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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-09-04 HRC Regular Minutes FINAL Human Rights Commission CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA 0 MINUTES Regular Meeting Monday, April 9, 2018 Palm Springs City Hall  3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way Council Chamber Present Present FY 2017/2018 FY 2017/2018 This Meeting to Date Excused Absences Unexcused Absences Terri Andrade 0 Jilska Chandrasena X 9 Denise Chappell, Vice Chair X 9 Sam Ciraulo X 7 2 Ron deHarte, Chair X 9 Jim Gross X 8 1 Ryan Miccio X 1 David Morgan X 9 Nicki Randolph X 9 Zjarvre Crawford, Student Rep, Not Present Other Staff Present: Jay Virata, Community and Economic Development Director Dale Cook, Community Development Administrator, Staff Liaison 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chair deHarte called the meeting to order at 3:02P.M. 2. MISSION STATEMENT: “The mission of the Palm Springs Human Rights Commission is to promote and protect the diversity of our community and to improve human relations through ed ucation and community awareness” 3. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Miccio and Commissioner Andrade are two newly sworn Commissioners for the Human Rights Commission. Commissioner Andrade arrived late due to being sworn in. 4. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Tamika Foots-Rachal, Regional Manager for the State Council of Developmental Disabilities , informed of a new Select Committee established by Governor Brown to address systemic issues for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She further shared a handout of upcoming training opportunities. Commissioners needing technical assistance regarding the impacts to people with disabilities were encouraged to contact Ms. Foots-Rachal directly or any of her staff. Robert Heinbaught, Palm Springs, commented in favor of the County Ordinance 838.1 - Tobacco Retail License Permit. Mr. Heinbaught shared the steps that have been taken to move the Tobacco Retail License Permit forward in Palm Springs. A designated Commissioner to assist with the protection of Human Rights Commission Regular Meeting Minutes April 9, 2018 Page 2 minors from the Tobacco Industry and a Commission letter of support was requested to help bring it before City Council. 5. COMMISSIONER, STAFF AND STUDENT COMMENTS: Commissioner Miccio – Shared his background experience and interest on serving on the Commission. Commissioner Andrade arrived at 3:11 p.m. Commissioner Andrade – Shared her background experience and interest on serving on the Commission. Commissioner Gross – Commented on the ONE-PS Picnic & Community Expo having a good showing with a lot of interesting tables. A good number of survey responses were received. He thanked all Commissioners who supported it. Commissioner Randolph – Suggested the Commission put the Palm Springs smoking issues/policies on the Agenda for next month. Vice Chair Chappell – Commented on the ONE-PS Picnic & Community Expo. Thought having surveys was a good way to get interest and tell people about the Human Rights Commission. Chair deHarte – Acknowledged the student organized event, March for our Live’s held on March 24 th, 2018, as being the most moving and powerful gatherings that he’s witnessed in Palm Springs. He would like to recognize the student organizers at a future point. 6. GUEST SPEAKER: Riverside County Office on Aging Chair deHarte introduced guest speaker Steven Geist from Riverside County Office on Aging. Mr. Geist was invited to speak as a key stakeholder to provide top level briefing that examines the primary facets and challenges impacting seniors in Palm Springs. Mr. Geist gave his presentation sharing his background experience and described the analyzed reports/studies and services provided by Riverside County Office on Aging. A needs assessment handout that developed into their 4-year annual plan (2016-2020) was presented in detail of the identified key issues for seniors. A handout that described the income, benefits and cost of living for elders was also discussed and shared. Comments and questions from the Commissioners and Staff Liaison were presented and discussed. Chair deHarte thanked Mr. Geist for his presentation on behalf of the Commission. 7. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND/OR VOTE: A. Master Calendar – Commissioner Chandrasena Commissioner Chandrasena – All parades are finished. We have our Desert Highland Gateway Estates Community Association Meeting tomorrow. That meeting is held every other month. B. Subcommittees – Chair deHarte and Vice Chair Chappell Internal:  CDBG Citizen’s Advisory Committee – Chair deHarte Chair deHarte – Our role is finished. City Council approved the CDBG allocations last week as recommended by the Committee. This item will not be addressed further until next year.  Community Outreach & Marketing – Commissioners Chandrasena, Gross, Morgan and Randolph Commissioner Morgan – The Subcommittee will be meeting afterwards to discuss table talk scheduling and marketing material that will be presented at our next regular Commission meeting. Commissioner Morgan brought-up the suggestion of having Instagram as their social media outlet to promote themselves and would like to have it as an voting item for next month’s agenda. Human Rights Commission Regular Meeting Minutes April 9, 2018 Page 3 A brief conversation followed among the Commission and Staff Liaison. Mr. Cook will be looking into what the City Policy is regarding utilizing social media outlets.  Student Representatives – Vice Chair Chappell, Commissioners Chandrasena, Ciraulo, and Morgan Vice Chair Chappell – Commissioner Ciraulo and I have shared our strategy ideas with the subcommittee. Commissioner Morgan has an appointment tomorrow with Dr. Anne Kalisek, Executive Director of Student Support Service in Palm Springs Unified School District and will provide the subcommittee with an update of that meeting. Our concern is that we want to keep our purpose but see representation from various walks not just streamlined to a particular student or a particular group. An application process has been discussed.  Senior and Dependent Adult Bill of Rights – Chair deHarte, Commissioners Gross and Ciraulo Commissioner Gross – Great cooperation from Mizell Senior Center. Ms. Susan Spencer , Director of Falls Prevention Program at Mizell Senior Center and I are the point people for pulling this town hall together. A list of agencies confirmed and details of the Town Hall /Fair Event held on Monday, May 14, 2018 from 8:30 to 12:00pm was shar ed. A hardcopy of the list will be provided to Mr. Cook for distribution to the rest of the Commission. Comments and questions among the Commissioners were presented and discussed regarding the Town Hall/Fair Event. Chair deHarte – Jewish Family Services was invited and will be the presenting to the Commission in May and possibly another guest speaker will be invited in June. After speaker invitations are wrapped-up, the Commission will assemble and determine if a policy suggestion or a Bill of Rights will be submitted to City Council. External:  Desert Highland Gateway Estates Community Association – Commissioner Chandrasena Confirmation of attendance to the next Desert Highland Gateway Estates Community Association meeting held on April 10, 2018 was not confirmed during the meeting due to conflict scheduling and will be discussed afterwards with the Community Outreach and Marketing Subcommittee.  Homelessness Task Force – Commissioner Ciraulo Mr. Cook - The next Homelessness Task Force Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 4:00p.m. The meeting Agenda is going through the approval process and will be release d Tuesday or Wednesday. Commissioner Ciraulo – I will not be able to attend the meeting. If anyone would like to represent the Commission at the meeting or if you would like to be the permanent Commissioner representing I’m happy to step aside. Commissioner Andrade – Volunteered to be the Human Rights Commission representative at the Homelessness Task Force.  Main Street Palm Springs – Chair deHarte - Chair deHarte – No human rights related issues came up. Human Rights Commission Regular Meeting Minutes April 9, 2018 Page 4  Organized Neighborhoods of Palm Springs (ONE-PS) – Commissioner Gross Commissioner Gross – Reported the picnic and the Human Rights Commission table being very successful with a substantially big turn-out. The March for our Lives occurred in the first hour and a half then dovetailed nicely. More people are aware of the Commission and I’m glad we were there. The sun was our enemy this year. Chair deHarte – Requested that Commissioner Gross write a one to two paragraph summarization of his report that includes his key suggestions for next year with the pop -up tent being priority. The summary is to be provided to Mr. Cook so that it may be brought -up during next year’s planning.  PSPD LGBT Outreach Committee – Chair deHarte Chair deHarte – The Town Hall meeting with Palm Springs Police Chief Reyes took place. It was well attended by City officials and 50+ Community members. Good dialogue on community concerns. A wonderful reduction in crime statistics across the board, year over year was reported. The Chief, the Police Department, Community collaborations and the ONE-PS neighborhoods attributed a lot of that improvement. The next Town Hall meeting we’re sponsoring will be in April 2019. C. HRC Finance Subcommittee Commissioner Randolph and Commissioner Miccio volunteered to be on the HRC Finance Subcommittee to manage the HRC Annual Budget. A discussion ensued among the Commission and Staff Liaison regarding but not limited to the following: budget expenditures and allocations, sponsorships, annual budget process and challenges, donations and marketing materials. Commissioners were encouraged to provide their input to the subcommittee regarding the budget. It was agreed that the subcommittee will be addressing the budget for 2019 with a proposed budget of $2,000. D. Topical Newsworthy Items Vice Chair Chappell – I’m happy to see that we have two new Commissioners on board with us. Pink Human Rights Commission shirts that are available and I can show you how to get them if you’re interested. Commissioner Chandrasena comm ented on a training opportunity. However, it was confirmed that the details and content of the event was not yet available for the Commission to consider participating. She further announced that she will be working with the Marketing and Outreach Subcommittee on putting flyers together for next year’s ONE-PS Picnic and Community Expo that identifies organizations working with elder population and disconnected youth. Community & Economic Development Director, Mr. Virata – Provided an update on the City’s affordable housing in response to Commissioner Randolph inquiry. Comments and questions were presented and discussed. Commissioner Randolph – Commented on her personal experience with the challenges of health care coverages. This led to further comments among the Commissioners surrounding health care, people in crisis who can’t get help, loop holes and public guardianship. Mr. Cook – The City Council will have an ad-hoc budget subcommittee meeting/town hall at 9:00p.m. at the Council Chambers. The City Council will hold their second informal community Human Rights Commission Regular Meeting Minutes April 9, 2018 Page 5 forum conversation on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 form 5:30p.m. to 7:30p.m. at the Palm Springs Convention Center. A copy of the press release surrounding both events was distributed to all Commission members. At the result of a strawpoll gathered by Chair deHarte, the Commission will be recognizing the student organizers of the March for our Lives event before the school year is out. 8. AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT HRC MEETING: The following items were brought forward and briefly discussed by Commissioners and agreed to by the Commission to be added: 1. Discussion on Smoking Regulations in Palm Springs for the Commissions June meeting (Brought forward by Commissioner Randolph) 2. Social Media (Brought forward by Commissioner Morgan) 3. Changing meeting time (Brought forward by Chair deHarte) 9. ANNOUNCEMENTS: - None Reported. 10: ADJOURNMENT: The Commission adjourned at 4:42 P.M. to a Regular Meeting, Monday, May 14, 2018, at 3:00 P.M. in the Large Conference Room, City Hall, 3200 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, California. Respectfully submitted, Annie J. Rodriguez Housing Program Assistant