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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHRC minutes 041017Depa rnent of 11or�sing, �� °usnoin Il3ugtits and � Orange County Human Relations Commission Minutes Monday, April 10, 2017 6:00 pm -7:30 pm Orange County Animal Services Conference Room 1601 Eubanks Road, Chapel Hill NC MEMBERS PRESENT STAFF Jacqulyn Podger Annette Moore, Interim Director Joyce Christine Preslar Uvonka Mercer Rollin Russell Emailed stating she would not attend Monica Richard No communication Dr. Deborah Stroman Resigned MEMBERS ABSENT Scott Goldsmith (Jewish Holiday) Emailed stating he would not attend Andy Cagle Emailed stating he would not attend Robin Criffield (Work Related) Emailed stating she would not attend Marc Xavier No communication Timothy McNair Resigned Susie Enoch Resigned Delvena Jones No communication Jessica Aguilar No communication GUESTS L Call to Order Chair Monica Richard called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. There wasn't a quorum. 1. Monica Richard started a discussion centering on committee members who expressed interest over forming sub - committees that will address at -will employment issues in North Carolina, targeting immigrants and undocumented workers. 2. Pam Reynolds is retiring at the end of April and recruitment for the position has started. Uvonka Mercer stated interviews began on April 101' and will finish on April 11th. II. Introductions III. Minutes Approval — March 13, 2017 1. Rollin Russell stated there was one discrepancy to the Item IV County Updates, what was received did not go to El Centro but to two others. IV. County Updates 1. Annette Moore stated they have received an increase from the Outside Agency Funding. The process this year was different from years past in that a face -to -face interview with the Outside Agency was required. It provided an opportunity to understand the breath of what is done and possible ways to incorporate HRC into their mode of operation. Ms. Moore suggested the HRC Board invite the "Outside Agency Funding" to come and speak to HRC. 2. The BOCC asked the Town Manager to look at refugee issues and determine if any of those groups were having trouble or needing funds especially in light of all that is going on with the Federal Government right now. The Board approved FY 2017 -2018 — Outside Agency Funding — additional funding for Refugee Assistance $87,000. Flicka Bateman, Refugee Support Center, was one of the groups that received funds. Flicka Bateman is a recent recipient of the Pauli Murray Awards. 3. Hate Free Schools Coalition: Annette Moore has not heard anything from the Hate Free Schools Coalition. Rollin Russell stated he invited representatives of El Futuro to come and meet with HRC. There was discussion about the difference between El Futuro and El Centro. 4. Hate Free School Representative Rollin Russell is planning the community forum. HRC will co- sponsor the event on "Community Discussion ". Mr. Russell stated there will be a committee meeting on Sunday 16th and a planning meeting on Wednesday 19th with Jean Buldoc and staff member. He is planning on attending. The emphasis of the meeting will be on "hate free" school environments and will not solely focus on getting rid of rebel flags. HRC members discussed how to make it an appropriate educational experience for all the students. The target date for the forum will be sometime in May. Mr. Russell asked for PR to publicize this event. He stated that BOCC member Mark Dorosin is supportive of the event and has offered meeting space. Discussion centered on actions to take to make sure there is a balanced discussion. 5. Rollin Russell inquired about the vacancy for the Director's position. Annette Moore stated the position for Director closes April 15''- She stated they are looking to fill the position post haste with expectations of the beginning of June. V. Subcommittee Updates A. Executive Committee 1. Plan of Action for Year — There was discussion regarding coming up with a plan for the year that would keep the momentum going. As it stands right now the two regularly occurring HRC events are the Pauli Murray Awards held in February and the Human Race Forum held in January. Monica Richard stated that two other events were cancelled — the Community Read and Poster Contest. The HRC members discussed setting goals and vision. Annette Moore provided vision for HRC and encouraged the members to look in terms of what is being done and what action steps should HRC take to educate the population as a whole. She shared that that HRC should look at the action after action report and then determine who they should partner with. 2. Goals for Subcommittee Subcommittee Members: Monica Richard, Annette Moore Discussion centered on the need for new goals. Rollin Russell stated that HRC needs to plan the follow up on the events that the committee hosts. There was discussion meeting with the HRC's from Durham and Raleigh. There could be possible collaboration as well as the opportunity to see what other counties are doing and glean ideas. 3. Budget Annette Moore stated that the BOCC will hire two positions: Housing Rehab Specialist and Housing Resource Coordinator. The county currently has two Housing Rehab Specialists who perform inspections but also do the rehabilitation projects. The inspectors currently complete about 1,200 to 1,500 inspections a year and with the growth and expansion, there is a need to hire a third. The Housing Resource Coordinator will have two functions: first, coordinate rehab projects within the county with other agencies specifically to leverage our resources and help with the coordination of all the projects and secondly act as a housing locator working with landlords and tenants to obtain additional affordable housing. Orange County has a housing problem because the largest landlord does not accept Section 8 as a result we have Section 8 voucher holders who cannot find housing. Ms. Moore stated we are asking Social Services for two transitional houses, within this fiscal year. The houses are to help people who are at risk of being homeless. She also stated we are asking for $100,000 displacement funds for wraparound services for people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The funds will help with down payment assistance, utility payments, rental assistance and anything that is needed to help stabilize their housing. It would augment the Rapid Re- housing Funds which have been decreasing over the years. There is an allotment of $10,000 for IDA's, Individual Development Accounts. The Section 8 Homeownership Program has $5,000 in the fund. The additional funding will allow the county to match funds with homeowners who are Section 8 holders. They would receive $1000 from us and $1,000 through the Centre for Homeownership which will allow them to have $3000 in funding to be used for their home acquisition. Ms. Moore spoke about the budget in terms of working with outside agencies and coordinating our efforts for best possible outcomes. For example, there is $293 in county funds, $114,000 in HOME funds for rehab. There is a request for an additional $200,000 for rehab funding which is a drop in the bucket in terms of what will meet the demand. HRC Board Operational Budget increased from $3,000 to $5,000. Monica Richard stated that HRC had been operating on a budget of $3,000 and that it wasn't enough. She stated with the additional funds there would be more money for subcommittees to utilize. Ms. Moore stated that it was a specific line item for the HRC. B. Diversity Matters Subcommittee Members: Deborah Stroman, Jacqueline Podger, Joy Preslar, Rollin Russell 1. Community Read and Poster Contest — Those events were cancelled. There was discussion on possible collaboration with UNC on Atul Gawande's "Being Mortal" as the Community Read. Ms. Moore suggested that a partnership with UNC would be very powerful. The idea was that it could possibly become an annual collaboration. Dr. Strongman stated that UNC would love the idea of partnering with HRC by having guided instructors paired with a student or community member. The student would lead the discussion. C. Community Relations Plans the Pauli Murray Awards and general outreach 1. Human Relations Essay Contest (Fall School Semester) 2. Fair Housing Poster Contest Planning (Fall School Semester D. Community Justice Subcommittee Member: Monica Richard, no other members were present Ms. Richard stated the committee was dealing with three items: 1. Anti - Police biasing 2. Re -entry issues — people coming out of jail 3. SRO (School Resource Officers) in schools VI. Other Business /Announcements /Upcoming Events 1. HRC would like to make changes to the website and Facebook page. The website is managed by Pam Reynolds. 2. Vice Chair Vacancy - Uvonka will send the HRC Board applications of new members and subcommittee groups to the HRC Board members. 3. Community Dinner will be April 301', and the tickets are $10. The community dinner is about getting people together from diverse backgrounds eating together sharing commonalities. 4. Dr. Strongman asked if the HRC was more focused on housing concerns than human relations. Rollin Russell stated there is an Affordable Housing Advisory Board that handles housing issues. The HRC put together a "Tenants Bill of Rights" specific to Orange County, which addresses aspects of housing issues as well as human relations issues. Annette Moore stated HRC is the "eyes and ears" of issues that arise for the general public. She further explained that HRC is a great place for people to bring issues for discussion and solutions. 5. There was discussion on new applications for HRC Board members positions as well as which board members would be renewing and vacating the board. Ms. Moore stated that all recommendations are due by June 61i. VII. Adjourn — 7:18 pm Respectfully submitted, Millicent Bowie, HHRCD