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Town of Normal, Illinois. Committed to Service Excellence.

Normal Human Relations Commission
Meeting
November 21, 2006
Normal City Hall

  1. Call to Order:
    Chairperson Evelyn Young called the meeting to order at 5:19 pm.
     
    1. Present: Chairperson Evelyn Young, Vice-Chairperson Tim Harshbarger, Commissioner Terry Brown, Commissioner Laurie Bergner, Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari and Commissioner Jason Wallace
       
    2. Absent: Commissioner Michael Pullin
       
    3. Others Present: Staff: Jennifer Hanna and Jose A'. Garibay
       
  2. Approval of Minutes from October 17, 2006 Meeting
    Commissioners Terry Brown and Jason Wallace moved and seconded to approve the minutes from the October 17, 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 of the conciliation meeting scheduled for January 4, 2007.
     
  4. New Business
    None
     
  5. Old Business
    1. Discussion of Human Relations Ordinance Revision Decision by Council
      Staff informed the commission that the Ordinance was approved by council at their October 18th meeting with no questions or concerns.
    2. Bylaws Discussion
      After discussion of the samples submitted the commission requested staff to write up different options for the bylaws by category for the commissioners to review. If commissioners want to add additional samples they must turn them into staff by January 5th to be included in the choices submitted to the commission at the January 16th meeting.
    3. Dr. King Luncheon Committee Reports
      1. Program Committee has not met yet but has discussed having the same band as last year per Commissioner Terry Brown.
      2. Awards Committee met and split up the different schools to contact, per Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari. Commissioner Young discussed having the criteria changed to include professional contributions or to add another category for adults. Ideas for attracting more nominations were discussed including the possibility of adding a scholarship for the student awardees.
      3. Public Relations Committee has discussed ideas per Chairperson Evelyn Young.
      4. Logistics Committee has looked into having a meeting with the Interstate center. The commission discussed the meal distribution for the event. Only HRC staff will handle the veggie/regular meal issue with guests at the event.
    4. Naming of Parks & Recreation site after Rosa Parks: review and vote
      After review of pictures from both the East and West retention basins a vote was taken to decide which one to rename. After a unanimous voice vote it was decided to select the West basin due to greater development and proximity of Constitution Trail. The commission then discussed to name possibilities. After much discussion the commissioners voted on their top 2 selections. The following names were voted on:

      Rosa Parks Recreation Area received 3 votes
      Rosa Parks Grounds received 2 votes
      Rosa Parks Gardens received 0 votes
      Rosa Parks Place received 2 votes
      Rosa Parks Commons received 4 votes

      Commissioner Terry Brown moved to request the Mayor and City Manager to rename the West Retention Basin; Rosa Parks Commons. Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari seconded the motion. With no further discussion the vote was passed by a unanimous voice vote.

      Staff stated that they will work with Chairperson Young to write a memo to the Mayor and City Manager requesting the name change.
       
  6. Concerns
    Chairperson Young asked commissioners who was planning on attending the Dr King Luncheon. Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari, Commissioner Laurie Bergner, Commissioner Terry Brown, and Commissioner Jason Wallace all stated that they will attend the event on January 13th.

    Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari stated that he will be traveling to West Lafayette, Indiana, they asked him to come and speak about being on the Human Relations Commission. He also stated that the MAPP conference had good presentations and thought that the commission could look into having joint public forum with MAPP on Police stops and people’s rights.
     
  7. Adjournment
    Commissioner Jason Wallace moved to adjourn the November 21, 2006 meeting of the Normal Human Relations Commission at 6:32 PM. Commissioner Ramesh Chaudhari 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.