City of Lawrence

Lawrence Human Relations Commission

May 20, 2010

 

Minutes

 

Members Present:  Michael Allen, Jason Barnhill, Dan Coke, Scott Criqui, James Dunn, Kirsten Krug, Laura Diaz Moore, and Lori Tapahonso

 

Staff Present:  Toni Wheeler, Cal Thoman, and Scott Wagner

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Commission Meeting Called to Order

The Lawrence Human Relations Commission Meeting was called to order by Chair, Lori Tapahonso, at 11:02 a.m. in the City Commission Room at City Hall, located at 6 East 6th Street, Lawrence, Kansas.

 

Introduction of New Commissioners

Two new members of the commission were welcomed and introduced by the Chair.  Mike Allen is currently an attorney with the Douglas County District Attorney’s office where he is a prosecutor.  Dan Coke is employed by Midwest Student Ministries.

 

Approval of Minutes

Chair Lori Tapahonso asked for commission comments on the commission minutes from the February 18, 2010 meeting.

 

It was moved by Commissioner Krug and seconded by Commissioner Criqui to approve the February 18, 2010 minutes of the Lawrence Human Relations Commission.  The motion was unanimously approved.

 

Staff Report

Toni Wheeler, Director of the Legal Department, introduced the City’s new prosecutor, Cal Thoman to the commission.  Director Wheeler noted that one of his primary responsibilities will be enforcement of Chapter X, the Human Rights chapter, of the City Code.  Mr. Thoman introduced himself to the commission.  Mr. Thoman answered questions of commissioners regarding his work experience.  Director Wheeler outlined training opportunities for staff.

 

Director Wheeler then reviewed the staff report with the commission.  There is currently one open employment case that staff is finishing.  There have been no formal complaints filed since the beginning of the year.  However, Mr. Thoman just reported that there have been two recent inquiries regarding housing violations and those may turn into formal complaints.  Director Wheeler acknowledged that the number of complaints filed is down.  She is reviewing possible reasons for the decrease.  She then summarized the efforts the City has taken to direct the public to the new office location.  Director Wheeler said that the division is committed to enforcing Chapter X of the City Code and would enlist the commission’s help to spread the word regarding that.

 

Chair Tapahanso asked if the commission could be part of that outreach effort.  Director Wheeler answered that she would welcome the commissioner’s efforts to help spread the word regarding enforcement of the City’s civil rights code.  She said the department has materials that can be made available to commissioners to take to meetings.  Chair Tapahanso hoped that commission outreach could be something that the board worked on this coming year.  Commissioner Barnhill and others also expressed interest in working on this outreach effort.  Director Wheeler appreciated the commission’s interest in this and would work with the body on outreach efforts.

 

Director Wheeler noted that several outreach efforts have been conducted this year.  She then gave a brief description of them.

 

Director Wheeler continued with the staff report.  She had a request from Commissioner Krug that the commission consider whether to adopt rules of procedure or by-laws.  Director Wheeler said that this issue was one for the board to decide.  If they wanted, they could direct staff to bring back research on this issue for a future agenda.  Commissioner Krug asked if it was commonplace that advisory boards had by-laws or operating rules.  Director Wheeler answered that there are many City boards and that some had adopted rules and by-laws which govern their meetings and others had not.  She thought that some boards have found it helpful to have rules in place.  Chair Tapahanso thought that it may be worth reviewing.  Commissioner Krug did not want staff to have to reinvent the wheel and if examples of what other boards had adopted could be brought to a future Human Relations Commission meeting, that would be helpful.  Director Wheeler said that staff would gather this information and place this issue on a future commission agenda.

 

Director Wheeler advised of the upcoming HUD conference in New Orleans to be held July 19th-23rd and that the City had funding from the HUD grant to send a commissioner to this training.  She asked commissioners to let her know as soon as possible if they were interested in attending. 

 

Finally, Director Wheeler offered thanks to Commissioner Dunn and Chair Tapahanso for their work on the commission this past year.  She noted that the commission worked on some challenging issues with the transition of the office and the transgender discussion.  The commission handled these items with professionalism and commitment to the community.

 

Election of Officers

Chair Tapahanso moved to the next agenda item, the election of officers.  Commissioner Barnhill nominated himself as vice chair.  He discussed his interest in serving the commission and his current job as a trained mediator.  It was moved by Commissioner Dunn to elect Commissioner Barnhill as vice-chair.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Krug.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Commissioner Krug nominated Commissioner Dunn for chair.  Commissioner Dunn accepted.  Chair Tapahanso nominated Commissioner Krug as chair.  Commissioner Krug declined the nomination due to her on-going work commitments.  Commissioner Krug moved to elect Commissioner Dunn as chair and this motion was seconded by Commissioner Barnhill.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Public Comments

Chairman Dunn moved to the final agenda item and received public comments.  Maggie Childs spoke to the commission regarding the gender identity issue.  She was hopeful that a real dialogue between the commission and the public on this issue could occur.  She thought that at the previous public meetings there was limited opportunity for real dialogue.  She also wanted to discuss with commission members their vote on the gender identity report and asked if commissioners would be willing to share their reasoning behind their vote.

 

Commissioners Tapahanso, Diaz-Moore, Krug, Barnhill, Criqui, and Dunn then briefly explained their vote on the issue.  A short discussion with Ms. Childs ensued.  Matthew Blankers also addressed the commission on the same subject. 

 

There were no additional public comments.

 

The Human Relations Commission meeting was adjourned at 11:55 a.m.