HRIEC Minutes 06-12-2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Human Rights, Inclusion and Engagement Commission Minutes June 12, 2019 Page 7 of 19 Commissioner Djevi thought the idea behind reaching out to organizations is that individuals can move but organizations tend to stick around. It is going to be a combination of reaching out to people in the community as well as organizations in the community but hopefully if individuals move the organization that is still around, those relationships will still exist even if the people are not there. Commissioner Hassan thought that made sense, but his question was how the Commission engages and starts the project. Chair Beltmann did not think the Commission was there yet so the engagement and then developing the contact list. She thought it is both. When the Commission gets requests from City staff on help on a project the Commission helps to brainstorm and uses the contact list to contact people from different communities asking for thoughts and opinions on certain projects the City would be working on. Ms. Olson thought the purpose right now in identifying the contacts is to build the relationships, outside of that there is no purpose. The City wants to have people that the City has a relationship within some manner because down the line there is going to be opportunities where either the community brings something to the City, or the City wants feedback on something that the community can provide. She noted right now the purpose is relationship building and not a specific engagement project or program or policy. Chair Beltmann stated one of the concerns the Commission had at the Council meeting is the Commission does not want to make assumptions about what communities need or want to see from the City and so by developing this list and developing the contacts that will open up the relationship that the City can start to develop and find out what communities are looking for. Commissioner Hassan asked when the Commission says Best Practices Document is it guidelines on how the Commission apply the survey or future engagement. He wondered how the Commission is going to design the Best Practices Document if the Commission does not have information of the different communities. He stated feedback is always important. Chair Beltmann stated the Best Practices Document is in the packet and will be discussed later in the agenda and is based on research around engagement. For example, when a project is started to identify why the City is wanting to reach out to the community. She wondered if the City wants to inform the community or get input or collaborate with the community. She stated the document is tools for staff to use as projects are kicked off. Ms. Olson indicated the Best Practices Document is a framework document and part of it is getting the feedback from the community at the beginning and letting the