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2019-07-23 Minutes Page 1 Meeting Minutes New Hanover County/City of Wilmington Community Relations Advisory Committee NHC Library 101 Chestnut Street, New Hanover Room July 23, 2019 5:30 PM Committee Members Present: Chair Evelyn Bryant, Vice-Chair Owen Wexler, Reverend Charles Davis, Jeff Hovis, Jen Johnson, Kathy King, Dr. Maurice Locklear, Elise Rocks, Florence Warren, Lori Wainright, Dr. Anne York StaffPresent: Tufanna Bradley-Thomas, NHC; Dahria Kianpour, NHC; Suzanne Rogers, City of Wilmington; Deputy Chief Donny Williams, Wilmington Police Department I.Call to Order Chair Bryant called the meeting to order. Quorum established. II. Approve Agenda MOTION: Mr. Wexler MOVED, SECONDED by Dr. York, to approve the agenda. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. III. Approve Minutes MOTION: Ms. Warren MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Wexler, to approve the minutes of June 25, 2019. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. IV. Sub-Committee Reports: Mr. Wexler reported for the Crisis Prevention/Preparedness Sub-Committee as follows: The sub-committee has been reviewing the role of C-RAC during a community crisis as it relates to prejudice and discrimination and if there is police presence or involvement. Ms. Bradley-Thomas will contact law enforcement regarding their protocols for community involvement. Members also discussed the need to collaborate between the NAACP Legal Redress Committee and C- RAC. Reverend Davis is a member Community Day event is on July 27 th at Portia Hines Park and since Mr. Wexler cannot attend, he requested if another C-RAC member would take his place. There was discussion regarding the legal responsibilities or ramifications of C-RAC members when a community member discloses a discrimination complaint. Ms. Bradley-Thomas will inquire with the NHC Legal Department about this concern. Ms. King arrived at 5:37pm. Ms. Wainright reported for the Programming Sub-Committee as follows: The sub-committee discussed the need to separate the resource lists into a resource list and organization contact list. The resource list should only have resources that are related to prejudice and/or discrimination. The organization contact list can be broader services to assist complainants that need additional services in addition to specific prejudice and/or discrimination resources. Ms. Wainright informed members that the survey would be starting in August when the UNCW students return to class. The sub-committee has planned to invite speakers to the C-RAC meetings for the next few months. The first presentation (possibly in August) would be from the LGBTQIA community, the second (possibly September) would be from the disabled community, and the third would be from the ACLU (possibly in October). The timeframe would be about 15 minutes. Page 2 Chair Bryant stated Katrina Redmond from the Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA) is already confirmed to present at the September meeting. C-RAC members are to prepare questions for Ms. Redmond to address during the presentation. Questions th are to be emailed to Ms. Bradley-Thomas by August 6 and it will be reviewed at the August C-RAC meeting. A brief discussion was held regarding several housing issues in the community, including the Jervay community, which is a privately owned complex. The goal is for Ms. Redmond to shed light and provide information regarding the role of WHA in the community. A suggestion was made that C-RAC can make a recommendation for a more user friendly website. Reverend Davis arrived at 5:43pm. Dr. York reported for the Public Education Sub-Committee as follows: The sub-committee is working to confirm the second Meet and Greet in September at DC Virgo Preparatory Academy. Dr. York will follow up with a specific date and time and the goal is to have the event during a school or parent event. Chair Bryant suggested to reach out to the Blue Ribbon Commission for assistance with contacting DC Virgo. Regarding the concerns with WAVE, new route changes are being recommended to the WAVE Board on Thursday and this includes two more stops near the Creekwood community, change the frequency to every 30 minutes, and relocating the Market St. location bus stop closer to Walmart. Members feel that the Meet and Greet made a difference in making WAVE aware of concerns in the community. If the WAVE Board approves the changes on Thursday, they will reach out to Ms. Mullins from Creekwood Community and Katrina Redmond from WHA to disperse the information. The C-RAC website has a link to the Facebook page. The website was updated to add . The Weekly Outreach Site has had one complaint regarding employment and after assisting with reviewing the details, the person decided not to carry through the complaint. Brochures were passed out to members to disperse in the community. V. Approve 2019/2020 Meeting Schedule: A brief discussion was held regarding the November 26 th meeting date. That is the week of Thanksgiving and an alternate option th could be November 19. A doodle poll will be sent to members to see which date works for a majority of the members. MOTION: Ms. Rocks MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Wexler, to adopt the 2019/2020 meeting schedule. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. VI. Debrief of Presentation to New Hanover County: st Chair Bryant presented the C-RAC update to the County Commissioners at the July 1 Board Meeting. The feedback Chair Bryant received was that the County sees the need for C-RAC and Commissioners had asked about the WAVE concerns. She also received questions about the implicit bias training and what would the standard be to implement the training for City and County employees. The Commissioners would have to approve the policy before it can be implemented by Human Resources. Discussion was held about creating a formal recommendation for how to implement the training. VII. New Business: Review meeting procedures and public comment process: A brief discussion was held regarding the guideline handouts provided for public comments and meeting procedures. The guidelines are suggestions for members to follow in order to keep meetings efficient and timely. The recommended changes are the following: use the first point in the Guidelines for Public Comments for the Guidelines for Meetings; re-order the motions in MOTION: Ms. Rocks MOVED, SECONDED by Ms. Johnson, to approve the Guidelines for Meetings and Public Comments with the recommended changes. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Page 3 A brief discussion was held regarding minorities and disparity with contract work. Chair Bryant asked how the contracts are awarded and what is the selection criteria for the City and County. Chair Bryant stated minorities are not getting contracts and as she understands from the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB), a majority of contractors that work in the city are women. The request is to understand why companies owned by minorities are not getting hired in the community. The Programming Sub-Committee will research the issue. It could possibly be a topic for discussion in January. VIII. Public Comments: None IX: Announcements: Deputy Chief Williams provided an update regarding the training he attended with 105 professionals in the class. There were attendees from all over the country, including Los Angeles and New York. He also stated that hurricane preparation is a major focus for the police department and flooding during storms is an issue they are working to prepare for. Ms. Rogers announced that the permanent housing committee is in the process of being formed and the C-RAC chair will be appointed to the committee. A brief update was also provided regarding local communities addressing housing and the zone tax reform, which has the potential be a positive benefit. Ms. Rogers asked what will happen for the County regarding the community block grant funds. Ms. Rogers also announced that the City is working on a led hazard control grant to address led poisoning issues, especially for children under age 6. The grant could assist with providing led training and education/outreach, for both the private and public sectors. Ms. Bradley-Thomas brought brochures regarding the Independence Blvd. extension. New Hanover County Conference on Government: August 2 nd and 3 rd from 8am to 5pm at the Government Center. X. Adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 6:54 pm.