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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Human Relations Commission - 09/07/2000 MINUTES-QUORUM MEETING HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING September 7,2000 Commissioners-Present Commissioners-Absent Mr.Oscar Hinojosa Mr.William"Bill"Bonilla Ms.Lena Coleman Mr.Joey Maldonado Mr. Scott Elliff Ms. Olga Tamar Mr.David"Phillip"Engel Mr.Joshua J.Jiminez Non-Voting Advisory-Absent Ms.Anna Mercado-Flores Rev.Willie Davila Ms.JoAnn Kemick Dr. Sylvester Peterson Ms.Laura Rios Mr.Errol Summerlin Ms.Sandra Terrell-Davis 1 Adult Commissioner Vacancy Staff-Present HRC Legal Advisor -Absent Dr.Helen Gurley Mr.Joseph Hamey June Shultz Oscar Hinojosa,Chairperson,called the monthly meeting to order on September 7,2000 at 5:00 p.m. It was determined that there was a quorum present,therefore the Commission proceeded with the formally recognized meeting. ATTENDANCE The following Commissioners had excused absences:Rev.Davila,Joey Maldonado,Olga Tamar,and Legal Advisor Joseph Harney. Bill Bonilla didn't return call. The Commission currently has 1 vacancy. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES The minutes from the August 3,2000 Commission Meetings were approved. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT The Chair extended his thanks to Dr.Gurley,Department Staff and the Commissioners for the excellent job they did on this year's Annual Training Conference.The Chair reviewed the Resolution language with the Commission and then circulated it for signatures. COMMITTEE REPORTS Housing Committee—No report at this time. ADA Committee—No report at this time. (No meetings are currently being held,pending determination of a new meeting location,since the sale of the RTA Building. Dr.Gurley will keep the Commission informed.) NEW BUSINESS Dr.Gurley reported on resolution of a Housing Complaint that started out with one individual,but resulted in addressing the needs of 3 additional families_ The property in question was condemned,and the 4 families were relocated Contractors have been brought in to complete the necessary renovations to meet current standards and guidelines. Dr.Gurley discussed the need for"New Commissioner Training". There will be a 3-4 hour training to cover our Ordinances, jurisdictional authority,and internal processes and procedures. It was determined that Dr. Gurley would suggest some tentative dates to schedule the training. It should be after 5:00 p.m., to allow for both Youth Commissioners and SCANNED Commissioners who work to be available. Dr.Gurley informed the Commission that the next Annual Training Conference has been scheduled for Friday,July 20,2001, in the same rooms used in the 1999 Conference. This year's attendance was oft but this was due to the questionable standing of the continued existence of the Human Relations Department. A projection for next year is 150 attendees. We received positive commends about our Speakers and Topics Presentations. The Keynote Speakers were outstanding. OLD BUSINESS The City entered into a Memorandum of Understanding—John Trasvina,Special Counsel from the Office of Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices,U.S.Department of Justice,approached the CCHRC about being the first Office in the State of Texas to entering into a Memorandum of Understanding. It was signed at the Annual Training Conference. Dr.Gurley spoke with Gary Sweeney and Loretta Dixon of HUD,following up on the Interim Agreement. It is still pending approval from the Legal Department. Commissioner Mercado-Flores asked Dr.Gurley if there was a profit from this year's conference. Dr.Gurley indicated not really,but it is anticipated that next year's conference attendance will increase. Copies of the Proclamation issued during the Conference were provided to all of the Commissioners. Commissioner Summerlin indicated that he believed next year would be better. There wouldn't be unfavorable publicity and circumstances like occurred this year. He asked Dr.Gurley about the Housing Work Plan,working on improvement of the provisions—is it being delayed? Dr.Gurley indicated that we are moving ahead. Dr.Gurley has 3 Housing cases she is presently working on. (HUD will eventually pay the City $1,800.00 per case resolution,once we've entered into the Interim Agreement.) Yesterday,Dr.Gurley received a call from the Ft.Worth HUD Office. They informed her that they found the same findings as our Office,the only reason we couldn't finalize was that we are not in a Contract with them at this time. They took our findings and wrote their decision based upon the facts. Dr.Gurley informed the Commission that with the reduction of staff from 6 to 4,assignment of duties was modified.Dr. Gurley now handles all Housing and Public Accommodation Complaints. The 2 Compliance Officers handle all Employment. Commissioner Summerlin asked about the Work Plan and training for focus groups of homeowners,rental properties,real estate entities,etc. Would this be included in our next Conference? Dr. Gurley indicated that once the Interim Agreement was signed and the funding arrives,she would plan a separate Housing Conference. She hopes to break out 2 separate Conference during the next year—1 for Employment and 1 for Housing. Additionally,she will continue to provide training for smaller groups from within the community. Dr. Gurley informed the Commission that 4 City staff members(2 from Human Relations and 2 from Legal)went to San Antonio on August 12th for specialized HUD training. Chairperson Hinojosa asked Dr.Gurley about John Trasvina and his impression of Corpus Christi? Dr. Gurley indicated that he was really pleased with the work being done and impressed with the Commission. He believes that there is a great deal of opportunity to be of assistance to people in our community. Vice Chair Peterson asked about persons holding a green card—was there a way to refer persons to help address their concerns in a proactive way? Dr.Gurley indicated that it began with entering into the Agreement. Now we can promote this service to the community. Dr.Gurley gave examples of types of persons who could receive assistance as a result of the Agreement. Chairperson Hinojosa asked if this would address Civil or Human Rights? Dr. Gurley indicated that this was the same,only restriction which might be valid is regarding highly confidential work,otherwise,as long as the individual has a work visa,they are entitled to be employed. Commissioner Summerlin discussed running PSA's or an appearance on television,such as on"Domingo Live". Currently there are no PSA's. We need to initiate good PR,advise the public that there is a place to go now. He suggested Helen and Commissioner Mercado-Flores do some guest appearances. Commissioner Mercado-Flores could address the Spanish speaking community. It was suggested that we move toward production of PSA's. Dr.Gurley indicated that presently the Department doesn't have monies for PSA's,however,the Mayor's budget may have some funds for this type of activity.Dr. Gurley indicated that she and Chairperson Hinojosa were working with the Mayor on a Program designed for community diversity awareness. A draft is on the Mayor's Desk. Commissioner Elliff suggested other possible public appearance opportunities,such as Ted Nelson's Public Affairs Show. Commissioner Mercado-Flores suggested contacting Channel 2 28. Commissioner Elliff said this would be a good opportunity to educate the community. Commissioner Mercado-Flores said she would discuss this with others,and that she is aware that Victor Lara(KUNO)is a strong support of rights. Dr. Gurley indicated that it would be better to wait to begin this,until the draft project is in order. She indicated she would take a good draft to the CUFABCC Meeting scheduled for the 13a'. Commissioner Elliff asked when the next meeting would be held. Chairperson Hinojosa indicated that it would be held on September 13th,that this would be the 5th meeting of the group. Commissioner Coleman stated that this was the first she'd heard of it and why wasn't she informed about it. Dr. Gurley clarified that this is a group of interested persons from the community who got together to determine if they could form a group to address cultural diversity awareness. It is still in the beginning stages and is open to anyone. This was not something initiated by the Commission. Dr.Gurley indicated that she would send out an e-mail with information from the previous meetings,but that they were not yet formalized. Chairperson Hinojosa also gave a few words on the background. Dr.Gurley indicated that she would include the Mission Statement information with the e-mail. Commissioner Summerlin asked about the Flour Bluff incidents—concern of racial tension between white and black students,etc. He understood that the NAACP was involved,had the Commission received any requests to be involved as well? Dr.Gurley indicated that the City Manager called her from the Commander's Officer on the base. The Commander asked the City Human Relations Department to become involved. This could be a major issue for military personnel. Flour Bluff could be declared off limits to military personnel and their families. Then the children would be pulled from the School system and be moved elsewhere. The School's funding would be severely impacted. Dr.Gurley has been in contact with the Commander's Office,and their Legal Department will get back with her. Dr.Gurley has offered to hold a meeting at City Hall in neutral ground. She has called Superintendent Moffet to schedule a meeting. Dr.Gurley has offered to assist with development of a plan to address their concerns. Ms.Moffet was to get back to Dr.Gurley within 2 weeks. (She called this morning.) Chairperson Hinojosa asked Dr.Gurley about the status of West Oso School District? Dr.Gurley hasn't been in contact with Ms.Hutchins,and they're still experiencing problems. This began just as the Human Relations Department lost 2 staff members. One aspect of the matter,is that October or November,the Superintendent's contract will be up. Chairperson Hinojosa discussed his concern over the current problems of racial relations within Corpus Christi. Commissioner Summerlin indicated that this would be a good opportunity for use of the Youth Commissioners. Involve our Youth Commissioners in addressing the issue and providing information to kids in schools. It will help with credibility and reinforce the Commission's willingness and efforts to address concerns of this nature. Dr.Gurley indicated that Ms.Moffet said she'd forgotten about there being an opportunity with the Human Relations Commission to help resolve the problem her school has experienced. ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT The Commissioners were provided with the a copy of the City's Fiscal Year statistics(August 1, 1999—July 31,2000) and inadvertently given a copy of April,2000's statistics,rather than the August,2000 statistics that were presented for the normal Performance Measures report. The August report will be provided at the next Commission meeting. PUBLIC COMMENTS-Limited to two(2)Minutes None at this time. Motion made and seconded for meeting to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m. /r0 5--/c Oscar Hinojosa,Sr.,Chairperson Date Minutes Approved 3