HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-13 HRC Minutes FinalHUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
of the
City of Palm Springs
Minutes from the January 13, 2014 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
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
6
6
5
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
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 Jan. 13, 2014
1. Chair Wilson Barton called the meeting to order at 3 p.m. in the City Council Chamber
2. The Palm Springs High School AFJROTC Cadets led the flag salute.
3. Student representative Maddie Barton 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 also were
present.
5. POSTING OF THE AGENDA: The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act on or before 6
p.m., on Jan. 9, 2014.
6. PUBLIC COMMENT: John Tymon said he would wait to make his comments at another Commission
meeting.
7. AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE FEB. 10, 2014 HRC MEETING: Chair Wilson Barton said Commissioners
could contact Staff Liaison Lee Bonno if they had agenda items for the February meeting.
8. PRESENTION: Assisted by Palm Springs City Councilmember Paul Lewin, the Commission presented its
Community Service Awards to:
• Roy’s Desert Resource Center, the first comprehensive homeless center built in the western
Coachella Valley.
• Denise Chappell, started her career as a special education teacher and now serves as principal for
the Riverside County Office of Education.
• Veterans for Peace, part of national non-profit organization dedicated to the abolishment of war.
The local chapter was chartered in 2006 and has donated and maintained peace poles in the
Coachella Valley.
• After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program, sponsored by the Palm Springs Unified School
District and the Family YMCA of the Desert, provides homework assistance, enrichment and
physical fitness and serves 1,900 students at 21 schools a day in the Coachella Valley.
Human Rights Commission Minutes Page 2 of 2
Meeting of Jan. 13, 2014
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• Trina Parks, the first African American (James) Bond girl who later joined the Palm Spring Follies. A
motion picture, TV, dance personality, she has been involved in the school district, parks and rec,
James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center and supports many local charities.
• David Tallman and the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs provide a Sunday pancake
breakfast for the homeless and the hungry. The program recently started serving breakfast on
Tuesdays as well as Sundays.
• Ophelia Project, which supports at-risk teen-aged girls. Currently they have female volunteer
mentors who work with 400 young women in nine valley schools.
• Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D., who founded the Coachella Valley Health Care Initiative and also
established the Future Physician Leaders Program, which supports the aspirations of young
people to build a career in medicine.
• The Desert Sun, for its work with the Tolerance Education Center profiling 30 unique families and
for its recent addition of the Desert Outlook magazine, which focuses on the LGBT community.
• Sid Craig, former Chair of the Human Rights Commission, who elevated the HRC’s profile during
his six years on the Commission and is involved in many non-profit activities and organizations in
the community.
Councilmember Lewin, who has attended the Community Service Awards presentations for three years, said he
has been so impressed with the caliber and quality of the recipients. He also thanked the Commissioners,
saying each year he has been “blown away” by the amount of thought and care they put into their work and the
people they select to receive the awards.
11. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lee A. Bonno
Staff Human Rights Commission Liaison
Director of Neighborhood & Community Relations