Minutes Human Rights 1_13_07
CITY OF
DUBUQUE
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES OF
November 13, 2006
Commissioner Jarrard called the meeting of the Dubuque Human Rights Commission to order at
4:17 p.m. on Monday, November 13, 2006, in Conference Room 2 at the City Hall Annex.
Roll Call: Anthony Allen Bill Ross
Present: Judy Giesen Marcos Rubinstein
Jim Jarrard, Chair Vince Vanden Huevel, Vice-Chair
Katrina Wilberding
Absent: Patricia Foster
Staff: Kelly Larson Crenna Brumwell-Sahm
Molly Menster Carol Spinoso
Approval of Minutes
Upon a motion by Commissioner Vanden Huevel and a second by Commissioner Rubinstein, the
minutes of the October 9, 2006 meeting were approved unanimously.
Caseload Report
Carol summarized the October Caseload Report. There were forty intakes, 3 new cases were
filed, twelve cases under active investigation, one case in administrative law judge review, 1 case
was closed, and six remain in backlog. The case summary details allegations of discrimination in
the area of employment on the basis of sex (pregnancy).
Chairperson's Report
Commissioner Jarrard announced that he would not be reapplying to the Commission due to time
constraints, and that due to a conflict, he will not be present at the December meeting.
Director's Report
Kelly provided a written report highlighting past and future initiatives. Additionally, she presented
placemats that highlight the City Council goals and priorities.
Subcommittee Reports
Accessibility – Judy, Katrina, Bill, Jim
Commissioner Giesen reported that the group has been meeting monthly. Meeting minutes
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were provided from the October 23 meeting, and from meetings with Kevin Lynch and
Nancy Van Milligen. Nancy is promising regarding funding for promotion.
Commissioner Wilberding stated that she was very impressed with the subcommittee's
accomplishments thus far. She has been having conversations with people within the city
organization, the business community, the Chamber, and Human Rights Commissioners, in
an attempt to get more people involved in developing the Proudly Accessible Dubuque
program. One aspect will be the survey. They will need to work on fine tuning the way it is
presented to the businesses. She felt that getting more business people involved and
committed will help that process. The goal for the next couple weeks is to get a group of 5 -
10 people who are interested in serving on a steering committee for Proudly Accessible
Dubuque. The goal of that steering committee will be to actually put together a business
plan for the program. The Human Rights Commission, City of Dubuque, and Chamber of
Commerce are the 3 major players. It will be determined what the roles of each of these
players will be. The Chamber has indicated that they are interested, but they won't be
involved until they know for sure what we are doing. There will be an educational aspect
which will educate not only businesses, but also people with disabilities as to their rights
and what they should be looking for. They will work toward getting marketing people on
board, and search for funding options. People have been brainstorming and are looking at
this from a broader perspective. Katrina will be meeting with Rich Russell from the Building
Department regarding enforcement efforts. In the 2008 budget there is a request to add a
part-time person in the Building Department part of whose job will be to enforce the ADA.
Commissioner Giesen moved that Commissioner Wilberding serve as chair of the
Accessibility Subcommittee. Commissioner Allen seconded. There being no other
nominations, Commissioner Ross moved to close nominations and Commissioner
Rubinstein seconded. Roll call vote:
Allen Yes Ross Yes
Giesen Yes Rubinstein Yes
Jarrard Yes Vanden Huevel Yes
Wilberding Yes
Motion carried 7-1 to close nominations.
Roll call vote on main motion:
Allen Yes Ross Yes
Giesen Yes Rubinstein Yes
Jarrard Yes Vanden Huevel Yes
Wilberding Yes
Motion carried 7-0 to appoint Katrina to serve as chair of the Accessibility Subcommittee.
Education and Outreach – Bill, Molly
Commissioner Ross reported that they are continuing to recruit speakers for the sexual
orientation education group. A speakers' training session is planned for January 13, 2007.
The group decided not to revise and reprint the "People We All Know," but instead will
produce a brochure.
Bill also stated that he, Vince and Molly attended a presentation at the Roosevelt Middle
School on Creating Safe Schools for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Students,
which was sponsored by Iowa Safe Schools.
Commissioner Allen moved to nominate Commissioner Ross as chair of the Education and
Outreach Subcommittee and Commissioner Rubinstein seconded. Hearing no other
nominations, Commissioner Rubinstein moved and Commissioner Wilberding seconded
that nominations be closed. Roll call:
Allen Yes Ross No
Giesen Yes Rubinstein Yes
Jarrard Yes Vanden Huevel Yes
Wilberding Yes
Motion carried 7-1 to close nominations.
Roll call vote on main motion:
Allen Yes Ross No
Giesen Yes Rubinstein Yes
Jarrard Yes Vanden Huevel Yes
Wilberding Yes
Motion carried 7-1 to appoint Bill to serve as chair of the Education and Outreach
Subcommittee.
Ordinance Review – Anthony, Marcos
Commissioner Rubinstein nominated Commissioner Allen to serve as chair of the
Ordinance Review Subcommittee. Commissioner Vanden Huevel seconded. Hearing no
other nomination, Commissioner Wilberding moved to close nominations and
Commissioner Rubinstein seconded. Roll call:
Allen Yes Jarrard Yes
Giesen Yes Ross Yes
Jackson Yes Rubinstein Yes
Vanden Huevel Yes
Motion carried 7-1 to close nominations.
Vote on main motion:
Allen Abstain Ross Yes
Giesen Yes Rubinstein Yes
Jarrard Yes Vanden Huevel Yes
Wilberding Yes
Motion carried. Anthony will serve as chair of the Ordinance Review Subcommittee
Lou Oswald to Address the Commission on Predatory Lending
Mr. Oswald was not present to address the Commission.
Update Diversity Goals for Comprehensive Plan
Kelly asked Commissioners if they had any input regarding the Diversity Goals in the City's
Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Allen suggested including the Dubuque Dispute Resolution
Center to goal 3.4, which relates to providing an avenue for citizens to manage their conflicts.
New Business:
Since this was Commissioner Jarrard's last meeting, Commissioner Giesen expressed gratitude for
his efforts and dedication to the Commission.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the Commission, Commissioner Vanden Huevel
moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Giesen seconded. Motion passed by acclamation.
Meeting was adjourned at 5:34 p.m.
The next meeting is December 11, 2006.
Minutes approved as submitted: _______________________________________
Minutes approved as corrected: ________________________________________