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~ SBVfbbE Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes, April 8, 2003 Present: Chair Thelma McKenzie, Mark Chapin, Phillip Crump, Martha Hardesty, Steve Smith, Karen Vnuk, Larry Voeller, Howard Wagner, Steve Zorn Absent: Patty Tschida Staff: Carolyn Curti The meeting was called to order by Chair Thelma McKenzie at 7:00 p.m. Approve Minutes Larry Voeller moved to accept the minutes of March 11, 2003. Karen Vnuk seconded the motion with the correction to reflect that a coworker, not an actor, reenacted Martin Luther King's Speech at her work. Minutes of the previous meeting, as corrected, were approved. Human Rights Commission Policy and Purpose Mark Chapin read the Human Rights Commission policies and purposes. He also reviewed the rules. Commissioners will periodically review the policies to make sure that the Commission focuses on their responsibilities. City Intake Thelma McKenzie reported that the State Department of Human Rights (DHR) is facing substantial budget cuts. DHR is willing to train City Human Rights Commissions to assist with "Intakes" to collect initial information from people who may have a Human Rights complaint. Steve Smith reported that the State is not as aggressively pursuing Human Rights complaints as they have in the past. Commissioners discussed whether they are interested in learning to handle Intakes. Several questions arose: What is the City's liability? How would we address language barriers? Do Commissioners have the time? How many complaints are filed per month? Would we only handle complaints of people in Roseville or other communities? What would the City have to do to take on this responsibility? Legally, can Roseville Human Rights Commissioners complete intakes? Steve Smith will check with Lucy Johnson-Gaines at DHR to see what is involved to allow Roseville to handle Human Rights Intakes.