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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994 05-11 HRRM1 MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND RESOURCES COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION MAY 11, 1994 CITY ffikLL CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center human rights and resources commission met in regular session and was called to order by Chairperson Eoloff. ROLL CALL Chairperson Eoloff, Commissioners Olsen, Henry, Achtelik, Brown, Maddox and Reiva. Also present were Councilmember Dave Rosene and Staff Liaison Kim Moore-Sykes, recording secretary. Guests included City Manager Gerald Splinter and Giselle Grunwald. Ms. Grunwald is an American Red Cross certified instructor specializing in AIDS/HIV awareness education. She discussed the need to have more education and awareness of the HIV virus and AIDS, especially among the young people in Brooklyn Center. She said at this age, kids think they are invincible; that nothing, even AIDS, can hurt them. She wants to have all information available to anyone, child or adult, who requests it. Grunwald feels that if she could teach about AIDS in the local schools, she would be able to reach more people and, hopefully, affect their decisions to take precautions to prevent contracting the HIV virus. She wants correct and accurate information to be disseminated in the schools without judgments on lifestyle or personal preference getting into the discussion. Grunwald reported that little to no funds are allocated through state or federal monies for HIV education - approximately only $0.05 per child is provided. To date, she has not been able to talk with anyone at the schools. Council Liaison Rosene and the City Manager said they would try to have someone return her calls so that this kind of educational program will be scheduled for next school year's curriculum. Discussion. The City Manager promised to have staff call school officials to inform them about Ms. Grunwald and her program. APPROVAL OF MINUTES There was a correction to the minutes of April 13, 1994: Approval of Minutes, the statement reads "Use a Commissioner teleprompter for taped speeches"; the word "Commissioner" should be removed from that line. There was a motion by Commissioner Brown and seconded by Commissioner Achtelik to approve the minutes of the April 13, 1994, meeting as amended. The motion passed. i 05/11/94 - 1 - APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Olsen and seconded by Commissioner Achtelik to ' approve the agenda of the April 13, 1994, meeting. The motion passed. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT REGARDING DIVERSITY PLANNING The City Manager reported that of the $8,000 available to the human rights and resources commission, $1,000 is ear-marked for the Heritage Festival and $500 has been spent on the joint council/commission meeting, leaving a balance of $6,500 to be used in developing a diversity plan. He said the commission's first step would be to develop ideas and from these ideas, form a plan. He reported that in the past, the difficult part of this task has been to develop contacts within the minority populations in Brooklyn Center to find out what they feel is needed. He has tried to develop these contacts in the churches, which has been unsuccessful except in the Southeast Asian communities. He feels it's important to establish and develop these contacts so they can be involved in the development of diversity training for the City staff and the community as a whole. It is the only way to effectively affect racism and bigotry in the community. From there an effective, on-going educational program needs to be developed. The commission needs to determine where to begin and keep building from that point. The commission, with the help of minority contacts, needs to determine what elements should be addressed in terms of strategy, plans, resources, program evaluation, etc. Discussion. Ideas resulting from the discussion are to have town meetings, theatrical productions, play readings, puppet shows, visual arts, videos and movie-style videos, active (participatory) theater, etc. Council Liaison Rosene suggested using the Entertainment in the Parks series to expand on the idea of incorporating theatrical productions. The City Manager also suggested using the Heritage Festival as a vehicle to advance diversity education in the community. Discussion. Commissioner Henry suggested attending a meeting with the African-American Northwest Community Association as there would be an opportunity to meet the members to discuss these various issues. The City Manager accepted the invitation. He felt that communication needs to be opened up and maintained on a regular basis to build trust. This sort of relationship cannot be established, developed, and maintained when there is a crisis situation involving the minority community. Again, Commissioner Henry reiterated that minorities within the community of Brooklyn Center should be included in this discussion; ask what they want, what do they think will begin to make a difference. SUMMER MEETINGS Chairperson Eoloff brought up for discussion the need for summer meetings. She said it seems the commission has a lot of work to do, and she cannot see how the commission can break for the summer. She suggested the commission meet throughout the summer. Discussion. There was a motion by Commissioner Achtelik and seconded by Commissioner Olsen that the human rights and resources commission will continue to meet throughout the summer. The motion passed. NORTH ST. PAUL MEETING Commissioner Brown reported on the meeting she was asked to attend by a group in North St. i Paul who want to start a human rights commission. She reported it went well and that doing 05/11/94 -2- M the research for the presentation reminded her of the history of Brooklyn Center's own human • rights and resources commission. She said she enjoyed doing both the research and the presentation. TRANSPORTATION Commissioner Olsen reported on the public hearing regarding the proposed Hub at Brookdale and other MTC routes that would help the senior citizens who have a problem getting affordable transportation to their doctors appointments. Discussion. VICE-CHAIR APPOINTMENT Chairperson Eoloff appointed Tracey Olsen as vice-chair. NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the human rights and resources commission is scheduled for June 11, 1994, at 7:00 p.m. Mort Ryweck will be invited to attend. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Achtelik and seconded by Commissioner Maddox to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The human rights and resources commission adjourned at 9:20 p.m. • Chairman • 05/11/94 -3-