Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-05-12 MINUTES City of Cottage Grove Human Services/Rights Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, May 12, 2010 Members Present: Francisco Gonzalez Tanweer (TJ) Janjua, Chair Laurie Steiger Mia Naseth-Phillips Doug Amos Members Absent: Sofia Vitale-Gill Council Liaison: Jen Peterson Staff Liaison: Ken Smith Others Present: Rick Johnson 1. Call to Order At 7:06 PM the meeting was called to order by TJ. 2. Welcome new Commission Member Douglas Amos Everyone introduced themselves and welcomed Doug to the Commission. He has been in education for 25 years, in the business world for many years, and has a PHD in Educational Technology. Rich Johnson also introduced himself and said he worked for the State Workers’ Comp Board fraud unit. He is into carpentry, bass tournaments and is a union steward. 3. Approval of Minutes from April 13, 2010. Laurie Steiger made a motion to approve the April 13, 2010 minutes. Mia Naseth-Phillips seconded the motion. 4. Vice-Chair Nominee With the departure of Sue the Commission needed to pick a new Vice-Chair. TJ asked if anyone was interested in the position. Laurie stated that she would be interested in becoming Vice- Chair. Francisco stated he would be interested in the post as well. Laure agreed to give the position to Francisco. Laurie made a motion to have Francisco become Vice Chair; it was seconded by Mia all were in favor. TJ welcomed Francisco to his new post. 5. New Commission Members Applications With several open seats and the departure of Sue and Sophie in June the Commission is looking for 2 regular seats and 2 student seats. Ken showed the Commission the applicants he’s received to date. The Commission narrowed it down to Linda Lundstrom, Michael Zwakman, Rick Johnson. He would forward any additional applicants to the Commission as they came in. 1 6. Essay and Poster Contest Ken updated the Commission on the Essay and Poster contest. He showed the committee the essays and posters received to date. The Commission decided to extend the contest to June 9th to allow greater participation. Ken stated he would advertise the new date on the City’s Facebook page. 7. 2010 Census TJ announced that Cottage Grove had one of the highest census compliance rates in the State at between 86 and 89%. He asked if anyone in the group wanted to write an article for the Bulletin thanking the residents of Cottage Grove for their compliance and reminding them of the importance of their actions. Francisco volunteered to write the article. 8. Strategic Plan TJ described the process used by the Commission to do the 2009 strategic plan. They used a professional facilitator and it was a daylong session. The Commission reviewed the 2009 plan and members made suggestions. Doug Amos suggested adding sexual orientation, Jen Peterson wanted something on disabled persons, and Laurie wanted language from the MN Statutes added. Francisco said he would write the 2010 plan and send it out for comments and editing. 9. Local Human Rights Commission Project Grant The Minnesota Human Rights Commission has a grant deadline for the Local Human Rights Commissions Project, the grant is up to $1,500 to develop a local commission’s capacity building project or implement a civic engagement project and the deadline is June 2010. It was agreed that Mia would apply for the grant on behalf of the Commission. The goal is to use the grant to send Commission members to the Human Rights Day event in December 2010. Doug Amos asked how money was funneled to the Commission. He was told through donations. The group talked about the Clotheslines Project, citizen involvement, a census celebration and the Kia Yang book. 10. Diversity Highlight of the Month Cinco de Mayo was mentioned as a diversity event. Mia said she attended the event in St. Paul and said it was nice. Francisco described the historical significance of the day. It was discussed whether or not the Commission should have their own Facebook page. Ken said it was fine but could not be called a Cottage Grove City site and it was important to monitor. It was agreed to put more content on the Commission’s page on the City’s web site. 11. City Update Council Member Jen Peterson gave an update of City happenings stating that there would be a new locker room and observation deck at the Ice Arena for East Ridge Hockey team. May 16 – th 22 is National Public Works week and May 15 is National Peace Officer Memorial Day. It was stated the City does a good job at getting fire fighter grants for cameras. 3M is excavating contaminated soil in Cottage Grove. The City is interested in becoming a green step city, and Jennifer Levitt, the City Engineer will visit with the Commission at the next meeting to talk about ADA issues. Laurie stated she had a person from the Dept of Human Rights who would be interested in speaking to the group. 2 12.Miscellaneous A motion was made by Laurie to not use the $87.67 in the Commission’s account for member dues in the League of MN Human Rights Commission. TJ encouraged everyone to go the Human Rights Forum. 13. Adjournment A motion was made at 8:15 p.m. by Laurie to adjourn the meeting and seconded by Mia. Respectfully submitted by; Kenneth L. Smith ,Community Services and Communications Coordinator 3