So that's something else we have to be aware of because we don't want to give guarantees that create hope that we can't support. Finnerty/I wanted thank both of you for being here. A couple of things you said were powerful for me in reframing. One is the question you posed about would somebody who is an immigrant with or without authorization come to a City Council meeting and participate in the fabric of the life of this community. What I appreciate about that is it takes it out of the criminalization of human beings because I think that the debate has gotten very narrowly tailored to this when someone commits a crime, that's this percentage of the population. Right? I don't hear anyone saying if there's a criminal act there should be no consequences, but there's this broader more beautiful community, so the question about the City Council I appreciated that, and it is the vision of a community I'd want to live in where we could all be participants. Also I think your point about its an opportune time, that this is, and I believe the federal policy will only get more and more egregious unless people do step up with values. So for Iowa City to restate our values as a City to do whatever we can to promote our values, not opposing federal mandate, but making it a statement. It is an opportune time and I appreciate the statement of that. The other thing that I believe that really is a Human Rights Commission issue is, I'm not sure how many of you have been reading the blogs, but the, I can't remember after who. It might have been a letter to the editor or someone, the vigilante justice that was coming up and the here's the ICE number. You report somebody and I'm going to do it if they don't take action, and I want us not to lose sight of there is so much hateful rhetoric in our nation, in our state and in our community right now around immigration issues and it spills not just on immigration, it spills out to Human Rights Commission March 15, 2011 Page 9 of 11 everyone who is perceived to potentially be an immigrant and particularly if I think affecting the Latino and the Asian communities. I do believe it is important for us to take a stand to challenge the type of vigilante justice that could come up and is already coming up in an absence of leadership. So I would again recommend that we do it in a study committee. I would want to give us a timeline so that we could come back. I don't know if it is to the next Commission meeting with a recommendation, but I wouldn't want it to drag on very long. There's great research out there. There are great suggestions. I think working with people who are working with immigrant communities and the immigrants who feel comfortable doing it I think is a great way to go. Day/Any other? Olmstead/I'd like to make a motion that we establish asub-committee to work with the Sanctuary Committee to iron out whatever needs to be Day/Okay. Is there a second to this? Brown/I second that motion. Day/Further discussion? It's my understanding that we can have three or possibly four on a sub- committee, and if you want are there any volunteers who would like? Harry, Diane. I've been working on it for a while so. Bowers/Can you state the names? Day/Okay we have Harry (Olmstead) and myself (Day), Orville (Townsend) and Diane (Finnerty). As to timeline, which again I think is a very good recommendation. I might suggest that we try to have, at least some sort of report by next meeting, maybe addressing some of the questions of the City Council addressed, trying to digest what we've spoken about here and possibly visiting with you as far as any questions we have as far as legality, but again I think it might be framing the a possible proposal that deals not specifically with the law enforcement side of it. The idea or the conclusion I'm getting is that this is, by exploring the immigrant community is working with their input as far as what this would guarantee, if that made any sense whatsoever. All in favor please say aye. Day/Thank you. Finnerty/I have one related just while you're here if I may. Do you know is this community discussing 287(g) and deputizing of law enforcement? Dulek/Not that I know of and I think that actually nationally that has become less popular as you see just the, the Secure Communities come into play, but I've never known either our Police Department or the Johnson County Sherrill to take that in. Diane (Finnerty) can explain it too, but it's a more formal memorandum of agreement between ICE and local law enforcement to actually train at the local level in order to enforce the federal immigration. There are certainly some communities across the nation have taken up and entered agreements with ICE on that, but not that I know of. Olmstead/I spoke with our Police Chief on that and he is informed me that there are no Police Officers trained under it, and he's not in favor of having it. Human Rights Commission March 15, 2011 Page 10 of 11 Day/We'll have our first meeting right after this one. Thank you all. FAIR HOUSING PROCLAMATION Day will accept the proclamation on behalf of the Commission at the City Council meeting on April 5th. DELVING INTO DIVERSITY Bowers reported that the program has been rescheduled for May 5th from 6 -8 pm. Small group discussions will follow the film. DIVERSITY DAY Townsend, Brown, Goeb and Finnerty will host the table. Bowers will get the materials to Brown the Friday prior to the program. LISTENING PROJECT Bowers reported that she spoke with Herb Walters of the Listening Project. Walters mentioned there is a financial obligation for the training as well as the need for substantial volunteers from the community. Commissioners would need to become trained in the project. Walters surmised that the process would take a complete year. In addition, the training is very resource intensive. Finnerty mentioned using community resources to do a similar project that would cut down on the cost and the training time. This item will be placed on the May agenda. SPEAKER'S BUREAU The advertising for this program will begin in the next few weeks. Day felt it was best to get it out to the community. YOUTH AWARDS The Mayor has agreed to deliver brief remarks at the program. Bowers will begin advertising the week of March 21st. At the next meeting Commissioners will be assigned various roles for the program. FAIR HOUSING TRAINING In recognition of fair housing month a training will be held on April 25th that is open to all community members. BUILDING BLOCKS TO EMPLOYMENT The annual Job Fair will be held on April 26th. Employer registration is underway. The Job Fair targets persons who are unemployed or underemployed and provides assistance with cover letters and resumes. SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES Olmstead (Brown, Lubaroff) reported that the documentary film Bullying would be shown on May 12 the program will include a facilitator, a representative from the School District and Iowa City Police Officer Jorey Bailey. The program will also have students from West and City High speaking on their experiences with bullying. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS Finnerty mentioned that March 27 -April 1 is Cesar Chavez Week sponsored by the Latino -Native American Cultural Center at the University of Iowa. There are a variety of events scheduled including a film screening of The Fight in the Fields and a spoken word event. ADJOURNMENT Lubaroff moved to adjourn. Olmstead seconded. The motion passed 8-0 at 19:26 Human Rights Commission March 15, 2011 Page 11 of 11 Human Rights Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD 2011 m eetm uaze NAME TER M EXP. 1/18 2/15 3/15 4/12 5/17 6121 7/19 8/16 9120 10/18 11/15 12/20 ianne Day 1/1/12 X X X /angui ~athua 1/1/12 O/E O/E O/E lartha u ba roff 1/1/12 O/E O/E X toward ~owen 1/1113 X X X :onstance ioeb 1/1/13 X X X tarry )Imstead 8-1-2010) 111/13 O/E X X )rville 'ownsend, ~ r. 1/1/14 X X X )lane ~innerty 1/1/14 X X X )avid B. 3rown 1/1/14 X X X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting/No Quorum R =Resigned - = Not a Member