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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-08-15 Special Meeting Minutes Minutes New Hanover County/City of Wilmington Community Relations Advisory Committee Zoom Virtual Special Called Meeting August 15, 2021 @ 7:00pm Committee members present: Lori Wainright, Scott Whisnant, Kathy King, Jen Johnson, Reddgo Long Jr., Courtney Horton, Evelyn Bryant, Kimberly Geiger Staff present: Suzanne Rogers, COW staff liaison; Linda Thompson, NHC; John Joye, City Attorney, COW; Wanda Copley, NHC Attorney. Public present: Caroline Morin-Gage, Executive Director, LGBTQ Center of the Cape Fear Coast. Absent: Liz Carbone, Megan Mullins, Florence Warren, Call to order Chairperson Lori Wainright called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Roll Call was taken. A quorum was established. Lori explained the meeting is a special called meeting and the discussion is limited to the purpose posted in the meeting notice, proposed City Ordinance on Non- discrimination see attached. She asked everyone to limit their comments to one minute. Lori explained that at the end of the discussion a letter asking City Council to postpone action on this Ordinance will be presented for CRAC members to take action on. Then she asked Jen Johnson to present an update on the CRAC’s recommendation regarding a Non-discrimination Ordinance th and concerns about the ordinance as drafted for Wilmington City Council action at the August 17 City Council meeting. Presentation is attached. Jen offered the following remarks with the presentation. I was a bit surprised when I received a call on Thursday afternoon from the city notifying me that they plan to put forth an Ordinance Prohibiting Discrimination in Public Accommodations Within the City of Wilmington for vote at city council on Tuesday night. Page 1 of 3 CRAC has consistently encouraged the city to put forth a comprehensive ordinance that includes protections for members of the LGBTQ community in private employment and public accommodations. The recommendations that we have made have aligned with the model recommendations put forth by Equality NC. ENC is a well-respected statewide nonprofit with an attorney on staff. This organization has been the statewide leader offering guidance and support to cities and counties on the development of NDOs. TEN cities in NC now have comprehensive ordinances. Two more are expected to vote on theirs this week. I have spent the majority of my time since Thursday afternoon speaking with LGBTQ community members and allies about the city’s proposed ordinance, and it’s an understatement to say that the community is NOT in support of the ordinance. Equality NC and The LGBTQ Center of the Cape Fear Coast both encourage a more comprehensive ordinance. I’ve invited Caroline Morin-Gage, their Executive Director, who will say a few words after my presentation about the Center’s concerns about this ordinance. Caroline urged the City Council to only pass a comprehensive Non-discrimination policy as recommended by Equality NC. Lori asked John Joye to share his comments and respond to the presentation and concerns raised therein. John began by clarifying the $25 penalty. He noted that this was not the case and in fact the proposed Ordinance would be located in Chapter 4 of the City Code and the penalties for stnd violation of the code will be: 1 offense – violator will be offered education; 2 offense $250 rdth fine; 3 offense $500 fine; 4 offense $1,000 fine; additional offense(s) result in criminal injunction. John went on to address the reason employment discrimination was not included in the City’s Ordinance is based on the Blue Cross Blue Shield v. Orange County, NC case where the court determined that local laws cannot be used to regulate labor or trade. John’s legal opinion is that the City does not have the authority to regulate private business. As for the points about what constitutes a public accommodation and the need to specify healthcare as a public accommodation, John agreed to look into it. He reiterated that the City is bound by NC Legislation that only allows cities the authority that the Legislators grant in comparison to a Home Rule state. John reported that throughout the process of drafting the City Non-discrimination Ordinance he worked closely with attorneys from Equality NC. Lori asked if there were any questions from committee members. Scott asked questions about the timing of the Ordinance on the agenda and if the City included Jen in the drafting process. Jen stated she was not involved in drafting the Ordinance. John explained Page 2 of 3 that CRACs recommendation was understood but his legal opinion was that it would be beyond the City’s authority. He advised the Mayor and Council and they were ready to move forward th with the proposed Non-discrimination Ordinance at the August 17 meeting. There were questions and discussion around enforcement and fines. John explained the City has Code Enforcement staff that will be trained to enforce the Ordinance, which will become effective 30 days after enactment by Council. Jen read prepared letter from CRAC to City Council asking for a postponement or tabling of the proposed City Non-Discrimination Ordinance. Additional discussion followed with recommendations to include language in the letter about including category around cultural dress and also recommending that the City consult with and include groups that are negatively impacted by discrimination, such as the LGBTQ community. It was also recommended that the request to postpone action on the City Ordinance be reiterated throughout the letter. Scott moved CRAC send the letter as substantially proposed and authorize Jen to make the changes as discussed to emphasize postponement of action and inclusion of community stakeholders in future action on the Ordinance. Kathy seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned 8:15 p.m.. Prepared by Suzanne Rogers Page 3 of 3