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Town of Normal, Illinois. Committed to Service Excellence.

Normal Human Relations Commission
Meeting
October 17, 2006
Normal City Hall

  1. Call to Order:
    Chairperson Evelyn Young called the meeting to order at 5:17 pm.
     
    1. Present: Chairperson Evelyn Young, Commissioner Terry Brown, Commissioner Laurie Bergner, Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari and Commissioner Jason Wallace
       
    2. Absent: Vice-Chairperson Tim Harshbarger and Commissioner Michael Pullin
       
    3. Others Present: Staff: Jennifer Hanna and Jose A'. Garibay
       
  2. Approval of Minutes from September 19, 2006 Meeting
    Commissioners Jason Wallace and Terry Brown moved and seconded to approve the minutes from the September 19, 2006 meeting with amendment to include Commissioner Jason Wallace in the attendance listing. With no further discussion the minutes were approved by a unanimous voice vote.
     
  3. Complaint Review
    Staff informed the commission that there is one outstanding complaint on file. This complaint is race based in public accommodation. The complainant and respondent were sent a letter from staff informing them the complaint has been received and that staff will be scheduling a conciliation hearing.
     
  4. New Business
    1. Discussion about Naming a Park or Retention Basin after Rosa Parks
      Garry Little, Parks & Recreation Director discussed the process for naming Parks and Recreation property/facility after Rosa Parks. Mr. Little stated that the commission should send a memo to the Mayor and City Manager requesting a certain property/facility or one from an approved group of properties/facilities be named after Mrs. Parks. Mr. Little suggested a nature area or somewhere in Downtown Normal. Mr. Little will email staff a listing of properties that the commission can choose from. Commissioners will email staff their choices from the listing and will hold a discussion and vote at the next meeting in November.
       
  5. Old Business
    1. Human Relations Commission Code Revision Review/Approval
      Staff submitted the draft of proposed revisions of Chapters 10 and 24 of the Municipal Code to the Commission for their final review. Commissioner Laurie Bergner moved to approve the proposed recommendations to amend Chapters 10 and 24 of the Human Relations Code, as presented, and to forward the recommendations to the Town Council for their consideration. Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari seconded the motion.

      Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari Yes
      Commissioner Jason Wallace Yes
      Commissioner Terry Brown Yes
      Commissioner Laurie Bergner Yes
      Chairperson Evelyn Young Yes

      The motion was approved by a 5 to 0 vote.
       
    2. Dr. King Luncheon Committee Reports
      1. Program Committee has not met yet per Commissioner Terry Brown.
      2. Awards Committee meets tomorrow, October 18th, per Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari.
      3. Public Relations Committee has discussed ideas and will be on CityVision in November per Chairperson Evelyn Young.
         
    3. Bylaws Discussion
      Staff informed the commission that she has started receiving other bylaws examples from other municipalities but has not received anything from any commissioners as of yet. Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari moved that the Bylaws discussion be tabled until the November meeting when staff will have more bylaws examples for the commission to review.
       
  6. Concerns
    Staff requested input about a letter that was emailed to them from ISU about a student project team that was interested in helping out local community groups with various projects that would coincide with their major. Staff was hoping to receive ideas about what the commissioners would like to have the students develop for the commission. Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari suggested that the group create a video that explains the complaint process. This video can be accessed on the Town’s website or be sent with materials in a DVD format. Another idea was to create a commercial for both Television and radio about the commission.

    Staff asked who was interested in going to the MAPP conference on November 3, 2006. Commissioners Ramesh Chaudhari and Evelyn Young stated that they would like to attend.
     
  7. Adjournment
    Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari moved to adjourn the October 17, 2006 meeting of the Normal Human Relations Commission at 6:45 PM. Commissioner Jason Wallace seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous voice vote.

Respectfully submitted

Jennifer Hanna
Human Resources Generalist

This page last modified 05/14/08.