Human Relations Commission - November 21, 2019 Minutes
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Human Relations Commissioners of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held in the Commission Chambers at City Hall at 12:00 p.m., Thursday, November 21, 2019.
The Human Relations Commissioners present or absent were as follows:
Present: Cheryl Schaefle, Matuor Alier, Laetitia Hellerud, Adam Martin, Barry Nelson, Hamida Dakane, Cody Severson
Absent: Rachel Hoffman, Abdiwali Sharif-Abdinasir
Item 1. Welcome and Introductions
Chair Nelson welcomed Members to the meeting and introductions were made.
Item 2. Approve Order of Agenda
Member Schaefle moved the Order of Agenda be approved as presented. Second by Member Alier. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 3. Approve Minutes
Member Hellerud moved the minutes of the October 17, 2019 Human Relations Commission meeting be approved as presented. Second by Member Severson. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 4. Public Comment
No public comment was provided.
Item 5. Board Member Job Description
Chair Nelson noted that staff shared the Board Member job description at the October meeting for clarity of roles and responsibilities.
Member Schaefle moved the Board Member job description be approved as presented. Second by Member Hellerud. All Members present coted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 6. MLK Day Update
Chair Nelson stated that meeting have been occurring and the program for January 20, 2020 is being finalized. He also noted that the deadline for award application has passed and some wonderful nominations were received.
Item 7. Sponsorship Update: 10th Annual Human Rights Summit
Chair Nelson noted that at the October Human Relations Commission meeting, a sponsorship request was approved for the 10th Annual Human Rights Summit. He provided an overview of the event and thanked the Board for its support.
Members Hellerud, Dakane, and Severson also attended the event and shared their takeaways.
Item 8. New Business
a. 2020 Calendar
Chair Nelson shared that the proposed meeting dates for 2020 are included in the packet and that the Board will continue to meet on the third Thursday on each month.
Item 9. Staff Report
a. Ordinance Updates
Planning and Development Director Nicole Crutchfield provided an update on the ordinance wording addressed at the October meeting, noting that work has begun to update the wording to address gender identity.
b. 2020 Planning Department Work Plan
Ms. Crutchfield provided an overview of the Planning Department top goals for 2020 as it relates to the Boards and Commissions the department oversees. She noted that work is being done to develop one work plan for all the Boards and Commissions.
c. Strategic Planning
Ms. Crutchfield noted work is nearly complete on the strategic plan and recommending moving to a workshop directly after adjournment.
Chair Nelson shared that a main subject addressed at the Human Rights Summit was hunger around the state and lunchroom debt issues. He would like to keep these issues on the radar for the Human Relations Commission.
Ms. Crutchfield stated that this is a larger context issue. She noted in the 5-year consolidated plan the Planning Department will be looking at a needs assessment to identify strategic components to address these issues.
Planning Coordinator Tia Braseth noted the United Way has a current campaign to reduce hunger and they are currently reviewing applications.
Member Severson shared that he was on a panel yesterday for Emerging Prairies, and that it can be seen on their Facebook page.
Item 10. Adjourn
The time at adjournment was 12:27 p.m.