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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, March 11, 2024 Page 3 rights commissions. She felt that would send a signal to people that the City does not want to have but it is good that the City tries to bring that focus around. Councilmember Strahan stated to her, it is almost as they look into the DEI piece, sometimes in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion there is that B for Belonging and she would ask what does it mean to belong? There are many people that experience the feeling of not belonging on a daily basis so she suggested reframing what the focus is. She thought there could still be a Human Rights Commission without investigating human rights violations. But, she did think everybody wants to understand what the City Council wants from them. Councilmember Strahan stated she appreciates the City’s Requests for Council Action when it says racial impact and she does not know why the City does not task this Commission with looking at things that are coming forward with helping them look at it with a racial impact. The Council can task that with the new DEI Manager but again, that is one person. If this could be tasked to a Commission who could look at it from nine different viewpoints, she felt all of the different ideas could be brought forward and feed it through the SREAP and the Racial Equity Toolkit and have a conscious decision that is made. She would like the work by the HRIEC have something to do with looking at the City’s policies and ordinances where the Commission looks at it from that equity and inclusion lens. Mayor Roe thought that focuses in a similar way to what is being discussed in the memo from the subcommittee in terms of looking at that aspect of what the City does. He noted the question out there may still be, is the confinement and limitations of being within the Commission structure the best model for that work, only in the sense that it is something the City has heard from people in terms of the constrictions such as the open meeting law requirements. Also, this is a Council appointment to a three-year term and some of those things that certainly a group, like the MAC, was mentioned does not have. Mayor Roe asked if there are benefits to being in that model as opposed to the formalized Commission model in terms of the satisfaction of participants, the ability to have good conversations, and the ability to do the work in that area without some of those restrictions that the formal Commission process has. He did not know the answer to that for sure, but thought that was one of the things the City was hearing through the feedback process, that the formal Commission process is a bit stifling for people who have a lot of energy and enthusiasm and creativity in these areas. He wanted to listen to and understand that but at the same time, think about what Councilmembers Groff and Strahan said about the notion that if something is no longer a Commission, is that a demotion or the perception of that because he certainly wanted to make sure that the Council gets that right. He wanted to be thoughtful about that and make sure the Council is looking at all of those different perspectives to make sure there is a good understanding of that going forward. Mayor Roe explained he wanted to acknowledge one of the items in the proposal from the Commission about serving as an ambassador and supporting people’s interaction or connection with the City. He thought that was a very good suggestion and something that he would like to do better as a City. He noted that might be something that does not have to be a Commission Qbhf!86!pg!354