HomeMy WebLinkAbout3 26 2024 HRCHuman Rights Commission
March 26, 2024
Regular Meeting – 5:30 PM
Emma J. Harvat Hall, City Hall
Agenda:
1. Call the meeting to order and roll call
2. Reading of Native American Land Acknowledgement
3. Approval of the February 27, 2024, meeting minutes
4. Public comment on items not on the agenda. (Commentators shall address the
Commission for no more than 5 minutes. Commissioners shall not engage in
discussion with the public or one another concerning said items)
5. Correspondence
6. Updates on Outreach and Engagement by the Police Department
7. Presentation by Lulu Merle Johnson Exhibit Project
8. Presentation by Community Transportation Committee
9. Racial Equity & Social Justice Grant Updates FY23, FY24, FY25
• Update to Rubric FY25
• Decrease Maximum Amount that Can be Requested
10. NCJC Gala, April 12, 6:30-9:30PM
11. Disability Health & Safety Expo, April 14 2-4:30PM Robert A. Lee
12. Funding Request: Coralville Asian Festival
13. Trans Day of Visibility Proclamation and Event
14. Commission Committees
• Building Bridges (Paul Shantz, Kollasch, Pandya)
• Reciprocal Relationships (Lusala, Pries)
• Breaking Bread (Dr. Liz, Qaduora)
15. Staff Announcements
16. Commissioner Announcements (Commissioners shall not engage in discussion
with one another concerning said announcements)
17. Adjournment
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all City of Iowa City-
sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable
accommodation in order to participate in these events, please contact the Office
of Equity and Human Rights at 319-356-5022 or humanrights@iowa-city.org.
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Draft Minutes
Human Rights Commission
February 27, 2024
Emma J. Harvat Hall
Commissioners present: Jahnavi Pandya, Doug Kollasch, Kelsey Paul Shantz, Elizabeth Mendez Shannon,
Viana Qaduora, Roger Lusala, Ahmed Ismail.
Commissioners on Zoom: None.
Commissioners absent: Sylvia Jons, Mark Pries.
Staff present: Stefanie Bowers, Sergeant Kevin Bailey.
Recommendation to City Council: No.
Meeting called to order: 5:31 PM.
Native American Land Acknowledgement: Ismail read the Land Acknowledgement.
Presentation to outgoing commissioner Ahmed Ismail: Ismail will be moving for work therefore he will no
longer be able to hold his position on the commission. Ahmed received a plaque for his services.
Correspondence: Staff responded to an email from a commissioner out of West Des Moines. They would
like to collaborate with commissions across the state to spread awareness of civil rights.
Approval of January 23, 2024, meeting minutes: Paul Shantz moved, and Lusala seconded. The motion
passed 7-0.
Public comment of items not on the agenda: None.
Updates on Outreach and Engagement by the Police Department: Sergeant Bailey reviewed what he and
the engagement team did in February. Sergeant Bailey said they will be continuing lessons on financial aid
abuse of seniors as it is a popular program. Planning and preparation for summer activities continues.
Bailey summarized his experience with the incarcerated art program, his presentation at the University of
Iowa about Policing in America (defense perspective vs. policing perspective), daycare safety presentation,
and “Project Fun” and the turn out. Updates and feedback from the food bank drive, soul food dinner, and
immigrant Q&A were also covered. Bailey noted that officer involvement has improved across the force.
Bailey ended his update answering questions from the commission, including language barriers and what is
in store for future immigration conversations. Sergeant Bailey stated an increase in participation in these
conversations will require childcare, flexible scheduling, and possible recordings or emails to allow for
accessibility.
Trans Day of Visibility proclamation and event: It is stated and agreed that a Trans Day of Visibility event.
There is a draft of the proclamation started and it will be sent to staff to submit for the Mayor’s
consideration. It is suggested that a program/event be planned for near the actual date of March 31.
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Racial Equity and Social Justice Grant: Grant applications are being evaluated at the time of this meeting.
A loose deadline for individual grant rankings is this Friday.
Commissioners discussed what the upcoming special meeting dedicated to reviewing the grant
applications and making a recommendation to City Council will look like, and staff reminded everyone to
bring their grant rubrics to have and use at that upcoming meeting.
Commission Committees:
Building Bridges (Paul Shantz, Kollasch, Pandya)
Breaking Bread (Dr. Liz, Qaduora)
Reciprocal Relationships (Lusala, Pries)
Jons will be able to select where she would like to serve between the Breaking Bread and Reciprocal
Relationships committees.
Efforts to avoid commission committees’ participation declining throughout the year was discussed with a
suggestion to incorporate set roles, which would be represented as F.O.R.
• F: Facilitator- keep meeting on track, set agenda, define next steps.
• O: Organizer- provide date, time, location, and/or zoom link.
• R: Recorder- take notes, submit notes, report out after meetings.
These “roles” are flexible and can be changed around within the committees and by event. Commissioners
agreed this is a something to incorporate in future committee meetings.
Transgender Day of Visibility program coordination was assigned to the Building Bridges committee.
Announcements of commissioners:
• Ismail mentioned an Iowa City Foreign Relations Council democracy event that will be held
in the fall and suggested for commissioners to get involved.
• Pandya visited recently with the mobility director for the County and discussed transit-
related options available and the concerns within these options.
• Mendez-Shannon worked with junior high students and noted their interest in information
on how to budget.
• Kollasch attended a panel discussion with two Johnson County Supervisors to discuss the
Board of Regents’ directives to the three state universities regarding DEI initiatives.
Kollasch also attended a University of Iowa DEI task force presentation discussing how to
work with new DEI rules/ laws.
• Paul-Shantz attended a conference in Barcelona connecting leaders to global issues
including climate action.
• Qaduora provided an update on World Hijab Day and mentioned the upcoming
Community free meal on March 22 at the Coralville library and encouraged commission
members to attend.
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• Lusala attended the Black History Ball and stated it was a successful community event and
encouraged all commissioners to attend in the future.
Announcements of staff: Staff provided a summary of the anticipated March agenda for the commission.
1. Community members would like to talk to the commission about recommending to the City
Council to establish a transit commission.
2. Historians/ consulting firm hired by the county to promote the renaming to Lulu Johnson to
make a presentation for the committee.
Adjourned: 6:31 PM.
The meeting can be viewed at https://citychannel4.com/video.html?series=Local%20Government.
Human Rights Commission
ATTENDANCE RECORD
YEAR 2024
(Meeting Date)
NAME
TERM
EXP.
1/23 2/27 3/26 4/23 5/28 6/25 7/23 8/27 9/24 10/22 11/26 12/24
Jahnavi Pandya 2024 X X
Sylvia Jons 2024 Z A
Doug Kollasch 2024 X X
Viana Qadoura 2025 X X
Ahmed Ismail 2025 A X
Mark Pries 2025 X A
Roger Lusala 2026 X X
Kelsey Paul Shantz 2026 X X
Liz Mendez-Shannon 2026 X X
KEY: P = Present
A = Absent
Z = Present via Zoom
DISABILITY HEALTH & SAFETY EXPO
Robert A. Lee Rec Center
2-4:30 P.M.APRIL 14 Water safetySexual healthSelf defense
TOPICS INCLUDE
Learn to fosterindependence & keepyourself safe at home & inthe community.
Correspondence
Correspondence
Correspondence
Human Rights Sponsorship Request Form
Cover Letter (required reading)
The Iowa City Human Rights Commission is allocated $2000 annually to provide financial assistance to community events designed to eliminate
racial, religious, cultural, or other intergroup tensions, including but not limited to, sex, color, creed, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation,
marital status, age, or national origin.
Rules and Requirements for Sponsorship:
The organization must be physically located in Iowa City.
The program must take place in Iowa City.
The program must have a date and location.
The event date must be prior to the request for financial assistance.
Applicants cannot be governments, public schools, or colleges/universities.
Applicants request cannot exceed $250.00.
Request must include a budget.
Request must include other sponsors.
Request cannot be for reimbursement or honorariums to speakers or guests.
Request cannot be for rental deposits for the venue.
Request cannot be for fundraising purposes.
Requests will be denied if another city department/division has financially contributed funding or will be contributing funds for the
program.
Funding will not be disbursed without the submission of a W9.
If the request is approved for financial assistance an organization cannot request any further assistance in the same fiscal year.
Signature*
Sign here that you have read and understand the rules and requirements.
Date Time
2024-03-13 01:39:45 PM
Application
Organization
Name *
Coralville Asian Festival
Address*
Street Address
P. O. Box 5393
Address Line 2
City
Coralville
State/Province/Region
Iowa
Postal/Zip Code
52241
Country
USA
Item #12
Contact person
Name *
Omega Dancel
Preferred pronouns
She/hers
Phone number *
319-621-8042
Email address *
coralvilleasianfest@gmail.com
Program details
Date of Program*
5/18/2024
Program Title *
Coralville Asian Festival
Location name*
S. T. Morrison Park
Location Address *
Street Address
1513 7th St.
Address Line 2
City
Coralville
State/Province/Region
Iowa
Postal/Zip Code
52241
Country
USA
Describe how the program eliminates racial, religious, cultural, or other intergroup tensions, related, but not limited to: sex,
color, creed, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, or national origin.*
Our event will showcase talent, skills, performances by members of our community from different ethnic groups, ages, and abilities. We
will have performers from Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and surrounding Iowa City area. We will also have students from the University of
Iowa and West High School. Our goal is to host a diverse cultural event to celebrate our rich culture and heritage.
Is there a financial cost to participate in the project?*
Yes No
Describe how socioeconomic barriers to attendance will be addressed.
Our event is free for the public. Our team has created a very detailed budget to accommodate all of the expenses to make our event
successful.
Previous Next
Budget
Amount Requested (Maximum request $250.00)*
$250.00
Has any City of Iowa City department or division provided any support for this event?*
(Include in-kind and financial support)
Yes
No
Will any City of Iowa City department or division provide any support for this event?*
(Include in-kind and financial support)
Yes
No
Please list all funding sources or in-kind support for this event including the amount *
Green State- $250, Coralville Food Pantry- van use. United Methodist Church- table and chairs. We are still in the process of requesting
sponsorship, many have not replied yet.
Attache Itemized Budget