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Home My WebLink AboutHRC Sept 21 2013 minutes FinalHUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION of the City of Palm Springs Minutes from the Sept. 21, 2013 Meeting COMMISSIONERS Present at this Meeting Present FY Year-to-Date FY 2013-14 Excused Absences FY 2013-14 Unexcused Absences Dee Dee Wilson Barton David Brown Jilska Chandrasena Elena Chvany Janel Hunt Jack Newby Wes Rankins Deborah Sutton-Weiss Les Zendle Maddie Barton, Student rep. Sunny Rolfs, Student rep. X X X X X X X X X X X 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 The above roll call record is based on all meeting Minutes from July 8, 2013 thru Sept. 21, 2013 1. Chair Wilson Barton called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. 2. Student representative Maddie Barton led the flag salute. 3. Commissioner Rankins recited the Mission Statement. 4. Commissioners Present: Wilson Barton, Brown, Chandrasena, Chvany, Hunt, Newby, Rankins, Sutton-Weiss and Zendle. Student representatives Maddie Barton and Sunny Rolfs were also present. 5. POSTING OF THE AGENDA: The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act on or before 6 p.m., on Sept. 12, 2013. 6. PUBLIC COMMENT: None 7. HRC BUSINESS PLAN FOR 2013-14 Retreat session facilitated by Chair Dee Dee Wilson Barton. 7.A.&B. Introduction & quick round table: Commissioners introduced themselves, spoke briefly about their backgrounds, experiences, interests and listed some of the skills they bring to the Commission. Taking part in the self-introductions were Maddie Barton, the student representative this year from Palm Springs High School and Sunny Rolfs, the student representative from Raymond Cree Middle School. 7.C. Review list of areas of human rights: Commissioners reviewed last year’s (ending July 30, 2013) list of topics of interest. Of that list, which was created at the Commission’s annual strategic planning session/retreat in September 2012, the Commission focused the past year on bullying and intolerance and looked at homelessness, child abuse, disability issues and cultural issues (cultural humility training). Next they listed issues they want to focus on this year. Topics included: senior issues, religious intolerance, immigration, civil rights, education and addiction. 7.F. Select main areas of focus for 2013-14: The Commission listed its top issues for 2013-14. Those include: • Senior/aging population; the stigma of ageism, neglect, mental health, substance use • Immigration; promotion of immigration reform, highlight people affected, the Dream Act • Bullying/education; bullying in the workplace • Human trafficking • Homelessness/poverty • Women’s issues; how are women represented in Palm Springs City government; resources available for women • Religious intolerance Human Rights Commission Minutes Page 2 of 3 Meeting of Sept. 21 2013 2 • Racism Commissioners volunteered to work on the following topics: • Vice Chair Newby – Senior issues/ the stigma of ageism • Commissioners Chandrasena and Hunt – Immigration • Chair Wilson Barton -- Bullying/education • Commissioner Sutton -- Human trafficking • Commissioner Brown -- Homelessness/poverty • Chair Wilson Barton -- Women’s issues • Commissioner Zendle -- Religious intolerance • Commissioner Rankins -- Racism Commissioner Zendle suggested the lead persons assigned to each topic narrow the focus and make a recommendation to the Commission on what specifically could be done on their topic in the next year. 7.G. Map out calendar for 2013-14: The following calendar was developed, listing the guest speakers who have been invited to the Commission’s monthly meeting and areas of focus for the month: October -- Greg Rodriguez, District Director for Congressman Raul Ruiz November -- Autism Society of America, Coachella Valley December – Palm Springs High School Principal Ryan Woll January – Community Service Awards February – Cultural/racism March – Immigration April – Women’s issues -- Senior issues/the stigma of ageism will be addressed at an offsite event and not during an HRC meeting May – Human trafficking June – Homelessness/poverty July – Religious intolerance Chair Wilson Barton said she will ask Principal Woll to speak about bullying, immigration as related to local students, women in leadership positions at the high school as well as if there are any religious intolerance issues at the high school. The principal will also be asked to address if the homelessness /poverty issue is one the high school has to deal with. Greg Rodriguez, District Director for Congressman Raul Ruiz, will also be asked to address issues on the Commission’s list. The Commission discussed giving guest speakers 10 to 15 minutes with a 5-minute Q&A, but left it up to the HRC Chair and Vice Chair to decide what is the appropriate amount of time for each speaker. The speakers will be informed before the meeting as to the amount of time they’ll have so they can prepare their presentations accordingly. The Commission also listed the community events it plans to participate in. Those are: Palm Springs Pride – November Black History Month – February Palm Springs Neighborhood Involvement Committee Picnic & Community Expo – March 7.H Make Commissioner assignments: a. Web page – Chair Dee Dee Wilson Barton recommended leaving the Web page the way it is and change the areas of focus for 2013-14. b. Community Service Awards Subcommittee – Commissioner Zendle to chair and he will ask for volunteers to serve on the subcommittee at the October HRC meeting as well as the deadline for applications and the number of awards. c. Public Relations – Commissioners assigned to a topic will give Vice Chair Newby the content and he will write the news release for each month and will work with the City’s Communication Director. d. Managing the logistics of the Commission’s community outreach (and storage area) – Commissioner Brown Human Rights Commission Minutes Page 3 of 3 Meeting of Sept. 21 2013 3 7.D Discrimination Complaint process – Staff briefly reviewed the process once a Complaint of Discrimination Form is filed. One of the duties of the Commission is to mediate disagreements among individuals, groups and organizations which result from discriminatory practices. The Commission’s Powers and Duties are listed in the ordinance. Currently none of the Commissioners is a trained mediator. Commissioner Brown said because of budget cuts, the Community Action Partnership of Riverside County will only be offering two sets of mediation training classes and he did not see any offered in the Palm Springs area. He said the fee is $225 plus $45 for your life scan. The fee will be waived, he said, if you agree to provide them with 250 hours of mediation service at no cost. Even after you complete the class, Commissioner Brown said, you still have to volunteer a certain number of hours with Riverside Courts. Commissioner Zendle suggested asking former Commissioner Jerry Trussell, who is a trained mediator, to attend the October HRC meeting and the Commissioners can review the ordinance and talk about their role. Vice Chair Newby said former Commissioner Trussell could inform the Commission as to what his mediation experiences have been and the time involved. Commissioner Brown said he would contact former Commissioner Trussell about attending the October meeting. Commissioners each commented on what they got out of the morning’s annual strategic planning session/retreat, the process and what was accomplished. Chair Wilson Barton outlined what would be expected of Commissioners when they are responsible for the guest speaker for the monthly meeting. She said they are to notify the speaker and tell him or her where they are to be and when, how much time he or she will have for their presentation, the Q&A time afterward, ask them to invite some members of their community to attend the meeting, get a new release to Vice Chair Newby two weeks prior to the meeting and invite appropriate community members to hear the speaker. 8. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JULY 8, 2013 MEETING: Following a motion by Commissioner Zendle and second by Vice Chair Newby the minutes from the July 8, 2013 meeting were unanimously approved 9-0. 9. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION / AND OR VOTE: 9.A. Participation in Palm Springs Pride, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 2-3, 2013: Vice Chair Newby made a motion that the Commission have a booth at this year’s Palm Springs Pride Festival and allocate up to $500 if needed to have a booth. Following a second by Commissioner Brown, the motion was unanimously approved (9-0). 9.B Update on the selection of a student representative from Palm Springs High School: Maddie Barton, a freshman, will be the student representative from Palm Springs High School this year. Last year she represented Raymond Cree Middle School on the HRC. 10. AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE OCT. 14, 2013 HRC MEETING: Community Service Awards discussion and Commissioners volunteer to serve on a subcommittee chaired by Commissioner Zendle. Mediation training, information and sign-up. Participation in Palm Springs Pride. Ongoing calendar review and discussion. 11. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 11:35 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Lee A. Bonno Staff Human Rights Commission Liaison Director of Neighborhood & Community Relations