Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.28.24 HRC Minutes (Final) HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Cultivating Community Through Social Justice Meeting Minutes Tuesday, May 28, 2024 6:00pm-7:30 pm (Virtual) Member Role Attendance Commissioners Lynn McGee (LM) Commissioner, Chair Present Jenn Sykes (JS) Commissioner, Vice Chair Present Nathalie Volkheimer(NCV) Commissioner, Secretary Present Josh Ravitch (JR Commissioner Present Michael Fath (MF) Commissioner Present Brooke Capps-Yaroni (BCY) Commissioner Present Jemm Merritt-Feder(JM) Commissioner Present Rhian Ford (RF) Commissioner Present Tonya Jones (TJ) Commissioner Present Ruby Garcia(RG) Commissioner Excused Anjail Taylor(AT) Commissioner Absent Orange County Staff Courtney McLaughlin (CM) Interim Director, Chief Equity and Human Rights Officer Present I. Call to order- Lynn McGee, Chair (6:00pm) II. Meeting Minutes Approval: April 23, 2024, Meeting Minutes Approved pending correction to remove Josh as Chair in the attendance portion of the minutes. It was agreed that future Agenda Items have the names removed from the Subcommittee Section. Moved: BCY Seconded: TJ Approved III. County Updates (6:04-6:25) - Courtney McLaughlin, Interim Director A. Upcoming Events: Juneteenth celebration is Friday June 14t", which is the kickoff to other Juneteenth celebrations. There will be an opening ceremony, guest speakers and performances at the David price Farmer's Pavilion at 10am., there will be events all day closing with a "block party format" gathering at the Eno Arts Mill. Requests were made to see if there is the possibility with nametags indicating that the Commissioners are commissioners. All commissioners are to email CM with their availability to help with the Juneteenth celebration. B. Share Point Site Update: County IT is transitioning documents to reflect the organizational change and to move into a Sharepoint environment. An update should be coming to the next meeting how the IT will be structured moving forward. No other shared drives can be used in the interim, due to the legal requirements of recordkeeping. However, each chair of each subcommittee can manage their own documents until the Sharepoint site is ready and then migrate over. C. Language Access Planning is developing. It would be great to have some Commissioners work with this project development. D. Director Position Status: The interim has yet to be appointed. County Manager, Bonnie Hammersley, will be retiring in July 2024. IV.Executive Committee Report- Lynn McGee (6:25-6:45) A. OC Community Remembrance Committee: Upcoming July 2 Symposium on the 60tn Anniversary of the signing of the Civil Right Act (Flyer will be posted on social media sites) B. Vacancies - 1 vacancy and 8 applicants. LM will work CM to narrow down the applicants and send an invite to the June 25 meeting. CM will inform the advisory board of the definite date for nomination to the BOCC. C. SharePoint - Request has been submitted by CM. There will be a delay due to continuation of transitioning of OEI staff members D. Communications - If you want to take photos from any event (such as Juneteenth) please ensure that you either have consent or the photo is where people are not identifiable, but the activity is. Please ensure any photos going to Nathalie or Jemm have a caption of what the photo is V. Subcommittee Reports: (6:45-7:05) A. Policies and Procedures: Co-Chairs: Josh &Anjail: Requesting commissioners review workplan and give feedback. B. Outreach & Engagement: Co-Chairs: Brooke & Rhian: The Chairs are suggesting that we must listen to the community to identify priorities and figure out where to invest our energies. The request to the Commissioners is to read and give feedback on the plan. Chair McGee requested we have a stand form to assess community needs using the commissioners who expressed interest in particular areas of the community. C. Community Events: Co-Chairs: Michael &Tonya: Community Reads may be scheduled for the autumn, however it being during an election year may be challenging. Requests were made to identify a book for the Community Read in the next few weeks and to search for one that is available as an audio book format. Suggestions are welcome. D. Some other events coming up in the area: https://www.chapelhiIlarts.org/calendar/pride- promenade/. VI. Other Business: (7:05-7:15) A. Essential Partners ha one more seat in their Fellowship, please identify someone to Courtney to participate. B. Nathalie asked about the recent unrest in the County and protests — I there a way to have everyone feel included and heard? What is the County position? Chair McGee commented that this exact issue was addressed during the Board of County Commissioners Annual Review Meeting for the HRC, and suggestions were made by the HRC for a "pressure relief' system in the event of unrest. One Board member specifically stated they did not feel this would be an issue in Orange County. There was no further discussion. VII. Adjourn (7:15pm) Moved: MF Seconded: BCY Approved Vill. Next Meeting: June 25, 2024, Location: Bonnie B. Davis Building. All commissioners are encouraged to attend in person to meet potential commissioners applying for the vacant position.