City of Lawrence

Lawrence Human Relations Commission

May 19, 2011

Minutes

Members Present: James Dunn, Jason Barnhill, Laura Diaz Moore, Michael Allen, Scott Criqui

Members Excused: Dan Coke, Kevin Johnson, Kirsten Krug

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

Public Present: Mrs. James Dunn, Rita Valenciano

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Commission Meeting Called to Order

The Lawrence Human Relations Commission Meeting was called to order by Chair, James Dunn, at 11:04 a.m. in the City Commission Room at City Hall, located at 6 East 6^th Street, Lawrence, Kansas.

Acceptance of Agenda

Chairman Dunn asked the commission if there were any additional agenda items for consideration. No additional items were offered.

Approval of Minutes

Chair James Dunn asked for commission comments on the commission minutes from the February 17, 2011 meeting. It was moved by Commissioner Barnhill and seconded by Commissioner Moore to approve the February 17, 2011 minutes of the Lawrence Human Relations Commission. The motion was unanimously approved.

Staff Report

Toni Wheeler, Director of the Legal Department provided the staff report. There has been one Housing Case (disability) closed since the February meeting and one Housing Case currently open (familial status). She discussed the various outreach events of the division since the February meeting. On March 29, 2011, Cal Thoman made a presentation to the LGBT Summit at Macelis. Approximately 400 people were in attendance. Staff has designed a new Human Relations banner/display that can be used at events and was used for the first time at the April 16, 2011 Earth Day celebration. An insert will be in the June utility billing statement sent to over 32,000 City of Lawrence customers that contains Human Relations Division information. A Human Relations advertisement was also placed in the Spring/Summer Parks and Recreation Catalog. The division was also a sponsor of the April show at Theater Lawrence of “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

In April, Fair Housing month was promoted in the City’s monthly newsletter, The Flame, which goes out to all households in Lawrence receiving a utility bill. Vice-Chair Barnhill was at the April 5^th City Commission meeting to receive the Fair Housing Month proclamation. Supervising City Prosecutor Jerry Little gave a Fair Housing presentation in conjunction with the City’s Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 16 at 11:30 a.m. in the South Park Recreation Center. Commissioner Tapahonso arranged for a Human Relations information table to be set up in South Park following the Earth Day Parade.

Director Wheeler stated that Cal Thoman is going to attend the National Fair Housing Training Academy in July. The course will cover Fair Housing Law and Ethics, Critical Thinking and Investigation, including interviewing techniques, and clear writing through critical thinking. Director Wheeler and Cal Thoman will be attending a Region 7 Fair Housing training conference in Kansas City August 16-18. Commissioners that are interested in attending can contact Director Wheeler.

Chairman Dunn wanted the minutes to reflect the efforts of Commissioner Tapahonso in coordinating the Earth Day outreach.

Commissioner Barnhill noted that about five of the commissioners attended the LGBT summit.

Commissioner Criqui inquired regarding social media use to promote these outreach events. Staff noted that the City does use its Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote events and that the Earth Day event was publicized using social media.

Commission Elections

Elections were held for the commission’s new term of leadership. Commissioner Moore nominated Commissioner Criqui for the position of Chair. Commissioner Barnhill seconded and after brief commission discussion, moved to close nominations. Commissioner Criqui was unanimously approved as Chair.

Commissioner Barnhill expressed continuing interest in serving as Vice-Chair and Commissioner Dunn seconded this. Commissioner Barnhill was unanimously approved as Vice-Chair.

Discussion of Commission Outreach Events

The new Chair, Scott Criqui began the discussion of commission attendance and involvement at community outreach events. Commissioner Dunn noted that Commissioner Tapahonso had taken on the role of organizing commission outreach and attendance at events in the past. Commissioner Barnhill inquired about the procedure which should be used to notify other commissioners of events. Director Wheeler proposed that commissioners email event information to Sharon Powley on the legal staff and she could distribute the information out to the rest of the commission. Commissioner Dunn noted that this discussion topic was brought up by Commissioner Tapahonso and perhaps further discussion should be tabled until she is present. It was moved by Commissioner Barnhill and seconded by Commissioner Moore to table the discussion. The motion passed unanimously.

Guest Speaker

Director Wheeler introduced Rita Valenciano, with the Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice. Ms. Valenciano introduced herself to the commission and explained the purpose of her visit. She is a Conciliation Specialist with Region 7 of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Kansas City office is one of about 10 regional offices. Her office offers their services to help conciliate conflict in communities or to prevent conflict. They are currently involved with education efforts on the 2009 Federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act. A current project of her department is to hold Hate Crime Forums in communities for first responders. This can be done when officials or commissions invite her division to present such a forum. The goal of these forums is to be prepared in the event a hate crime occurs and to educate about the 2009 act. Ms. Valenciano noted that her department’s services are free of charge and provided as part of the programming of the Department of Justice. Ms. Valenciano passed out the Community Relations Service annual report and left her business cards with members of the commission.