030424 HRC MinutesCITY OF NEW HOPE
4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH
NEW HOPE, MINNESOTA 55428
Human Rights Commission Date: March 4, 2024
Regular Meeting City Hall
CALL TO ORDER Chair Curry called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm
ROLL CALL Present: Kendra Curry
Kaamil Hassan
Maria Leon
Matthew London
Allison Isenberg
Jeremy Bishop
J Knapp
Absent:Mindy London
City Liaison:Chief Tim Hoyt (absent)
Brad Kallio, New Hope Crime Prevention Officer
Guests:Kathi Hemken, Mayor
Billie Brown
AGENDA APPROVAL Commissioner Bishop made a motion to accept the March 4, 2024
agenda, seconded by Commissioner Leon. All voted in favor.
MINUTES APPROVAL Commissioner Leon made a motion to accept the January 29, 2024
minutes, seconded by Commissioner Bishop. All voted in favor.
OPEN FORUM
●Welcome to guest Billie, New Hope citizen. All commissioners and
guests introduced themselves.
●Discussed the officer shooting in Burnsville in February. Brad said that
it’s always harder when these events hit close to home. There are also
support group opportunities within and across departments.
○Check up from the Neck Up - officers are required to
meet with psychologists at least once a year. The
department has been doing this for several years
●Discussed methods of communication for commissioners including email
and text. Please let Commissioner Curry know if texting is not effective
for quick communication for meetings, questions, etc.
●The New Hope Police Department needs to change their patches due to
the changes in the state flag. Commissioner Hassan asked about
opening up a design contest to the public; concerns were raised about
timelines since the new patches need to be on uniforms by May
DISCUSSION ITEMS
AND REPORTS HRC Membership
● Commissioner Bishop said he would be willing to be the HRC
co-chair
Commissioner Kendra made a motion and Commissioner
Isenberg seconded to appoint Commissioner Bishop as the HRC
co-chair. All in favor (Commissioner Knapp abstained).
2024 Planning & Sub-Committees
● Hispanic Heritage Celebration (Jeremy)
Commissioner Bishop will be the lead for this group.
Commissioner Bishop asked a friend about how to involve the
Hispanic population in this event, and the response was to go to
churches. Commissioner Bishop will start to seek interest from
local organizations and loop in the rest of the group. Brad will
connect with city staff to help figure out a potential date.
● Outreach (Matthew)
Met to discuss quarterly questions to pose to increase
community engagement in the HRC meetings. Request for
commissioners to think about questions and bring to next
month’s meeting. Can look at information from city survey to get
questions as well. Subcommittee members will bring 2-3
questions as options to the next meeting for consideration.
League of Women Voters is willing to work with the HRC to
assist with voter registration and community education. More
information to come when they have additional information to
share.
● Sunnyside Park Cleanup (Allison)
Spring clean-up scheduled April 20th at 10 am
● Colors of the World (Mindy)
Kaamil is meeting with schools/principals to discuss what helped
make them successful in submitting pictures. Also working on
meeting with the Rotary Club to discuss sponsorship for the
event this year.
● Human Rights/Freedom of Speech Event (Kaamil)
Looking for an event for people to share their experiences
around human rights and freedom of speech. Commissioner
Hassan has researched financial abilities to host a TedX event,
including sponsorship and cash donations. The city does not
have the ability to do this at this time for these types of events.
This event is currently on hold until there are additional options
for financing.
Billie suggested Moth Radio Hour on MPR revolving around
freedom of speech/human rights that people could participate in
individually if they so choose.
Commissioner Bishop to connect with Commissioner Hassan on
other options/ideas for this type of event.
● Year in Review (Kendra)
Reviewed powerpoint created for presentation to the New Hope
City Council on March 18.
Upcoming Meeting Dates:
-2024: 4/1, 5/6, 6/3, no July meeting, 8/5, 9/2 (Labor Day – meeting
needs to move), 10/7, 11/4, 12/2
-Monday March 18 at 6:30 pm - Meeting with City Council
-Tuesday, March 19th, 5-7:30 pm Empty Bowls event at Cooper High
School
-Sunnyside Park Cleanup - April 20, 10 am
NEW BUSINESS None
COMMUNICATION &
INFORMATION SHARING Brad will bring Hennepin County crime stats to next month’s meeting.
Mayor Hemken reported that new banners are going up on lightposts
near City Hall this week. Also, the city has purchased 2 new snow
plows; the city will be asking for names for the snow plows.
NEXT MEETING The next meeting is Monday April 1 at 7:00 pm.
ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Hassan made a motion to adjourn the meeting; seconded
by Commissioner Knapp. All voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned
at 8:27 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary Allison Isenberg