Laserfiche WebLink
Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday, February 12, 2024 <br /> Page 17 <br /> Councilmember Strahan would also like the Council to think about why the City <br /> has Human Rights Commission in the title. This was brought up the last time the <br /> Council met. The Human Rights Commission is setup from the State and is <br /> intended to be exploring and investigating human rights violations. If the City is <br /> not tasking the HRIEC with that type of work, then right away the City is setting it <br /> up for failure because the City is not giving them an actual idea of what the City is <br /> working on. Maybe it would be better for the City to lean into that racial equity and <br /> inclusion piece or equity and inclusion and belonging. She indicated as far as the <br /> HRIEC, it has not functioned and yet the Council has had an almost complete <br /> consensus of who the Council puts on that Commission. She stated these are good <br /> people and have chosen very similar people, but she thinks they have been put in <br /> a situation of failure because the Council is not clear on what the City wants. She <br /> thought the Council needed to be very clear about what was wanted. <br /> Mayor Roe stated the consensus was to bring this back to the March 11, 2024, <br /> Worksession. <br /> Public Comment <br /> Mayor Roe offered an opportunity for public comment. <br /> Mr. Richard James, HRIEC Chairperson <br /> Mr. James explained he was speaking for himself and not the Commission. He <br /> indicated he has not discussed his comments with the Commission and does not <br /> have their permission to speak for them. He viewed the video of the joint meeting <br /> and panicked and grew defensive because he felt like the rug was being pulled out <br /> from under the HRIEC. He felt that four or five people on the Commission would <br /> not work until September and asked the Council to rescind their decision to hold <br /> off on appointing people to the HRIEC this Spring. He explained that as the <br /> Commission is laid out, it does not function how the City Council or the <br /> Commissioners want. The Commission does not work as it was envisioned or the <br /> way it has been functioning. There are many reasons for the Commission not <br /> functioning and there must be a way forward for the City and the volunteers on the <br /> HRIEC to create something that will be even better than what currently exists. <br /> Mr. James stated he believed the Council and HRIEC have shared values and he <br /> wants everyone to be on the same page. His personal view is to create a task force <br /> comprised of the City Council,HRIEC and City Staff to meet informally for a free <br /> exchange of ideas to create a greater understanding of what the Council wants and <br /> what the HRIEC perceives what their job is and what they can do. The objective <br /> would be to produce a document, a plan, something that the group agrees to. He <br /> noted the current configuration of the HRIEC might not be the best one and there <br /> may be another way of looking at this. He was asking the Council to create a task <br /> force to work out the nuts and bolts, so a consensus is made before any action is <br />