Minutes Human Rights Commission 2 11 08CITY OF DUBUQUE
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES OF
February 11, 2008
Commissioner Oswald called the meeting of the Dubuque Human Rights Commission to order at
4:19 p.m. on Monday, February 11, 2008, in Conference Room 2 at the City Hall Annex.
Roll Call: Anthony Allen
Present: Dan Chatfield
Shane Oswald, Chair
Marco Rubinstein
Colin Scott
Vince Vanden Heuvel
Gretel Winterwood
Absent: Mary Coan
Staff: Kelly Larson
Approval of Minutes
Katrina Wilberding
Carol Spinoso
Upon a motion by Commissioner Rubinstein and second by Commissioner Allen, the minutes of
the January 14, 2008 meeting were approved unanimously.
Commissioner Vanden Heuvel moved and Commissioner Rubinstein seconded to suspend the
agenda to allow Frank Belcastro to make a presentation to the commission. All in favor. Mr.
Belcastro approached the commission with concerns about the lack of emergency room signs at
Mercy Hospital. Commissioners asked if this was something that is covered by the ADA. Crenna
will research the ADA and other legal jurisdictional issues and share her finding at next month's
meeting. There will be more discussion on this issue at next month's meeting.
Caseload Report
Carol summarized the January Caseload Report. There were sixty-two intakes, four new cases
filed, eight cases under active investigation, one case in mediation, five cases remain in backlog
and two cases were closed. The case summary details a claim of employment discrimination on
the bases of race and retaliation.
Chairperson's Report
Commissioner Oswald stated that he has been quite busy with the Dubuque Community School
District's realignment of the two high schools. There will be more discussion on this issue later on
in the agenda.
Director's Report
Kelly stated that the League of Iowa Human Rights Agencies has scheduled an Immigration 101
training session to provide more information about some of the issues surrounding the immigration
debate and the bills that have been proposed.
Last week Kelly and Molly attended the third week of training at the National Fair Housing Training
Academy in Washington, DC.
One Ummah is here this week working with the ICC training team training city staff.
Staff has been attending the Housing Department's Section 8 briefings to present a five minute
segment on fair housing rights. The briefings occur weekly, so staff is hoping to use some HUD
funds to create a short fair housing informational video.
The city is working on translating some of the key brochures into Spanish. Commissioner
Rubinstein asked to review the translation prior to taking them to the printer.
Lastly, Kelly reported that the department's budget hearing is scheduled tonight at 6:30 p.m. in
council chambers. Funding for the National Origin Subcommittee's video and the Department's
brochure update/translation is not being recommended.
Subcommittee Reports
Education and Outreach
National Origin: Commissioner Vanden Heuvel reported that thus far they will be receiving
$2,000 from Loras College and $2,000 from the DCSD for the video production. They are
waiting to hear from the others. Vince will appeal to the City Council tonight in an attempt to
encourage the funding of the national origin video.
Race: Anthony reported that he was not in attendance at the February 4th meeting. He will
provide information when he receives the minutes from Molly.
Disability: Commissioner Winterwood stated that they have approximately 12 speakers
ready to be trained.
Housing: Anthony and Gretel will be meeting at noon on February 18th at Gretel's.
Sexual Orientation: No report.
Accessibility
No report given.
Formation of Subcommittee to Address Goals
Commissioner Oswald recommended that there be a subcommittee that is responsible for
organizing, condensing and presenting information to the public in a timely fashion. Specifically to
decide what we want to include in the new publication, assemble the brochure, work with the
translators, ensure that these publications are consistent with other publications as far as graphics
and logos, and market the speakers' bureau. Basically this subcommittee would act as a
clearinghouse for the information that is going from the DHRC out to the community.
Commissioner Rubinstein moved to create a subcommittee to address the goals of marketing and
publicity. Commissioner Allen seconded. Roll call:
Anthony Allen Yes Colin Scott Yes
Dan Chatfield Yes Vince Vanden Heuvel Yes
Shane Oswald Yes Gretel Winterwood Yes
Marco Rubinstein Yes
Motion carried. Marcos volunteered to work on that subcommittee.
Discuss School District Realignment
Commissioner Oswald stated that there have been public meetings and lots of conversations about
the realignment. Shane asked for commissioner comments or opinions in regards to this issue that
he can take back to the committee. Commissioner Allen recommended that the committee work to
establish diverse support groups to help students deal with the transition.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the Commission, Commissioner Vanden Heuvel
moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Allen seconded. Motion passed by consensus.
Meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
The next regular meeting is March 10, 2008.
Minutes approved as submitted:
Minutes approved as corrected: