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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-04-14 HRC Minutes Draft HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION of the City of Palm Springs Minutes from the April 14, 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 0 X X 0 X X X 8 9 9 9 7 9 8 8 9 8 4 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 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 April 14, 2014 1. Chair Wilson Barton called the meeting to order at 3 p.m. 2. Student representative Sunny Rolfs led the flag salute. 3. Student representative Maddie Barton recited the Mission Statement. 4. Commissioners Present: Brown, Chandrasena, Chvany (arrived at 3:07 p.m. during public comment), Newby, Rankins, Wilson Barton and Zendle. Student representatives Maddie Barton and Sunny Rolfs also were present. Commissioners Absent: Hunt and Sutton-Weiss, both excused. 5. POSTING OF THE AGENDA: The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act on or before 6 p.m., on April 10, 2014. 6. PUBLIC COMMENT: Melinda Tremaglio, president of the Palm Springs National Organization of Women, spoke about the ratio of men to women employed by the City of Palm Springs, in management jobs with the City and on City Boards and Commissions. Sh e also said there are 14 seats open on the various Boards and Commissions and she encouraged women to apply. Adrian Sanchez and Liz Go, both juniors at Xavier College Preparatory High School in Palm Desert, spoke about the summit on human dignity and a recent border immersion trip. Adrian said through these events the school has tried to have students become immersed in current issues such as immigration reform. He said through educating students in these matters, they are being prepared for life as a citizen of this nation. He said public schools should also encourage this interaction with the community and current issues. 7. SPEAKERS: Chair Wilson Barton handed out statistics she had compiled from numbers obtained from the City. She said women make up 43 percent of the population in Palm Springs, 36 percent of the City’s full- time employees are women, about one in four management employees are women and 23 percent of City Board and Commission members are women (see attachment). Chair Wilson Barton said the numbers don’t indicate there is anything wrong with Palm Springs, but that the City is struggling as are other cities across the country – that this is a national issue. She asked how women are recruited, how women leaders are developed, how do we go out into the community and get more women to apply for positions with the City and apply for positions with the Commissions. Chair Wilson Barton said to address some of Human Rights Commission Minutes Page 2 of 4 Meeting of April 14, 2014 2 these issues, you have to look at whether we are speaking to issues that have to do with child car e, translation and transportation because, as an advocate in the school system, she said a lot of the moms in the school district need help with transportation, child care or translation in order to be come a part of giving community service and giving their voice. She recommended the City have a task force or a commission looking at the status of women for a year or two. Commissioner Rankins asked how Palm Springs compares nationally and what are the numbers for women of color. He also said a couple of years ago when the topic of women’s issues came up, none of the women on the Human Rights Commission volunteered to take that topic. Commissioner Zendle said he thinks the City Council is aware of the balance of the various commissions, but he said, in response to the numbers, the Commission doesn’t know that the City hasn’t been doing anything. Commissioner Zendle said it’s probably easy to reach incorrect conclusions. He said it would be good to have the Human Resources director attend a Commission meeting and speak about what things have been done in the past, what things could be done in the future and would the HR Department like any help from the Commission. Susan Francis, CEO of the Healthy Family Foundation, spoke about the Ophelia Project, a progra m that that they have been conducting for 16 years in the desert. They are about to complete their second year in Palm Springs. The enrichment program for girls is at Raymond Cree Middle School and Palm Springs High School. School counselors who know something about the girls’ home lives, or challenges they are encountering at school, recommend the students for the program . Ms. Francis said they meet with the girls twice a month during the school day. The curriculum is focused on social skills – the soft skills set. Ms. Francis said the Ophelia Project is about empowering the students to be come strong, independent women and to think for themselves. To date, they have served 2,300 girls in the Coachella Valley. She also spoke about Ophelia mentors and the training involved. 8. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 10, 2014 MEETING: Following a motion by Commissioner Zendle and second by Vice Chair Newby, the minutes were unanimously approved (Commissioners Hunt and Sutton-Weiss absent). 9. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION / AND OR VOTE 9.A Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast May 22, 9:30 a.m. at the Hilton Palm Springs: Vice Chair Newby said the Palm Springs Pride organization is one of the major sponsors of the breakfast and tickets are $35 each. The keynote speaker is Kate Kendell from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and r eceiving the Harvey B. Milk Leadership Award of the Coachella Valley will be Elle Kurpiewski, better known as "Elle K". Vice Chair Newby made a motion for Commissioners who want to attend and be reimbursed to submit their paid recipient to City staff. Following a second by Commissioner Zendle, the motion was unanimously approved (Commissioners Hunt and Sutton-Weiss absent). Six Commissioners indicated they were interested in attending. 9.B Update on mediation training: This item was tabled until May. 9.C Ongoing calendar review, topics and discussion: The Commission had talked about having an offsite event addressing senior issues. Vice Chair Newby said he found a film that he feels is appropriate for this topic and will have more details at the May Commission meeting including information on individuals he is asking to participate. He suggested having the event at the Mizell Senior Center in the late afternoon; possibly at 5 p.m. Chair W ilson Barton said she will follow up with Commissioner Sutton-Weiss regarding a speaker to address the Commission at the May meeting on the topic of human trafficking. For the June meeting, Commissioner Brown has invited speakers to address the topic of homelessness/poverty. Commissioner Brown said one of the speakers is from Roy’s Desert Resource Center and the other is from Well in the Desert. He also has spoken to some homeless people who might address the Commission during public comment. Commissioner Brown also said he has a copy of the City’s new sit -lie ordinance and staff suggested having the Police Chief attend the meeting to address the ordinance. For July the topic is religious intolerance and Commissioner Zendle has invited Reymundo Nour, an Imam with the Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley to speak on the issue of Islamophobia in the Coachella Valley. 9.D Review of participation in the Palm Springs Neighborhood Involvement Committee Picnic & Community Expo: The Commission received a thank you letter for its participation. Commissioner Zendle Human Rights Commission Minutes Page 3 of 4 Meeting of April 14, 2014 3 said he thought the event was great. Commissioner Rankins said he thought the layout was better this year. 9.E Discuss the possibility of changing the time the Commission meets and the length of Commi ssion meetings: Chair Wilson Barton said people have told her they cannot attend a 3 p.m. meeting because they work. She asked if the Commission would entertain the idea of starting the meeting at 4 or 5 p.m. After discussion, no change to the meeting time was made. Regarding the length of Commission meetings, staff clarified that there is not a time limit on the meetings – they do not have to conclude after an hour or ninety minutes. Commissioner Zendle said there reall y are two parts to the meetings – the presentation/guest speakers and then the business of the Commission. Regarding how much of the monthly meeting the Commission wants to devote to guest speakers and discussion on their topics, Commissioner Zendle said it shouldn’t be more than 20 or 25 minutes. Commissioner Chvany said sometimes people aren’t interested in a topic because they don’t know much about it or it is not in their field of interest. She said it might be in their field of interest if they heard more about it, which is why the Commission selected the topic, to add to public understanding and awareness. She said she wouldn’t’ rule out having more time for the presentations. Vice Chair Newby said he would be surprised if any of the presentations in the last few months even approached 20 minutes – most of them have been 5, or 10 minutes at the most. Chair Wilson Barton said the guideline they came up with in September was about 5 minutes for the guest speakers and 5 minutes for Q&A. Commissioner Brown said he agrees with Commissioner Chvany and is proud that the Commission now has guest speakers. He said the Commission is here to serve and teach the community. 10. STUDENT COMMENTS: Student Representative Sunny Rolfs said since they have started the Olweus program at Raymond Cree Middle School, the number of suspensions has decreased and no student has been expelled. Maddie Barton said the bullying program is continuing at the high school and the band recently returned from China and Taiwan. She spoke about her experiences and impressions of Beijing and Taipei. 11. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: Commissioner Zendle spoke about the recent shootings in Kansas that occurred on Palm Sunday, the day before Passover. A Web site states the shooter arrested in the killing of three individuals outside the Jewish institutions in Overland Park, Kansas is a white supremacist with a long history of promoting anti-Semitism and racism, according to a backgrounder released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Commissioner Zendle said two of the victims were Methodists – a grandfather and his grandson and the other victim was a Catholic woman visiting her mother in the nursing home. He said the Commission talks about hatred and human rights and every day these issues confront us and we need to pause again, to reme mber why we want to promote human rights on this Commission and why these issues are important to us. Vice Chair Newby said he received an email from the Jewish Federation of the Desert warning their community and the people they serve to be on the lookout for problems. That incident has sent shivers up the spines of a lot of people in the Jewish community, he said. Vice Chair Newby asked if Perry Madison, the City’s Director of Human Resources, could update the Commission on the cultural diversity/cultural humility program and any response or feedback he has received. Commissioner Chandrasena thanked the staff and students at Xavier for taking part in the conversation on immigration and making it an important part of their curriculum. Chair Wilson Barton spoke from the perspective of a parent of a band student traveling to Beijing and Taipe i. She also said there was no shortage of young women growing into leaders at today’s Commission meeting. Chair Wilson Barton also said she was proud of the work the Commission is doing and how Commissioners are taking ownership of their topic each month. 12. STAFF COMMENTS: None 13. AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE MAY 12, 2014 HRC MEETING: Human trafficking will be addressed. Invite the City’s HR Director Perry Madison to address whether the City has noticed a discrepancy between the number of men and women employed with the City and on Boards and Commissions, has the City addressed it before, how has it been addressed and would the City like the Commission’s help in addressing it as well as possible next steps. Also, the Commission would like Mr. Madison to give an update on the City’s cultural diversity/cultural humility program. Vice Chair Newby also will have information about addressing the topic of senior issues. 14. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 4:11 p.m. Human Rights Commission Minutes Page 4 of 4 Meeting of April 14, 2014 4 Respectfully submitted, Lee A. Bonno Staff Human Rights Commission Liaison Director of Neighborhood & Community Relations