040323 HRC MinutesCITY OF NEW HOPE
4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH
NEW HOPE, MINNESOTA 55428
Human Rights Commission April 3, 2023
Regular Meeting City Hall
CALL TO ORDER Chair Donna Meyer called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
ROLL CALL Present: Kendra Curry
Kaamil Hassan
Allison Isenberg
Maria Leon
Mindy London
Donna Meyer
Trista Rehnke
Diane Ruiz
Ephraim Uwalaka
Absent: Matthew London
City Liaison: Chief Tim Hoyt (absent for tonight’s meeting)
Brad Kallio, New Hope Crime Prevention Officer (absent
for tonight’s meeting)
Guests: Kathi Hemken, Mayor
Officer Mike TenEyck
Aiysha Mustapha, Community Member and School
Climate & Culture Specialist
AGENDA APPROVAL Commissioner Curry made a motion to accept the April 3, 2023, agenda,
seconded by Commissioner Mindy London. All voted in favor.
MINUTES APPROVAL Commissioner Ruiz made a motion to accept the March 6, 2023,
minutes, seconded by Commissioner Curry. All voted in favor.
OPEN FORUM Introduction
- Officer Mike TenEcyk is attending the meeting as the City Liaison.
Easter Brunch
- Commissioner Ruiz shared that Emerald Point Apartments is holding
an Easter Brunch on Saturday April 8th at 10:30 am. All are invited to
attend or assist.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
AND REPORTS HRC Membership
- Commission is full at this time.
- Community members are always welcome to attend meetings.
Please let the city know if you guests will be attending a meeting.
HRC By-Laws
- City Council has approved the edits.
2023 Subcommittee Updates
- Community Conversations – Lead Donna Meyer
- Events will be 5:00 – 8:00 pm.
- June 20th – Lions Park – Juneteenth focus
- July 12th – Civic Park – 2022 question/format focus
- August 29th – Liberty Park – World Festival Event focus
- Sunnyside Park Sponsorship – Lead Trista Rehnke
- Must clean the park 3 times per year.
- Saturday, May 20th at 10:00 am. Meet at the north end of
the park by the playground equipment.
- Will confirm if there are other open parks to clean at the May
meeting.
- Outreach – Lead Matthew London
- Commissioner Isenberg reporting out this month.
- Working on post and graphics to give to the city to use.
Want to align with the Diversity Calendar.
- Iftar Dinner invite created and used on city page and
Neighbors of New Hope page.
- Colors of the World – Lead Mindy London
- Gathering documentation from prior years.
- Hispanic Heritage Celebration – Lead Diane Ruiz
- Checked with the Hispanic businesses in New Hope, they
are on board to help, support and donate.
- At the recent work session, the question of funding,
fundraising and donations was raised. Waiting on an
answer.
- Discussed partnering with a school for a location.
Fundraising – Lead Kaamil Hassen
- Reached out to law firms.
- The city of Burnsville has a corporate sponsorship
agreement.
- Need to check with the city to ensure we can legally pursue
fundraising or accepting funds.
- Iftar dinner with Crystal JCPP (volunteering only)
- March 28th, Crystal Community Center, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
- Commissioners Uwalaka, Rehnke, Isenberg attending along
with 90+ community members. It was a great event with a
wonderful turnout. Good conversations. Food was provided
by the Holy Land Deli and it was delicious.
City Council Work Session
- March 20th at 6:30 pm
- Received a positive response from the City Council members. Had a
good dialog about future plans. HRC asked about funding and
fundraising. They will check the laws and follow up.
2023 Meeting Dates:
- 2023: 5/1, 6/5, 8/7, 9/5, 10/2, 11/6, 12/4; No July meeting
- September meeting date discussed due to Labor Day holiday. First
choice is Wed, 9/6, second choice Thurs 9/7.
- Chair Meyer will miss the June 5th meeting.
NEW BUSINESS Water Tower
- Commissioner Hassan asked if the city could sell advertising space
or the rights to advertise on the water tower.
COMMUNICATION &
INFORMATION SHARING School District Information/Updates
- Schools are getting ready for MCA testing.
- Parent and Student University at Cooper, April 15th at 9:00 am – 1:30
pm.
- Board Listening Session – need more parents and students to
attend, especially people of color. April 17th at 6:00 – 7:00 pm.
- Class that completed a course on the Civil Rights Movement too a
trip to the HBCUs.
City Updates – Mayor Hemken
- 42nd Ave bridge over 169 will be removed and replaced. The road
shuts down on April 10th until November.
- Farmer’s Market needs someone to run it. They will be trained.
Market runs from mid-June to early October. Saturdays, 8:00 or 9:00
am – 1:00 pm.
- Bird Bash has raised $1.3M over 10 years.
- 19 candidates for the City Manager position. Top 5 will be
interviewed.
- April 24th 2 new police officers will be sworn in.
- State of the City address will happen soon.
Officer TenEcyk
- Officers attending events like to have a job to do or a task to
complete. Schedules can be a challenge for them due to the
circumstances of the job and things change in the moment. They
like to attend and connect with the community when they can. Just
give them a job to do though!
NEXT MEETING The next meeting is Monday, May 1, 2023 at 7:00 pm.
ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Curry made a motion to adjourn the meeting; seconded
by Commissioner Hassan. All voted in favor. The meeting was
adjourned at 7:57 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary Trista Rehnke