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Human Relations Commission

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Human Relations Commission - December 17, 2020 Minutes

The Regular Meeting of the Board of Human Relations Commissioners of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held virtually in the Commission Chambers at City Hall at 12:00 p.m., Thursday, December 17, 2020.

The Human Relations Commissioners present or absent were as follows:

Present: Abdiwali Sharif-Abdinasir, Cheryl Schaefle, Matuor Alier, Laetitia Hellerud, Barry Nelson, Hamida Dakane, Cody Severson, Ahmed Shiil, Carolyn Becraft

Item 1. Welcome and Introductions
Chair Alier welcomed Members to the meeting and introductions were made.

Item 2. Approve Order of Agenda
Member Nelson moved the Order of Agenda be approved as presented. Second by Member Sharif-Abdinasir. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Item 3. Approve Order of Minutes
Member Nelson moved the minutes of the November 19, 2020 Human Relations Commission meeting be approved as presented. Second by Member Schaefle. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Item 4. Public Comment
No public comment provided.

Item 5. City of Fargo Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Position
Assistant City Administrator Michael Redlinger presented an overview of the new Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion position for the City of Fargo. He provided a timeline of the proposed hiring process and briefly reviewed the draft position description included in the meeting packet. He stated there will be a selection review committee and requested the Board to appoint a Member to serve on the committee.

Director of Human Resources Jill Minette provided information on the position pay grade.

Discussion was held on the contract position details and duration, candidate qualifications, why the position is starting as a contract, and where the position will be posted.

Ms. Minette spoke further on the contract position and noted further discussion would be held with candidates.

Member Nelson moved to appoint Chair Alier to serve on the selection committee for the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion position. Second by Member Dakane. On call of the roll Members Becraft, Sharif-Abdinasir, Nelson, Dakane, Severson, Schaefle, Shiil, and Hellerud voted aye. The motion was declared carried.

Item 6. Old Business
a. MLK Award Committee
Chair Alier stated the nomination forms for the Martin Luther King Jr. Awards are due tomorrow, December 18. He noted Reach Partners are requesting volunteers from the Board to serve on the selection committee.

Members Severson, Becraft, Dakane, and Shiil volunteered to serve on the selection committee.

b. MLK Day Discussion
Assistant Planner Karin Flom introduced Anita Hoffarth and Rachel Asleson with Reach Partners, and provided an overview of their background with this event. She noted a memo is included in the packet.

Ms. Asleson provided an overview of this year’s planning process and noted the recommendation to have the awards presented at a City Commission meeting either on January 11 or January 25. She additionally added their recommendation of using the funds reserved for the event to go towards future activities.

Discussion was held on the reasons behind not holding a virtual event, and how the winners will be publicized and acknowledged.

c. Update from HRC Work Plan Work Groups
Member Becraft spoke for group one and noted they are working on an issue and will bring forward at a future date.

Member Hellerud spoke for group two noting their goal to increase and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the practices of the City government. She highlighted the items they discussed.

Member Dakane spoke for group three noting their goal to promote growth community-wide effort as related to diversity and equity. She shared they had a good conversation related to why there is not more diversity in the City of Fargo.

Item 7. Staff Report
Lt. George Vinson with the Fargo Police Department stated he plans to provide updates on a more regular basis. He highlighted a recent presentation he gave at the recent LGBTQ+ Summit and provided an overview of the conversations.

Ms. Flom provided a brief overview of the work being done regarding the COVID-19 response and noted a staff report is included in the packet. She highlighted item three, noting staff is looking for feedback from the Board Members regarding meeting frequency and liaisons.

Ms. Flom reminded that MLK award nominations are due tomorrow.

Item 8. 2021 Meeting Calendar
Chair Alier noted that the 2021 meeting calendar is included in the packet and it is open to change based on discussions regarding meeting frequency.

Item 9. Announcements
Member Becraft extended congratulations to Member Shiil on being awarded as a recipient of a 2020 City of Moorhead Human Rights Award.

City Commissioner John Strand shared his thanks to the Members of the Human Relations Commission for their service this year.

Item 10. Adjourn
The time at adjournment was 1:04 p.m.