HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/06/1994:
MAPLEWOOD HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION
Meeting Minutes of December 6, 1994
Present at Meeting: Gordon Heininger, Sherrie Le, Carol Cude, Shelly
Strauas, Gail Schiff, Pat Williams, Karla Sand, Mike McGuire, Ken
Collina. Came late: Marie Koehler (8:20).
I. Call to order: 7:03 p.m. by Vice Chair Gordon Heininger.
II. Agenda was approved as read.
III. Approval of minutes: In the November minutes, under VII-A, Pat
Williams atated that what was said was incorrect. Gerry Evens was
not re-elected. An addendum to the Hate Crimes bill will be
introduced. The 1995 meeting will be held in Rochester.
A discussion was held concerning VII-B. Chief Collins stated that
all previously rejected applications for funding are being
reconsidered. Almost all are expected to be accepted. The money is
for hiring officers for three years, then the city has to come up
with the money to continue them.
Several spelling errors were also corrected on page one of the
minutes, then they were approved.
IV. Old Business
A. Chief Collins discussed his concerns:
l. If an inveatigation ia ongoing, they cannot release names.
2. Ueually juveniles are involved, and their namea cannot be
released without court approval.
In the past, victims were not always told that their call was
classified as a bias crime, but now they are notifying victims,
even though there may be nothing to investigate (such as, name
calling from a passing car).
They will change their letter around to indicate that it is a
hate/bias crime and what they will do, and then they can
include our letter. In cases of juveniles, the letter will be
sent to the parent.
Some changes were made in the HRC letter, including a statement
requested by Chief Collins that the police have not released
their name to us.
Chief Collins stated that our city over-reports things that in
other cities are not considered bias crimes. The majority of
incidents involve nonresidents, such as traffic incidents. He
would like to meet with us quarterly, to share information with
us. Please advise him ahead of time of any information we would
like, such as atatistica, trends, etc. He also would like to be
notified if we receive any complaints, etc.
Chief Collins feels that part of the continuing training of
police department personnel should include interaction with
minority groups. Officers need to be able to develop healthy
relationships with groups, such as gays/lesbians. A good time
to do this would be at roll call, which is daily at 7 a.m., for
15-30 minutes.
Chief Collins auggested informal meetings with various groups
of minoritiea in our city would be helpful. Karla feels that
won't help because we have been through meetings and talking
many times. She feels it would be better done on a one-to-one
basis, such as neighbor to neighbor.
There have been positive reactions from the police bike patrol.
' Police are getting more smiles and greetings now. We need more
or this face-to-face interaction. The new Community Center may
help people to see the police in a different light too.
Also mentioned was the fact that at preaent, members of the HRC
are all white. He will try to help us recruit some minority
members for our commission.
B/C. The letter was finalized as a part of IV-A.
D. Gordon and Carla are working on a case related to a complaint of
housing discrimination. They are still getting information, but
no calls have been returned so far. Both will try to contact the
building owners, then wait until the woman who complained
contacts them.
V. New Business
A. Gail volunteered to come up with a press release for the poster
contest. This will be used to get some publicity before the
contest, and afterward when the award is given. Gail will share
the release with Marie and Sherrie, because it must be done in
December to get in the Maplewood in Motion. The money has been
donated by Premier Bank.
B. Gail attended the Mediation Training and said it was fabulous,
but she does not feel qualified to do solo mediation. Mediators
feels it is better to do with two. There is no such thing as a
certified mediator. The majority of speakers were attorneys and
professors and they said that the mediator is neutral--the
process is up to the people involved. You cannot steer them, only
facilitate. There is a lot of resistance to mediation is
divorces.
C. Sherrie spoke for Marie concerning the speaker for Commission
events: Puppeta Against Racism was one suggestion. This costs
$300, and they only do it in April and May. It laste for 40
minutes, and is done by adults. Maybe we could sponeor this on a
Sunday afternoon in the community center, with a 15-20 minute
discussion period after the meeting. Sherrie will talk to the
Community center to check dates. Also, is there a video of this
group so we can see what it is like?
VI. Other Businesa: none.
VII. Reports
A. League of Mn. HRC: Karla and Marie attended the meeting here.
Pat was hosting. An attorney talked about the addendum to the
hate crimes bill. The mayor said a few words. About 10
commissions were represented.
B. City - We are advertising for openinga on the commission. At the
last budget meeting, only 10/12 people were there. The open
space referendum was discussed.
C. Grievances - already covered.
D. Agenda items for next time:
puppet presentation
police letter
news release update
step-by-step hate crime response
' calendar items
E. Other: Pat and Shelly were thanked for their service and
dedication to the Commission. Their presence will be misaed.
VIII. Adjournment: 8:37