City of Lawrence
Lawrence Human Relations Commission
February 16, 2012
Minutes
Members Present: James Dunn, Laura Diaz Moore, Katrina McClure, Scott Criqui, Jason Barnhill
Members Excused: Kevin Johnson, Kirsten Krug, Katherine Pryor
Staff Present: Toni Wheeler, Elizabeth Hafoka, Susan Parson, Chad Sublet and Scott Wagner
Public Present: Mrs. James Dunn
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Commission Meeting Called to Order
The Lawrence Human Relations Commission Meeting was called to order by Chair, Scott Criqui, at 11:00 a.m. in the City Commission Room at City Hall, located at 6 East 6th Street, Lawrence, Kansas. Chairman Criqui began the meeting by discussing the role and duties of the Lawrence Human Relations Commission.
Approval of Minutes
Chair Scott Criqui asked for commission comments on the commission minutes from the November 17, 2011 meeting. It was moved by Commissioner McClure and seconded by Commissioner Dunn to approve the November 17, 2011 minutes of the Lawrence Human Relations Commission. The motion was unanimously approved.
Announcements
Chairman Criqui noted that Commissioner Michael Allen has resigned from the Commission and that an opening is now available.
Staff Report
Toni Wheeler, Director provided the staff report. There have been some changes in the department since the last meeting. The department as of January 1, 2012, is now the City Attorney’s Office. The former City Attorney, Jerry Cooley, retired at the end of 2011. Director Wheeler is now the City Attorney. There have not been big changes in the functions of the department. Human Relations is still a division of the City Attorney’s Office. There have also been some staff changes since the last meeting.
Elizabeth Hafoka is now in the City Prosecutor’s Office. She came from the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office and lives in Lawrence. She will be in charge of Human Relations case investigations. Assistant City Attorney, Chad Sublet will also assist in case investigations for the division. Susan Parson was also introduced. She is the new administrative assistant in the City Attorney’s Office and started in December. Both Elizabeth Hafoka and Chad Sublet introduced themselves to the commission and briefly spoke of their background.
Commissioner Dunn asked if there had been any new investigations based on the gender identity ordinance. Elizabeth Hafoka stated that there have been no cases opened, however she has answered questions regarding the ordinance. She also stated that some questions she receives involve landlord-tenant disputes. She redirects those inquiries to Housing and Consumer Credit or Kansas Legal Services.
There is currently one Employment case and one Public Accommodations case currently open. There have been three Housing cases closed since the last commission meeting.
Director Wheeler also discussed the various outreach events and education opportunities of the division coming up. Scott Wagner presented ideas regarding Fair Housing Month which is always in April. On April 3rd, the City Commission will proclaim the Month of April as Fair Housing Month. It was confirmed that Chairman Criqui could attend the meeting to receive the proclamation. Last year, the commission had an information table following the Earth Day parade. This year’s parade will be held on Saturday, April 14th with the celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in South Park. Scott Wagner asked if the commission wanted to staff a table again. Commissioners did want to participate and Chairman Criqui will coordinate volunteer sign-ups for staffing the table.
Scott Wagner presented a proposal from the Lawrence Douglas County Housing Authority to host a workshop in April. There was general discussion about that. One of the concerns expressed was attendance at these types of events in the past. Several commissioners asked about possible taping of speakers or presentations so that the information could be on our website. Director Wheeler said that staff would explore that and would explore adding more information to our website. It was decided that staff would not be involved in planning the Housing Authority event, but would provide a speaker if needed.
There was continued commission discussion about the role of outreach events and developing presentations for staff and commission use. Scott Wagner noted that Chad Sublet was scheduled to give a staff presentation at Independence, Inc. on February 21st and had already developed a powerpoint presentation for that talk.
Commissioner Barnhill asked about the City’s use of social media. Director Wheeler noted that the City does have a Facebook page and a Twitter feed and that those can be used for Human Relations outreach.
Director Wheeler noted that the May meeting is traditionally devoted to election of officers for the commission and that commissioners need to think about their roles for the upcoming year.
Commission Items
Chairman Criqui opened the discussion to any items the commissioners wished to discuss.
Commissioner McClure asked about the protocol for outreach events and the role of organizing commission outreach and attendance at events. Director Wheeler proposed that commissioners email event information to Susan Parson or herself and staff could distribute the information out to the rest of the commission.
Public Comment
There were no public comments.
The Human Relations Commission meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m.