12-04-2018Richfield Human Rights Commission
Monthly Meeting Minutes
December 4th, 2018
Members Present: Mark Westergaard, Debbie Eng, Carrie Chillman, Sarah Musgrave,
Ben Sunderlin, Heather Eastlund, Bob Mulcahy, Husniyah Dent Bradley.
Public Safety Liaison: DC Mike Flaherty
City Council Liaison: Mike Howard
1. Meeting called to order by Chair Mark Westergaard at 6:31pm.
2. Motion to approve Agenda: Eastlund/seconded Eng; motion carried.
3. Motion to approve Minutes Eng/seconded Musgrave; motion carried.
4. Open Public comment: None
5. Reports:
a. Chair’s report: Mark brought treats to celebrate Debbie’s service on the
commission, this is her last meeting as she is not serving another term, he gave
many thanks for her hard work and dedication and pointed out some of the big
projects she worked on, Deb says she will likely apply for a different City
commission. Deb will be missed!! Mark reminded us that new leadership will be
elected at the next meeting, it is very important that a quorum be present for this
to happen; all are welcomed and encouraged to run for leadership positions.
Mark also noted that Husniyah’s picture was in the latest issue of the SunCurrent
when she was speaking with candidates for Richfield City Manager.
b. Secretary’s report: Carrie thanked Bob for taking and submitting the minutes from
last month.
c. Vice Chair’s report: Deb said her goodbyes as this is her last meeting.
d. City Council Liaison report: Mike Howard noted this is also his last meeting as
the HRC’s council liaison as he was elected to the MN State House of
Representatives in November and will be sworn in early Jan 2019; Mike said that
he has enjoyed his time with the HRC and welcomed all to stay in touch. Mike
will be missed too!! He also mentioned the City business of the continued
commission recruitment for new terms in the next year, and the hiring of new City
Mgr Katie Rodriguez after Steve Devich’s retirement.
e. Public Safety Liaison report: DC Flaherty reports that after tonight’s t-shirt
reimbursement submission there is $36 in our budget that can be rolled over into
next year.
6. New Business
a. The Jan 2019 meeting needs to be rescheduled due to the New Year Holiday; it
was agreed that it will be held on 1/3/19 at 6:30pm
7. Unfinished Business
a. Gender neutral bathrooms: no updates at this time, DC Flaherty will inquire and
follow-up.
b. 2019 Events Planning:
i. Children’s book reading at Augsburg, will have a sign-up soon, please
follow-through with commitments.
ii. Naturalization Ceremony: Deb estimates 200 new citizens to be
naturalized, will meet with the school next week to finalize details
including the time, event is 2/19/19.
iii. Proclamation team: Group is in research phase and are developing
“whereas” statements, document will be ready for commission approval at
January meeting in preparation for presentation to City Council later in the
month.
iv. 2019 Speaker Series: Ben gave update that the school is committed and
engaged, students filled out survey to say what they would like to see,
group is now using that info to find people to present. Group will meet
with RHS’s Black Student Union to present plan and develop interest in a
partnership. Event will be at the end of February. Richfield Foundation
has granted funds, Ben has some questions regarding if they can be a
fiscal agent and there was some discussion about how the HRC can
receive a grant but there was no conclusion.
c. By-laws need updating to reflect the need to have the minutes completed and
submitted to city staff within three business days before the next meeting.
Heather moved to change language, Ben seconded/ motion carried.
d. T-shirts: Deb had the shirts that were ordered and distributed them.
8. Announcements/Open Forum: Sarah informed group that on 1/14/19 at 6:30 Richfield
United Methodist will be hosting an immigration 101 informational event; and she
informed the group that there will be a vote soon at the county level to redistribute funds
from transportation tax to be used for infrastructure, Commissioner Goettel would be the
person to contact to give opinion or input.
9. Next meeting: January 3rd, 2019, 6:30pm
10. Motion for adjournment: Eng/seconded Dent Bradley, motion carried. Meeting
adjourned at 7:25pm.
Submitted by Carrie Chillman 1/2/19