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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Human Relations Commission - 01/08/2004 • �., .. , SUMMARY MINUTES FOR MEETING OF JANUARY 8, 2004 CORPUS CHRISTI HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Page 1 of 4 I. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER— By the Chair, Commissioner Hinojosa, Jr. II. ROLL CALL/EXCUSED ABSENCES Absent: Commissioner Silva Quorum: YES Commissioner Peterson was, excused for absences of August 2003 — October 2003 due to medical leave, as moved by Commissioner Lyons, seconded by Commissioner Ledbetter,with no further discussion and approved by vote. Commissioner Black was excused for absence of October 2003 due to illness, as moved by Commissioner Ledbetter, seconded by Commissioner Peterson, with no. further discussion and approved by vote. Commissioner Summerlin was excused for absence of October 2003 due to business, as moved by Commissioner Peterson, seconded by Commissioner Rhoads- Granberry, with no further discussion and approved by vote. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of October 2, 2003 were reviewed. These minutes were accepted without any amendments, as moved by Commissioner Peterson, seconded by Commissioner Rhoads-Granberry, with no further discussion and approved by vote. IV. ANNOUNCEMENTS/INTRODUCTIONS/PRESENTATIONS Dr. Clifton Baldwin was introduced as the newly appointed Commissioner, filling the seat vacated by Richard Dik-Johnson. V. CHAIR'S REPORT— None at this time. VI. COMMISSION SUBCOMITTEE REPORTS A. 'SUBCOMMITTEE on HOUSING - Did not meet this month but there was general discussion: 1. Housing Fair - Possibly having fair housing material and general brochures available, at a table at the fair, through Hector Vallejo of the City's LIU Neighborhood Services Department. The fair is scheduled'on 2/21/04 at Del Mar College's Harvin Center from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM. 2. Proposed New Brochure —-Commissioner Summerlin and Commissioner Rhoads-Granberry provided an update on the draft fair housing brochure with (1) blank space for information from the Attorney General's brochure, OD (2) TRLA website information to be added and (3) hopes of having the final • - % SUMMARY MINUTES FOR MEETING OF JANUARY 8, 2004 CORPUS CHRISTI HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION. Page2of4 brochure distributed with CP&L electrical bills (pending approval) or the City's utility bills if available before 2/21/04. Anticipate further discussion of the brochure at the Commission's next regular meeting in February 2004 meeting for approval if possible. Commissioner Baldwin mentioned having contacts in Ft. Worth and San Antonio for possible free materials. The Chair, Commissioner Hinojosa, Sr. invited Commissioner Baldwin to participate on the Housing Subcommittee. Commissioner Baldwin accepted. Commissioner Summerlin indicated that in the development of this brochure, many topics have been incorporated as a "catch all" summary for mass mailing. General discussion ensued. This subcommittee plans to meet again on the brochure before the Commission's February 2004 meeting. To be scheduled by Commissioner Black and coordinated with June Shultz of the City's Human Relations Department. B. SUBCOMMITEE — Committee for Persons with Disabilities (CFPWD) Commissioner Lyons reported on the proposed non-discrimination ordinance and provided a recap since passage of the City Council's First Reading of this ordinance; including mention of 4 public meetings, 18 association meetings, research on other cities, at least 4 resolutions of support, and the.Second Reading of this ordinance was pulled from the City Council Agenda for 60 days, with the Mayor later committing to placing the .item on the February 10, 2003 Council Agenda. Commissioner Lyons reported on the need to address with City Staff the remaining two areas in the proposed ordinance of: (1) add disclaimer phrase to the • new section of "Affect on Other Governmental Entities" and (2) add back in the "Prohibited Practices" section, previously eliminated by Staff; with the goal of getting to one document with CFPWD and Staff in agreement] that the City Council can be comfortable and doso before the 2/10/04 Council Meeting. General discussion on the proposed ordinance ensued regarding: (1) the concern of the disclaimer phrase regarding the Corpus Christi Independent School District's (CCISD) request'to exempt school districts; (2) clarification of the penalty phase change to have fine as an option with the "up to" language, but not as a mandatory fine; (3) handling of complaints would change from "pass it on" to maybe also retaining the complaint to address locally, including for entities. Commissioner Ledbetter asked what the objection is. SUMMARY MINUTES FOR MEETING OF JANUARY 8, 2004 CORPUS CHRISTI HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Page3of4 Commissioner Lyons responded that they feel Title II of the ADA is sufficient. Further, on the process of local resolution opportunities, this process would be complaint driven, utilize as an educational tool, and .there is an enforcement portion, all to open the door for a bit of change. Mr. Ramos indicated that the Human Relations Department would mail out the latest copyof the proposed ordinance to the Commissioners. Commissioner Rhoads-Granberry asked Commissioner. Lyons would it be helpful to have the Commission provide support [of the CFPWD's preference of the two pending areas of the proposed ordinance to address with Staff]? After an affirmative response for an additional resolution,_Commissioner Rhoads-Granberry moved to support that the Prohibited Practices section to be added back and that the disclaimer language regarding the Affect on Other Governmental Entities be added back. Commissioner Summerlin seconded. With no further discussion, this Motion was unanimously approved. Commissioner Peterson asked if the intent to update physical facilities long range plans and total accessibility in moving forward aggressively toward compliance? Commissioner Lyons indicated that Federal funding has been received since 1970's and that there is no such thing as grandfathering; and this is not an effort to be punitive. C. SUBCOMMITTEE on EDUCATION — Did not meet this month. VII. OLD BUSINESS A. HOUSING ISSUES: Correspondence of Mr. Richard Franco, Director of the CC Housing Authority and separate letter from Mr. Ruben Bonilla, Attorney at Law, regarding requested information on basic access, which has already been provided. B. COMMISSIONER'S CONTACT INFORMAATION LIST: Commissioner Baldwin indicated okay to include his home phone.number. No other changes at this time. C. ORIENTATION TRAINING: Since one Youth Commissioner has resigned, the Commissioner's orientation will be scheduled once this vacancy is filled. VIII. NEW BUSINESS — None at this time. SUMMARY MINUTES FOR MEETING OF JANUARY 8, 2004 CORPUS CHRISTI HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Page4of4 IX. ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT A. Monthly Statistics - Mr. Ramos provided a brief overview of the monthly statistics as of December 2004. Mr. Ramos also provided information on the new EEOC contract of 107 Resolutions and 157 Intakes. B. Transition Plan — Mr. Ramos indicated that the quarterly updated had been provided to the City Council. A chronological recap was provided, with mention of working on departmental policies and procedures. General discussion ensued on curb ramp projects. X. PUBLIC COMMENTS — None. Xl. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS — None. XII. ITEMS REQUESTED FOR NEXT MEETING — None. XIII. ADJOURNMENT: This meeting was adjourned at 6:35 PM.