Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979 06-20 HRRMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HUr1AN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE-STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION JUNE 20, 1979 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Human Rights Commission met in regular session and was called to order by Chairman Weyrauch at 7:35 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairman Weyrauch, Commissioners Miller, Tolve, Kuhar, Johnson and Reichgott. Also present was Administrative Assistant Mary Harty. Chairman Weyrauch noted Commissioners Campion and Lemke were not present and bad not been excused. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - 4-18-79 There was a motion by Commissioner Reichgott and seconded by Commissioner Kuhar to approve the minutes of the April 18, 1979 Human Rights Commission meeting. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 5-16-79 No official Human Rights Commission meeting was held on May 16, 1979 because a quorum was not present. DISCUSSION OF NO FAULT GRIEVANCE PROCESS Chairman Weyrauch noted Administrative Assistant Mary Harty had given him a copy of a letter to Commission members from the new Department of Human Rights Com- missioner, Marilyn McClure. Included with the letter was a copy of a speech delivered by Commissioner McClure at the annual meeting of the League of Human Rights Commissions on June 8, 1979. In that speech, Commissioner McClure briefly outlined the No Fault Grievance Process as a substitute for the Memor- andum of Agreement. Chairman Weyrauch again briefly explained why the City of Brooklyn Center had not signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the State Department-of Human Rights in the past. The No Fault Grievance Process was discussed briefly and Commissioners expressed-an interest in receiving more information on the No Fault Grievance Process. It was suggested that a repre- sentative of the State Department of Human Rights should be asked to attend a Brooklyn Center Human Rights Commission meeting and explain the No Fault Grievance Process in greater detail. The letter from Commissioner McClure had announced that Linda Gilbertson, a member of the State Department of Human Rights staff,. had been assigned to work as the State Department's liaison. with Commissions. It was suggested that Linda Gilbertson be invited to attend the July Human Rights Commission meeting. Administrative Assistant Mary Harty stated she would call the State Department of Human Rights and invite Linda Gilbertson to attend the July Human Rights Commission meeting which was 'scheduled for Wednesday,. July 18, 19 79 . Chairman Weyrauch suggested it might be appropriate to also invite the Mayor, ® the City Council and the City Manager to the same meeting so that they too would have an understanding of the No Fault Grievance Process and be able to make a determination as to whether or not the Human Rights Commission should become involved in the No Fault Grievance Process. It was the consensus of the Com- mission that they wished to invite the Mayor, the City Council and City Manager to the July meeting. 6-20-79 -1T 1U\Nu i:CAPPED ACCESSIBILITY BOOKLET Chairman Weyrauch and Commissioner Kuhar stated they had read through the draft booklet a:,d do not wish to make any changes. Other information in the booklet had been verified. Chairman Weyrauch stated he had attempted to get in touch with Ccrmnissioner Campion concerning the photographs but was unable to reach him. Chairman Weyrauch suggested the booklet should be printed without the pictures in order to complete it. Administrative Assistant Mary Harty stated she had called Commissioner Lemke and Commissioner Lemke had indicated she might be interested in doing the introduction but had not returned a call stating conclusively that she would do the introduction and Commissioner Lemke was not present at this Commission meeting. Chairman Weyrauch asked Administrative Assistant Mary Harty to prepare the introduction. Chairman Weyrauch again stated the booklet would be completed in 8z x 11 form. There was a motion by Commissioner Kuhar and seconded by Commissioner Miller to go ahead with typing and printing the booklet in $=2 x 11 form. The motion passed unanimously. DISCUSSION AND DECISION ON ACTIVITIES FOR 1979 Chairman Weyrauch noted a quorum had not been present at the May meeting; therefore, no decisions had been made on activities for 1979. Chairman Weyrauch reviewed what he had been doing with the surrounding school districts. He indicated Brooklyn Center-School District and the Osseo School District were interested in the Human Rights Commission putting together a career evening for students, parents and certain employers. Commissioner Miller stated he also had pursued presenting materials in an educational setting. He stated he had dealt with several contact people and had discussed the passibility of their contributing to something like this and they had indicated an interest. Commissioner Tolve stated she was interested in coordinating a panel discussion given by handicapped people before the Chamber of Commerce. A panel of handicapped people could dispell certain myths which have the potential effect of discouraging employers from hiring handicapped people. It was noted the Chamber of Commerce regularly holds luncheon or breakfast meetings and oftentimes the Chamber luncheons or breakfasts include a presentation by a speaker. Administrative Assistant Mary Harty stated she would contact the Executive Secretary of the Chamber, Lonni McCauley, about this suggestion if the Commission decided it was appropriate. A brief discussion ensued concerning setting up a program where people trained in chemical abuse counseling could talk fio kids in schools. _ Commissioner Miller stated the problem was not only in the junior and senior high schools but there was also a problem in the elementary schools. Commissioner Miller briefly reviewed a program which he had been somewhat involved in which took certain kids out of class and showed them films on chemical abuse. Commis- sioner Miller stated further that it appears to oftentimes be too late to get to the kids by the time they are in junior and senior high school and possibly getting to them in elementary school would be more effective. Commissioner Tolve stated there would be two possible approaches to bringing a program such as this into the schools. One would be-to contact principals of the schools and the other might be to contact P.T.A.`s and run the program for the P.T.A. first to gain their approval. 6-20-79 -2- Commissioner Reichgott shared with the Commission activities which she was involved with with another group. They were exploring going to schools to set up a program to be informative about child abuse. Two specific approaches were envisioned, first, to work through teacher workshops in August to inform teachers how to recognize child abuse cases and what to do about them and, second, to arrange to have speakers go into the ciaAroom and tell the children in their own words about child abuse and what to do about it. Commissioner Reichgott stated it appeared that the Commission was also leaning towards setting up some sort of programs in the schools. Commissioner Tolve stated many times teachers are in a bind because they do not have the expertise to deal with certain problems and need additional resources to help them. She stated it was important to have a screening mechanism for programs because certain programs or speakers would not be appropriate for pre- sentation in the schools. She stated she felt a tested program could be beneficial. She commented it is important to contact the principals and teachers and gain their support first. ' As a clarification, Commissioner Reichgott stated it appeared the Commission was pursuing two distinct avenues in regard to activities for 1979, first, to work as a group on activities and, second, to pursue certain individual projects. Chairman Weyrauch explained the purpose of this sessions was to brainstorm and hopefully many different ideas would come out. Some of these ideas may never manifest themselves into an actual project and others might. There was always the option of working as individuals or subcommittees on particular projects or working as a total Commission on certain projects. Commissioner Kuhar stated she felt two specific suggestions could be targeted,for further action. Contact could be made with the Chamber of Commerce to discuss the possibility of setting up a handicapped panel to make a presentation to the Chamber of Commerce. Contact could also be made with the schools to determine whether or not they were interested in certain types of educational programs if coordinated by the Human Rights Commission. Commissioner Reichgott stated she had always been interested in arranging some type of forum to invite comment from citizens as to what kinds of things they wished the Human Rights Commission to address or areas in which they wished to see human rights legislation. In an open forum situation citizens could comment about what priorities they would wish to see addressed and give suggestions. Commissioner Kuhar stated it might be difficult to get citizens to attend such a forum because many of them are apathetic until someth:i.ng personally .affects them. On the other hand, Commissioner Kuhar stated working through schools or the Chamber of Commerce might be more effective. There was a motion by..Commissioâ–ºier Kuhar and seconded by Commissioner Tolve to prepare correspondence to the Chamber of Commerce indicating the Human Rights Commission is interested in organizing a panel discussion presented by several handicapped people as to the ability of handicapped people to function in the job market. If the response from the Chamber is positive, the Commission will proceed to organize the project. The motion passed unanimously. There was a motion by Commissioner Kuhar and seconded by Commissioner Tolve to prepare .correspondence to schools to indicate the Human Rights Commission is interested in coordinating programs possibly in the area of child abuse, or chemical dependency for elementary, junior and high schools. If the response from the schools is positive, the Commission will proceed to design such a program. The motion passed unanimously. 6-20--79 -3- It was decided the panel discussion for the Chamber of Commerce and a program for the schools would be discussed at the July meeting if responses were favorable. Also at the July meeting, Linda Gilbertson from the State Department of Human Rights will be invited to share additional information on the No Fault Grievance Process. The Mayor, Council and City Manager will be invited to attend that meeting. Besides learning more about the No Fault Grievance Process, attendance by the Mayor, Council and City Manager will give the Commissioners the opportunity to discuss with them how they envision the Commission functioning. Three subcommittees were formed. A subcommittee of Chairman Weyrauch and Commis- sioner Johnson was formed to prepare a letter to the City Council, Mayor and City Manager inviting them to attend the July 18, 1979 Human Rights Commission meeting. A subcommittee of Commissioners Reichgott and Tolve was formed to prepare a letter to the Chamber of Commerce indicating the Human Rights Commission is interested in putting together a program of a panel discussion by handicapped people as to their employability. A subcommittee of Commissioners Miller and Kuhar was formed to prepare a letter to schools indicating the Human Rights Commission is interested in preparing certain programs for use in the schools. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Tolve and seconded by Commissioner Miller.to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9000 p.m. Chairman 0 b-?0-79