Minutes Human Rights 8 12 02DUBUQUE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
MINUTES OF
August 12, 2002
Kathy Stevens called the meeting of the Dubuque Human Rights Commission to order at 4:19 p.m.'on
Monday, August 12, 2002, in Conference Room 2 at the City Hall Annex.
Roll Call:
Present;
Evelyn Jackson
Marty O'Shea
Kathy Stevens
Chades Ryan
Absent: Judy Giesen
Staff: Kelly Lamon
Bill Blum
A ro_A_~of Minutes:
Sr. Codne Murray
Lou Oswald
Bill Ross
Raydora Drummer
Carol Spinoso
Commissioner Jackson moved to approve the July 8, 2002 meeting minutes. Commissioner Ryan
seconded. All in favor.
Carol summarized the July Caseload Report. There were 54 intakes, 2 cases in backlog, 9 cases
under active investigation, 2 cases in mediation/conciliation, 4 cases in administrative review, 1 case
in ALJ review, 3 cases in the public headng process, 2 new cases filed, and 3 cases were closed.
The case synopsis involves race discrimination in the area of housing.
~son's Reoo~:
No report given.
Kelly gave a presentation to the Tri-State Human Resource Assodation on August 8 regarding
harassment claims.
Kelly had a sedes of meetings regarding accessibility of the Riverwalk. They are looking at the
possibility of making some design changes to make it more accessible than legally required. I'm also
putting together a binder of ADAAG requirements for each of the Department Managers so they have
that for their reference.
Jake and Crenna's last day is Friday.
Bill and Kelly are going to take a hate cdmes training course online over the next month.
KCRG and Fox interviewed Kelly as part of a story on the 12 year anniversary of the ADA.
Kelly has been working with John Walsh and Dave Kapler on developing anti-predatory lending
guidelines to be used any time city money is involved in a rehab, purchase, etc.
Kelly will be traveling to Des Moines on September 13 to attend the Iowa Director's meeting.
Planning continues for the Undiscovered Resources Job Fair set for September 19, and the
Homebuyer Seminar is set for September 28.
Last week Kelly received an e-mail from Myrtle Wilson, who controls our HUD contract. They are in
the process of reviewing our case files as part of our annual audit, which they began back in May
when Doug Pearl visited the office. HUD is expressing concern about the Commission's decision to
reject the ALJ's recommended finding of discrimination in the Parris v. Maro case. They have
forwarded the case to their legal department and headquartem for review, and Myrtle indicated that
this could result in our losing our certification, which means we would lose our contract. Kelly has
responded to her e-mail with an explanation of our process in hopes that she would understand the
Commission's role in the public hearing process.
Goal Settin.q
The Commission questioned the need at this time to examine staff needs. It was recommended that
they instead examine the outreach and educational activities that staff is currently involved in.
Commissioner Ross moved to hold a special meeting on August 29 from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. to develop
a plan of action and timeline for the goals established dudng the recent goal setting session. Evelyn
seconded. All in favor. The Commission wilt meet in Conference Room 2 at the City Hall Annex.
DCSD Option Tax
The Commission discussed endorsing the DCSD option tax. Commissioner Ryan moved that the
Human Rights Commission endorse the Dubuque Community School District's proposal for a one-
cent sales tax referendum expecting that all buildings in the school system will be ADA Compliant.
Commissioner Murray seconded. Six Commissioners in favor and one opposed to the endorsement.
Kelly will issue a press release.
New Business
The Commission discussed the possibility of holding meetings at the Library so that they can be aired
on Channel 8. Staff will need to check with Cable TV and the availability of the Auditorium.
The deadline for registering for fair housing training sponsored by the John Marshall Law School
scheduled for September 13 & 14 in Chicago is August 20.
Commissioner Ross moved and Commissioner Oswald seconded to adjoum the meeting. All in favor.
The meeting adjoumed at 5:55 p.m.
Minutes approved as submitted: (~ ~
Minutes approved as corrected: