Minutes - 9.3.19Richfield Human Rights Commission
Monthly Meeting Minutes
September 3rd, 2019
Members Present: Brett Stursa, Heather Eastlund, Bob Mulcahy, Katie Goodemote, Michele
Thompson, Sarah Musgrave, Kris Anderson, Todd Diede
Public Safety Liaison: Mike Flaherty
City Council Liaison:
School Board Liaison:
1.Meeting called to order by Chair Brett Stursa at 6:29pm.
2.Motion to approve Agenda: Eastlund/seconded Anderson; motion carried.
3.Motion to approve Minutes: Musgrave/seconded Diede, motion carried.
4.Open Public comment: None
5.Reports:
a.Chair’s report: Terms of youth commissioners over; new commissioners at the
next meeting. Trying to contact commissioner who has only attended one
meeting. Speak up if electronic agendas are not working out. Joint Community
Police Partnership back to school event was a big success. Maybe we should
volunteer next year or have a table--maybe to advertise for youth
commissioners? Flaherty suggested Heroes and Helpers, another JCPP event;
they are always looking for volunteers. Should start RHRC workplan Nov/Dec
with an eye toward approving it in February. Hispanic Heritage Month
proclamation on council agenda Sept 24th (Diede to attend).
b.Secretary’s report: None
c.Vice Chair’s report: If anyone needs a t-shirt, talk to me.
d.School Board Liaison report: None. Mulcahy to follow up based on last month’s
discussion about communication flow.
e.Public Safety Liaison report: None
6.New Business
a.Indigenous Peoples Day (Stursa, Diede, Ostendorf): Researched how other cities
have approached this, resulting in proclamation circulated with this group. Also
partnered with Richfield's American Indian Education Parent Advisory
Committee. They provided feedback and edits. Motion to approve:
Anderson/seconded: Thompson; motion carried. Flaherty to take it to the city to
get it on the city council’s agenda. Diede requested that city stay in touch as it
moves through the process. Process at that point unclear since a proclamation is
usually symbolic. Flaherty suggested city staff and council should help us form
our workplan for next year to avoid murky process waters and to align with city
council agenda. Thompson expressed desire for commissioners to have city-led
training for new commissioners on how the system works. Anderson suggested
constructing a process flow with the city. Stursa to reach out to the mayor and
Trautmann to express our enthusiasm and to let them know we are starting to
think about our 2020 workplan. Maybe next year we could partner with the
American Indian Education Parent Advisory Committee to celebrate the day.
b.Penn Fest – Sept. 15: Reminder about volunteer slots (see Chillman email).
Goodemote ready to assemble quiz boards; looking for help assembling. Will
circulate a picture before final assembly. Chillman to send out booth information
when she has it.
7.Unfinished Business
a.Proclamation committee (Stursa, Eastlund, Mulcahy, Trautmann): Pausing until
2020 workplan.
b.Housing committee (Eastlund, Chillman, Mulcahy, Stursa, Diede, Anderson):
Eastlund reports that the process is stalled as approval from our partners has hit
a process snag and has reset. Eastlund and Anderson to continue to pursue for
October Saturday date, though seems tight now. If stalls continue, we can pursue
another partnership. Stursa to work with Richfield Foundation to find out about
any deadlines around the financial support.
c.History project (Mulcahy, Chillman, Eastlund, Stursa): That’s Rich podcast
recorded. Should be out before Penn Fest. Mulcahy to work with Stursa and
Goodemote on an article to close out this project.
d.Census committee (Chillman, Eastlund, Diede, Musgrave, Anderson, Ostendorf):
No update; make a priority for 2020? Flaherty noted that the city may want to put
literature at our table at Penn Fest.
e.Naturalization Ceremony committee (Eastlund, Stursa, Diede, Anderson,
Thompson): Eastlund reported that middle school principal will give welcome
remarks at the ceremony. The RHRC chair has in the past made remarks as well,
but not every year. Eastlund to ensure we have a sense of how many speakers
will be feasible before we begin identifying others. Down to two possible dates;
will be set after site visit to ensure the site can meet all the requirements. School
is invested.
8.Announcements/Open Forum: None
9.Next meeting: October 1, 2019, 6:30pm
10.Motion for adjournment: Eastlund/seconded Anderson, motion carried. Meeting
adjourned at 7:37pm.
Submitted by Bob Mulcahy 9/4/19