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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993 11-09 HRRMMINUTES 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 NOVEMBER 9, 1993 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Human Rights and Resources Commission met in regular session and was called to order by Chairperson Stoderl at 7:09 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairperson Stoderl, Commissioners Achtelik, Brown, Olsen, and Eckman. Also present were City Council Liaison Dave Rosene and Recording Secretary Geralyn Barone. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - OCTOBER 13. 1993 There was a motion by Eckman and seconded by Achtelik to approve the minutes of the October 13, 1993, meeting as submitted. Commissioner Achtelik made a friendly amendment which was accepted by Commissioner Eckman to amend the minutes of October 13, 1993, as follows: Page 2, last paragraph regarding Brooklyn Peacemaker Center, the sixth sentence should read "Commissioner Achtelik asked why the DeNovo process is an option left up to the merchants rather than letting the police department decide immediately where to send someone". The motion to approve the minutes of October 13, 1993, as amended, passed. EVALUATION PROCESS FOR CONTRACTUAL SERVICE REOUESTS Chairperson Stoderl said the commission will tally points for each contractual services application and discussion will follow. The commissioners proceeded to present their points scored for each evaluation form, and these were then tallied. Commissioner Reiva entered the meeting at 7:42 p.m. A discussion ensued regarding the application from Ride-With-Us Van Pooling Services. Commissioner Brown expressed concern regarding funding a private business and also the possibility of overlap of existing services. Commissioner Eckman noted there is nowhere this service is using volunteers to reduce their expenses. Commissioner Achtelik pointed out this organization is asking for the highest dollar amount of any of the requesting agencies. Commissioner Olsen suggested that instead of getting seed money from the City, this service may be better off working with Hennepin County to get initial funding, possibly through one of the welfare programs. She added the $3.50 to $5.00 charge for a ride bothered her, and 11/09/93 - 1 - she cited other alternatives for participants in work-readiness programs and those going to medical appointments. Commissioner Brown said she sees a need where the main bus lines do not cover certain routes. Councilmember Rosene suggested the commissioners may wish to draft a letter to the MTC that the City had this application but it is not comfortable with it. However, the commission continues to see a need in the northwest suburbs for transit services and would like increased service in this area. Commissioner Olsen pointed out WC is adding some services such as the new route along Brooklyn Boulevard. Chairperson Stoderl suggested the City would be setting a precedent if it funds private entities as opposed to public or nonprofit groups. Commissioner Reiva said he is unclear if this program is directed at getting people to work or if it also enables mothers to get to early childhood classes. He noted the service targets getting low-income people to use it, and added it seems exorbitant to have people in need using taxis for transportation. Commissioner Brown said the Five Cities Senior Transportation Program may be able to expand to include a greater user group other than senior adults. With regard to the Five Cities Senior Transportation Program, Chairperson Stoderl said she would recommend expanding this program to others besides seniors. Commissioner Brown said if Brooklyn Center is part of a pilot program, she would support this. Chairperson Stoderl said the North Hennepin Mediation Project now has the domestic abuse program as part of its organization. Commissioner Olsen asked if volunteers are used for the domestic abuse program, and the Recording Secretary said they are used extensively for this. Commissioner Reiva said he sees some overlap between NHMP and Brooklyn Peacemaker Center. Commissioner Achtelik said both are a resource to the community. She suggested BPC gets around what the County is recommending by going directly to the merchants and suggesting they come directly to BPC. She added the police do have to be notified in these situations, but the merchants can choose to go to BPC. Commissioner Achtelik expressed concern that if merchants go directly to BPC, the statistics would not be picked up by the County. She added there are no statistics on whether or not the juveniles are second offenders or not. Commissioner Reiva said he found the methodology used by BPC to be weak. Commissioner Achtelik pointed out that BPC is asking for two times as much money as NHMP, which provides the same services at no charge. BPC charges on a sliding scale fee basis. Chairperson Stoderl reviewed the number of Brooklyn Center residents using NHMP and BPC. Commissioner Brown reviewed the budget numbers and administrative costs for these organizations. Chairperson Stoderl suggested BPC should request money from other entities because although the crimes occur in Brooklyn Center, the offenders often are not Brooklyn Center residents. 11/09/93 -2- The commission continued its earlier discussion regarding the van-pooling service. Chairperson Stoderl said a need has been identified, but alternative funding resources need to be explored. There was discussion regarding Brooklyn Center being the only city asked by the van pooling service for funds. There was a motion by Commissioner Achtelik and seconded by Commissioner Olsen to forward to the city council the following rankings as established by the human rights and resources commission to be used by the city council during its budget review process: ProgramLAgencv_ Ranking North Hennepin Mediation Project 96.8 Northwest Hennepin Human Services Council 94.5 Brooklyn Peacemaker Center/Juvenile Diversion Program 81.2 Five Cities Senior Transportation Project 78.0 Ride-With-Us Van Pooling Services 56.9 The motion passed. The Recording Secretary noted several of the organizations funded by the City have been established by joint powers agreements with other jurisdictions and are not like other nonprofit agencies. There was a question whether or not the joint powers agencies need to continue participating in this evaluation process, and the consensus of the commission is to continue doing so. Chairperson Stoderl suggested the city council may wish to further discuss this issue. GENERIC EVALUATION FORM Chairperson Stoderl summarized the differences between the human rights and resources commission's forms for contractual services and the draft generic form as proposed by the financial commission. It was recommended on page 4 of the application form that an item 15a be added that would ask the percent of Brooklyn Center residents served out of the total served. The Recording Secretary suggested on page 2 with regard to the budget, a second column be added that would include the current budget year with the other column being designated as the requested budget year. The commission reviewed the evaluation form and made no changes to it. There was a motion by Commissioner Brown and seconded by Commissioner Achtelik to approve the draft of the generic forms for contractual services as proposed by the finance commission with the recommendation of adding item 15a on the application form to include the percent of Brooklyn Center residents served out of the total served, and to add on page 2 of the form a column heading of current budget year and requested budget year for the budget information. The motion passed. JOINT MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL AND ADVISORY COMMISSIONS Chairperson Stoderl said there is a need to begin planning the joint meeting of the advisory commissions with the city council. There was a review of last year's meeting format and a discussion of the direction to pursue for the 1994 meeting. The Recording Secretary was 11/09/93 -3- asked to check on the feasibility of producing a video which would indicate department activities. Information from the 1993 joint meeting will be included in the next agenda packet for the commission. The proposed date of the joint meeting is February 9, 1994. The Recording Secretary will check on the availability of Constitution Hall. HERITAGE FESTIVAL Chairperson Stoderl said the Heritage Festival is scheduled for this Saturday, November 13, and greeters are needed. She added Mary Welch of the Chamber of Commerce asked if the commission wanted to do a booth this year, and because there was not enough time, it was suggested this be put on next year's commission agenda for discussion. Chairperson Stoderl said Welch found no need for the commission to finish indexing the cards it had received at the September meeting. The commission would still like to have Welch attend either the March or April commission meeting to discuss the 1994 Heritage Festival. BIAS RESPONSE PLAN Chairperson Stoderl suggested this be included on the December agenda and could be part of the discussion with the city attorney. DECEMBER AGENDA ITEMS The following items were deferred to the December agenda: League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions' update, community service awards, 1994 Martin Luther King Day/Black History Month activities, Americans with Disabilities Act, and collocation of social services. UPDATE ON CHILDREN'S ISSUES Commissioner Achtelik encouraged everyone to attend the forum on youth and violence in Brooklyn Park scheduled for November 10, 1993. Commissioner Reiva left the meeting at 8:55 p.m. TRANSIT Chairperson Stoderl suggested asking Mayor Paulson to attend the April commission meeting to provide an update on transit activities. COMMUNITY RESOURCE LIST This item was put on hold for the time being. HUMAN RIGHTS ORDINANCE Chairperson Stoderl reminded the commissioners the city attorney will be in attendance at the December meeting to review human rights' ordinances. COMMUNITY EDUCATION Chairperson Stoderl asked that this item be placed as the main discussion item in January. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST RENTERS, Councilmember Rosene noted State Representative Phil Carruthers held a town meeting, and there was discussion regarding groups working to prevent the screening of tenants for 11/09/93 -4- rental units. CASH is one of these groups, and Councilmember Rosene said a representative of CASH was asked to meet with the housing commission to discuss this. LITERACY PROGRAMS Chairperson Stoderl gave Commissioner Olsen information regarding School District 286's literacy programs. OTHER BUSINESS Chairperson Stoderl noted that Commissioner Windsor had not been able to attend many of the past commission meetings. Commissioner Eckman said Commissioner Windsor is scheduled for work on Wednesday evenings and has asked to be removed from the commission. The Recording Secretary asked Eckman to contact Windsor and ask her to submit a resignation letter. Chairperson Stoderl reviewed correspondence from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights which is holding a Human Rights Day on December 3. This is an all-day conference, and the department is looking for input on it. Commissioners can call Tracie Elftmann at 296-5667. Chairperson Stoderl said the City of Edina had a human rights meeting, but there was only a week's notice given. She requested better notice for future meetings. NEXT MEETING It was noted the City's truth-in-taxation budget hearing is scheduled for December 8, which is also the next regularly scheduled commission meeting. It was suggested that if the city attorney is available to meet on December 1, the meeting should be changed to this evening. If not, the meeting will be left on December 8. Chairperson Stoderl invited commissioners to bring holiday treats to the December meeting. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Eclunan and seconded by Commissioner Olsen to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Human Rights and Resources Commission adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Chairperson • 11/09/93 -5-