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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Human Relations Commission - 01/04/2001 _ , 0-3�+an7F\ �^/ 9-S-9-49% FEB 2001 co 1ECEIVED MINUTES-QUORUM MEETING N CITY SECRETARY'S al HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OFFICE o; JANUARY 4,20012 Commissioners- Present Commissioners-Absent ZZ Chairperson:Mr.Oscar Hinojosa Mr.Joey Maldonado(Business Conflict) Vice Chair:Dr. Sylvester Peterson Ms.Anna Mercado-Flores Mr. William"Bill"Bonilla Ms.Laura Rios(Maternity Leave) Ms. Lena Coleman Mr.Joshua J. Vaughan(Last name changed from Mr.Scott Elliff Jimenez)(Not Returned From Family Trip) Dr. Stuart Elovitz Mr.David"Phillip"Engel Non-Voting Advisory-Absent Ms.JoAnn Kernick Rev. Willie Davila Mr.Errol Summerlin Ms. Sandra Terrell-Davis HRC Legal Advisor -Absent Mr.Joseph Harney Staff—Present L.David Ramos June Shultz Oscar Hinojosa,Chairperson,called the monthly meeting to order on January 4,2001 at 5:15 p.m. It was determined that a quorum was present,therefore the Commission proceeded with a formal meeting. ATTENDANCE Roll Call— Members Absent: Mr.Joey Maldonado(Business Conflict),Ms.Anna Mercado-Flores(reason unknown),Ms.Laura Rios(Maternity Leave),Joshua J.Vaughan(Not Returned From Family Trip). Dr. Stuart Elovitz arrived late(Dental Appointment). Absences Review:Phillip Engel's absences for School Events were approved by the Commission as excused absences. Olga Tamar submitted her letter of resignation from the Commission due to professional demands that prevented her regular attendance. It was requested that the Administrative staff prepare a memorandum to the City Secretary advising them of the resignation and resulting vacancy. Commissioner Kernick asked if there was a list being maintained of interested persons from the community. Chairperson Hinojosa confirmed that there is a list being maintained in the City Secretary's Office. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES The 12-7-00 minutes were presented for review and approval. Commissioner Scott Elliff made a motion to approve the minutes as shown, Vice Chair Peterson seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the minutes were approved as read. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT Organization of a conference for"Celebration of Cultural Diversity". The date hasn't been designated yet. The CCHRC will be working jointly with the Mayor's Office, Human Relations Department and Citizens United for a better Corpus Christi to bring this conference to the community. Review of information from prior meeting,present was David Ramos; June Shultz;Oscar Hinojosa;Susan Cable,Director of Communications and Quality Management; Diana Garza.Assistant to the Mayor's Office. Mr. Hinojosa requested 2 additional members from our Commission for this committee. It will require from these individuals a random phone call:therefore,because most of the commissioner involved in the workforce, I request for volunteers. Dr.Elovitz has approached the Chair already about volunteering for one of the vacancies,therefore, 1 SCANNED only one more person is needed. Mr. Ramos will explain further in his report. Dr. Peterson volunteered for the other vacancy. Dr.Elovitz and Dr.Peterson will be notified of when their next meeting is scheduled. COMMITTEE REPORTS Housing Committee—No report at this time. Mrs.Tamar was the Chair for the Housing Sub-Committee. At this time a new appointment must be made to replace Mrs. Tamar vacancy. As a general overview of the Committee's background,the following information was provided regarding work of the Housing Sub-Committee:The Substantial Equivalency designation information was developed and forward to HUD,and we are awaiting a response if they will accept the information. There are other items under review by the Legal Department,having to do with Public Hearings,which was put on hold. Commissioner Summerlin indicated,during his tenure,the Housing Committee was a very active Committee. Primarily address housing ordinance issues and fair housing grants and assessment. There has been no report because there has been no meetings for a report. While the housing ordinance is going through its process,I encourage the Chair to keep this Sub-Committee active. Rev.Davila in his final year of his chairmanship was to reconstitute those committees,and that is when Olga was placed as Chair. It was mentioned that Lena would be a more appropriate person to head this Sub-Committee,because of her involvement with HUD on a day- to-day basis. Ms. Shultz offered to past out copies of the last couple of Housing Committee Meetings to mail them out to all the Commissioners to refresh and expand of what had been worked on. There was also discussion about the Human Relations Department's work towards drafting a Housing Assessment Survey regarding affordable housing,availability of housing and meeting the needs of the community,including individuals with special needs. Newer members brought into the Commission(representatives for the Board of Realtors and Apartment Association), it is in their best interest to participate and attend those meetings,because they can return to share that information back to their respective associations. Perhaps these groups may be more active and provide a report more often. David Ramos added and agreed that the Commissioners are absolute correct,and that it will take a lot of effort and work for the reason that we are getting our equivalency through HUD. We are getting a designation,which would mean that cases would be referred to us from the HUD and TCHR Offices. Currently we are investigating and conducting charges based on persons coming into the Human Relations Office. But once designated by HUD,then when individuals apply in San Antonio could be referred to us,and we would have to conduct the investigations. This group will have to make decisions based on the Ordinances,and so forth, including Public Hearings,if it is brought up. ADA Committee—David Ramos provided a report. He,Crystal Lyons,current Mayor's Committee for with Peoples Disabilities Chairperson;Joseph Harney,City attorney; and Armando Chapa,City Secretary met yesterday and went over a proposed Ordinance to become a Committee that will advise the City Council on issues relative to compliance with accessibility and ADA issues. We looked at the proposed draft Ordinance and made some corrections. It will go back to Armando Chapa for the corrections. On the January 10, 2001. the Mayor's Committee is meeting and it will be presented to the current members for any changes to be made at that time, and back to the City Secretary's Office so that it can be presented to the Council. As a committee,by ordinance,that will be advising the Council and the Mayor and the City Manager with different issues having to do with disabilities. The committee will be made up of nine(9)individuals that will be appointed by the Mayor. The current volunteers will have to submit their names if they wish to be considered. The appointments to the new Committee are to be made by Mayor and City Council at a later date. The Chairperson of the Committee will sit on the Human Relations Commission as an official member with voting privileges. The Ordinance is expected to go before the City Council on January 23`d NEW BUSINESS Corpus Christi Human Relations Commission Annual Report:The Annual Report is a requirement of each Department that has a Board or Commission. It is put together at the end of the year for City Manager,City Council and Mayor. The Report was mailed out to each Commissioner. The information is there for your review and discussion. If you have any comments or suggestions for next year,please let us know. Chairperson Hinojosa indicated that Council Member Henry Garrett had indicated that he had received the report and was surprised about how well it was written. Praise was given to the staff for 2 the preparation and accomplishments noted in the report. Celebration of Cultural Diversity:The Mayor's Office,Human Relations Department and Citizens united for a Better Corpus Christi are working jointly to develop this event. It was suggested that 2 or 3 Commissioners participate on this project. There was a recent meeting where the various individuals reviewed the City of Phoenix video on a similar event.It was very well received and had a significant impact on the community in addressing cultural and ethnic understanding and community harmony. It gave insight on ideas of what could be done. We would like to plan for something in Spring this year,bringing in organizations from within the community. We are in the planning stages at this time. Dr.Peterson and Dr.Elovitz will participate for the Commission. Dr.Gurley and Pinkie Brauer will represent CUFABCC. David Ramos and June Shultz will represent the Human Relations Department. Then Susan Cable from the City Manager's Office and Diana Garza from the Mayor's Office. The Commission will be kept informed about the events. Commissioner Kernick asked who the audience is for this? The Community,we are looking at the Bayfront Convention Center. The City Park and Recreation Department normally hold a Folk Life Festival,but it was not funded this year. We are looking at other possible festivals they might hold. We were trying to do a joint event with educational outreach,as well as entertainment and examples of cultural/ethnic backgrounds,such as dances,arts and crafts,music,and general information. So this is similar or almost identical to what they have at the Folk Life Festival. No it is not identical,it is different. OLD BUSINESS Attendance Policy Form. There were some outstanding forms, however June Shultz will contact the Commissioners individually,if they haven't turned them in. Follow-up on Flour Bluff I.S.D.—they have set up a Diversity Task Force in FBISD. They have developed a very specific policy for FBISD students. The State mandates certain requirements,but this is more specific because of the incident that occurred. They are going to be doing training—it is already scheduled in the curriculum. The Task Force will assist with this. If any further incidents occur,it will be brought to the Task Force to be addressed. The students involved have been disciplined. There was a brief rebound from the incident,the students were moved to an off-campus facility, but will be rejoining the regular mainstream next week. Dr.Peterson is a member of the Task Force. They haven't met yet. The first meeting is on the 17th or 18t. David Ramos will also be attending. Follow-up on HUD—David Ramos spoke with Janet Tolbert. It was their understanding that the minor Ordinance revision had been approved and it was just a matter of them finalizing the paperwork now. We anticipate hearing from them within the next week. Once it is approved,we will be receiving$115,000.00 grant. President Bush recent appointments included Mel Martinez of Florida,who was named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Follow-up on Director position—David Ramos spoke with Human Resources and George Noe. The job description is being revised. They would probably be announcing the advertisement through the City Bulletin,Labor Journals,etc. There is a recruitment plan. Possibly within the next couple weeks. Question on two-tier process. The process would be first tier would form a group to sit down with finalists and asked questions about the community in general. That group would have no influence on the selection. That information gathered during the first tier would go to the staff,who would then set up the standard interview process. The second tier would be staff interviews,with final recommendation to the City Manager. ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT August to December. 2000 Administrative Report-David Ramos reviewed the written report that was provided to all the Commissioners. PUBLIC COMMENTS- Limited to two(2)Minutes Abel Alonzo was present and directed some words to the Commission. He expressed his thanks to the Commission for efforts that are being made for the benefit of the community. He is an advocate for persons with disabilities. It is refreshing to see that the disabled community is now being included in the discussion of human rights. Its taken ten years and a law 3 suit for the City to take this action.He is going to be pro-active in trying to eliminate the lawsuit. But the City has shown a Good Faith Effort by bringing forth changes. He hopes that we can convince the Federal Judge to throw the lawsuit out. He hopes that they could spend the money on correcting the wrongs,rather than giving it to lawyers to make them rich. We all know that there is a problem and given enough time,he believes that we can correct it. He expressed his hope that we would continue to work with this same community and with the new Committee when it's appointed. Hopefully,we can continue to be inclusive in diversity community. He indicated that he agrees with President Bush on many things. He indicated that he was not a Republican,but he(President Bush)was on the right track. He indicated that regardless of if others like him or not,he is now the new President and we must respect that. Mr.Alonzo indicated he thought that President Bush would be good to the State. He is hoping that good things will come out of all this. Mr.Alonzo indicated that he had come up through the school of hard education,that sometimes you had to experience a lot of negatives before you get to the positives. He is very excited about seeing all the positives coming after all these years. Commissioner Kernick introduced Dana Picket,who is a member of this year's Leadership Corpus Christi class. One of the things that they can do find out more about the community is to attend a Commission Meeting. No further public comments. A motion to adjourn was made by Vice-Chair Peterson, seconded by Commissioner Elliff. The motion passed and the meeting adjourned at approximately 6:15 p.m. -2 — / --- 2ccl Oscar Hinojosa,Sr.,Chairperson Date Minutes Approved 4 Corpus Christi Human Relations Commission Sub-Committees Listing February 2001 Housing Sub-Committee Chair: Lena Coleman (replaces Olga Tamar) Other members: Joey Maldonado (Representative for Board of Realtors) (replaces Toni Tamez) Laura Rios (Representative for Apartment Association) Scott Elliff(replaces Jeanette Stevens) Errol Summerlin (Representative for CBLS) Sandra Terrell-Davis (Optional - attended out of interest.) Youth Commissioners (Optional — attended out of interest.) City Staff: L. David Ramos (replaces Dr. Gurley) June Shultz Joseph Harney (Legal Advisor — replaces Alex Lopez) Mayor's Task Force for People with Disabilities Commission Liaison: Vice-Chair Peterson "Celebration of Cultural Diversity" Event Commission Liaisons: Vice-Chair Peterson Dr. Stuart Elovitz • HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION COMMISSIONER LISTING CHAIRPERSON:Oscar Hinojosa,Sr. 3509 Crestside, Corpus Christi, TX 78411 Home;Fax Phone: (361)855-5447/Cell Phone: (361) 774-3485 E-Mail Address:onthinoiosaa prodigv.net Commissioner—Vice Chair Commissioner Dr.Sylvester Peterson Mr.Errol Summerlin 13550 Queen Johanna Court,Corpus Christi.TX 78410 102 Pueblo St.,Corpus Christi,TX 78405 Business Phone:(361)886-9063 Business Phone:(361)883-3667.Ext. 143 E-Mail Address:ccisdappaa:intconun.net E-Mail Address:cbls intconun nee Commissioner Commissioner Mr.Scott Elliff,Capstone Solutions Vacancy P.O.Box 6886.Corpus Christi,TX 78466-6886 Business Phone:(361)814-1186 Business Phone: E-Mail Address:scotte ascndero.nct E-Mail Address: www.capstonesolutions.com Commissioner Commissioner Ms.Lena Coleman Mr.Joey Maldonado P.O.Box 5907,Corpus Christi,TX 78465 1017 Miramar,Corpus Christi,TX 78411 Business Phone:(361)857-7729 Business Phone:(361)993-3117/Home:814-8474 E-Mail Address:LENACOLEMAN a Worldnet.att.nct E-Mail Address:maldo'd'ccbor.ore Commissioner Commissioner Ms.JoAnn Kernick Ms.Anna M.Mercado-Flores 202 Oleander,Corpus Christi,TX 78404 2830 Tumbleweed,Corpus Christi.TX 78410 Home Phone:883-3312 Business Phone:(361)241-4535 E-Mail Address: prodigy net E-Mail Address:implanners'aaol.cout Commissioner Commissioner Ms.Laura Rios Dr.Stuart Elovitz,M.D. 4901 Saratoga Blvd..Corpus Christi.TX 78413 4000 Surfside,Apt.910,Corpus Christi.TX 78402 Business Phone:(361)980-2505 Business Phone:(361)883-4770 E-Mail Address:nikoalex'o aol.com E-Mail Address: Commissioner Legal Advisor Sandra Terrell-Davis Mr.Joseph Harney 3126 Dunbarton Oaks,Corpus Christi,TX 78414 Legal Department,5th Flr.,City Hall Business Phone:(361)885-6177/985-8528 Business Phone: (361)880-3362 E-Mail Address:sandraapocca.com E-Mail Address:iosepithaci.cornus-citnsti.tx.us Youth Commissioner(Ray H.S.1 Youth Commissioner(Ray H.S.) Mr. William Bonilla Mr.David Philip Engel #15 Hewitt Drive.Corpus Christi.TX 78404 230 Amistad.Corpus Christi.TX 78404 Home Phone:(361)887-7420 Home Phone:(361)888-8406 School Phone:(361)855-7361/(F)852-6528 School Phone:(361)855-7361/(F)852-6528 E-Mail Address: E-Mail Address:penge1206 a aoi.ont Youth Commissioner(Ray H.S.) Human Relations Administrator Mr.Joshua J.Vaughan L.David Ramos,Interim Director 4151 Crenshaw.Corpus Christi,TX 78413 Human Relations Department,4th Fir..City Hall Home Phone:(361) 854-2636 Business Phone:(361)880-3190 School Phone:(361)855-7361/(F)852-6528 Home Phone:(361)991-5821 E-Mail Address:iN x2.ria excite.com E-Mail Address:day idra a ci.corpus-christi.tx.us Advisory Non-Voting Member Reverend Willie Davila,4518 Saratoga Blvd.,Corpus Christi,TX 78413 Business Phone:(361)852-9677/Fax:852-9676 E-Mail Address:reconciliation,a juno.com or‘'rdavila ci callcr.inti.net Revised: 1-31-2001