080122 HRC MinutesCITY OF NEW HOPE
4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH
NEW HOPE, MINNESOTA 55428
Human Rights Commission August 1, 2022
Regular Meeting In Person - City Hall
CALL TO ORDER Chair Meyer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL Present: Kendra Curry
Allison Isenberg
Mindy London
Donna Meyer
Trista Rehnke
Danielle Saima
Zachary Snabes
Absent:
City Liaison: Chief Tim Hoyt (absent)
Guests: Kathi Hemken, Mayor
Brad Kallio, Officer Community Services
AGENDA APPROVAL Commissioner London made a motion to accept the August 1, 2022,
agenda, seconded by Commissioner Isenberg. All voted in favor.
MINUTES APPROVAL Commissioner Curry made a motion to accept the June 6, 2022,
minutes, seconded by Commissioner London. All voted in favor.
OPEN FORUM Resignation
- Commissioner Saima is resigning from the HRC. We wish her all the
best! Thank you for volunteering!
Donations
- Chair Meyer’s friends donated funds to the city to be used by the
HRC. A check of $500 was donated. It will be used for the Color of
the World program.
Questions from HRC regarding Open Positions & Selection with Mayor
- Q: If Chief Hoyt ends up permanently filling the City Manager
position, how will the Chief of Police position be filled?
- A: All other positions in the city report to the City Manager, he would
fill it the Chief position.
- Q: How do we ensure a diverse candidate pool for the Chief of
Police position?
- A: City staff are more diverse than it was. We prefer to hire from
within but we could go outside.
- Q: Concern is that the city needs a more diverse candidate pool
than what internal candidates only can provide. Are there any
posting requirements?
- A: Not for the Chief of Police position but there are for lower level
positions. They need to be posted internally first and then externally
if needed.
- Q: Does the city have a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion policy yet?
- A: Training has started. Decided not to hire a DE&I Coordinator
because we didn’t want to stuck with the position when the fade goes
away and is no longer a hot topic.
- Q; The HRC doesn’t expect the city to add dedicated staff for DE&I
but we did provide examples of what other city’s are doing with DE&I
policies and statements on their city websites. Will this be done?
- A: Will ask about this.
- HRC: Commission is willing to talk to HR again and assist in anyway
possible.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
AND REPORTS HRC Membership
- The HRC has four open seats on the commission.
2022 Sub-Committees
- Expectations
o Sub-committees are expected to meet throughout the month,
outside of the regular HRC meeting. The Lead will report
back at the HRC meeting
- Colors of the World / Dream Big (Donna Meyer – Lead)
o Team has kicked off and is meeting. Schools have been
contacted.
o Mayor Hemken will share plan with Superintendent.
o No date selected for the party in the fall, will most likely be in
October again.
o City has the ability to print larger signs for us now.
- Community Conversations (Donna Meyer – Lead)
o Events scheduled for Civic Center Park on August 9 (Tues).
o HRC members should be there 5:00 – 9:00 pm. Event will
be 6:00 – 8:00 pm in the pavilion area. The police
department will attend and provide BBQ.
o Summer events in the park are going great. After the August
event, the comments will be combined and summarized in a
report. Report will be provided to Officer Kallio who will
distribute to council.
- Sunnyside Park & Volunteer Coordination (Trista Rehnke – Lead)
o Park clean up #1 – Saturday, May 21st at 10:00 am.
o Scheduled next park clean up dates – Sunday August 14th at
10:00 am, Saturday, October 15th at 10:00 am. (Oct 22nd as
back up date if needed.)
o Meet at the playground at 10:00 am on August 14th Pool
party at Kendra’s afterwards.
- Marketing (Allison Isenberg – Lead)
o City Social Media posts: Community Conversations,
Juneteenth Proclamation.
o In Touch mention this month.
o HRC Spotlight – working on now.
o Working on t-shirts for the HRC. HRC members would pay
for them individually. Need city logo artwork. If that is not
available, then we will change the format..
2022 Meeting Dates:
- 9/6 (Tues), 10/3, 11/7, 12/5
NEW BUSINESS Night to Unite / National Night Out
- Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
- Huge Shout Out to Officer Kallio and all the work he does to make
this night a huge success in New Hope!
City Bus Tour & Commission Recognition
- September 13, 2022. Watch for invite from the city and RSVP
deadline. Annual bus tour is a great way to meet city staff and other
Commissioners and see accomplishments from the past year.
COMMUNICATION &
INFORMATION SHARING Wedding
- After years of delays due to covid, Commissioner Rehnke got
married on July 22, 2022!
New Hope Crime Prevention Fund Golf Event
- September 30th at New Hope Golf Course
- Night Golf event
- Officer Kallio is coordinating if you want to attend or volunteer.
ToyFest!
- Isenberg annual toy drive will be December 2 – 3, 2022.
- Actual toys can be donated this year (vs just gift cards). Amazon
wish lists will be created.
Blue Santa – New Hope Police Department
- Event will be December 21st from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
- Need volunteers to help wrapping ahead of time.
NEXT MEETING The next meeting is TUESDAY, September 6th at 7:00 pm.
ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Commissioner Trista Rehnke
Secretary