Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-09-26 CRAC Minutes 1. The meeting of the Community Relations Advisory Committee (C-RAC) was called to order at 5:45 p.m. The location was the Government Center. 2. A quorum was established. The minutes from the June 27, 2023, meeting were approved with a motion, seconded and a unanimous vote in favor. a. Attendees included the following: City Appointees – Kathy King Kirsten Kainz Sherl Hans (absent) Dr Charlean Mapson (accounted for absence, opted to depart from the committee) County Appointees – Liz Carbone Cherri Cook Fawn Rhodes (accounted for absence) Dr Kaari Snook (accounted for absence, opted to depart from the committee) Pastor Sebrenia Smallwood-Moore Tammy Wynn Stephanie Metcalfe Victoria McSwain (accounted for absence) Support Staff – Linda Thompson (County DEIO) Guests – None b. One new member for the County was announced and will attend next meetings beginning in October – Sam Wheeler 3. Old Business – a. Update on City Complaints of Discrimination – No report b. Update on County Complaints of Discrimination – It was reported that the County received 3 submissions, and none were deemed as discrimination. 4. New Business – a. Update from the CRAC sub-committee regarding the Listening Session of C-RAC and the New Hanover County Special Education Parent Teacher Association (NHC SEPTA). The event occurred on August 22 in the NHC Health and Human Services Building, in lieu of the normally scheduled C-RAC meeting. Of note, the C-RAC volunteers for the Listening Session included the following individuals: Cherri, Stephanie Sebrenia, and Fawn as facilitators. Members of C-RAC and NHC SEPTA provided feedback and guidance to Kirsten who volunteered to design the facilitated session that included online access. Members of NHC SEPTA facilitated the online session. Comments were made about the event’s success and opportunities for learning which will foster further engagement with the community. Specific future activities related to the Listening Session are listed below.  Kirsten is working on setting up a meeting in November with the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Sub-Committee of the NHCS Board of Education plus additional staff from NHCS and community organizations. More details to come soon.  Stephanie is going to work with Linda on getting an online survey link to capture more information on families' experiences with navigating services for their students.  Sabrenia is going to think through a design for a page on our site where we can share all the relevant information that we gather for parents and guardians.  Liz is going to connect with Port City United to loop them in on our work. b. A Homeowner Education Series sponsored by Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity and the Housing Coalition provided a variety of pertinent topics, such as: 1) Aging in Place; 2) Medicaid Planning, Estate Recovery and Protecting Real Property; 3) The Importance of Having a Will – (an opportunity to create a will for no cost at the conclusion of the series); 4) Property Tax Relief Programs for Disabled, Low Income Seniors and Veterans; and 5) Heirs Property Issues. c. Elections – will take place at the October meeting. A motion, then a suggestion, was made to renew the current roles except for Secretary (Kathy King declined renewal as Secretary): Chairperson – Liz Carbone, Vice Chairperson – Fawn Rhodes, Secretary – Kirsten Kainz agreed to serve. d. Meeting frequency and focus. The C-RAC will continue to focus on education. Further, in April there will be focuses on Voting Rights and Fair Housing (discrimination). In addition, having changed the meeting frequency to every other month, it was determined that monthly meetings are essential and would resume starting in October. A motion was made, seconded, and unanimously favored for the resumption of meeting monthly. e. Candidate questions – the C-RAC will formulate questions via email to the Chairperson. 5. Public Comments – None. 6. Announcements – a. The National Association of Human Rights Commission will be at Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) sponsored by the City and County. 7. The meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m. by a motion, second and unanimously in favor. Next Meeting – October 24, 5:30 p.m. Next Subcommittee Meeting – October 24, 4:30 p.m.