040124 HRC MinutesCITY OF NEW HOPE
4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH
NEW HOPE, MINNESOTA 55428
Human Rights Commission Date: April 1, 2024
Regular Meeting City Hall
CALL TO ORDER Chair Curry called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm.
ROLL CALL Present: Kendra Curry
Maria Leon
Mindy London
Allison Isenberg
Jeremy Bishop
J Knapp
Absent: Matthew London
Kaamil Hassan
City Liaison: Chief Tim Hoyt (absent)
Brad Kallio, New Hope Crime Prevention Officer
Guests: None
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 Bishop made a motion to accept the April 1, 2024
minutes, seconded by Commissioner Mindy London. All voted in favor.
OPEN FORUM Somali Community Resettlement Services (SCRS) assists newly arrived
refugees from Somalia and other East African countries. SCRS has
assisted refugee families to secure basic needs and resources for self-
sufficiency and to acclimate to a new way of life (taken from their
website). SCRS plans to purchase the vacant funeral home on 42nd
Avenue N. Plan to invite them to an upcoming HRC meeting to learn
more about their organization. The mayor reported that once finalized
and renovated, there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony and the HRC will
be invited to the event.
Brad presented the Hennepin County Crime Stats; See attached
powerpoint for details. He reported that New Hope statistics are in-line
with Hennepin County. Commissioner Bishop asked about New Hope
specific data and how they compare with other smaller cities close to us.
Chief Hoyt presented the New Hope Police Department 2023 annual
report at the 3/25/24 city council meeting. The report is available on the
New Hope city website and via the meeting minutes of the 3/25/24 city
council meeting.
New Hope 2020 census information is available online here:
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/newhopecityminn
sota/PST045223
Mayor Hemken and City Manager Bertholf provided a State of the City
Address on CCX media. It is available online here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56bxeEvYrck
DISCUSSION ITEMS
AND REPORTS HRC Membership: Currently have 8 members, room for 2 more
members. Information out on CCX and SunPost that we are
looking for commissioners. CAC has 1 opening as well.
2024 Planning & Sub-Committees
● Hispanic Heritage Celebration (lead - Jeremy)
● Commissioner Bishop looking for someone in the
Hispanic community to be the champion for Hispanic
Heritage Celebration. Commissioner Bishop will send
out emails to solicit interest in the community.
● Outreach (Matthew)
● Good Citizen award - closed 3/31. Will connect with city
clerk Leone to see if there were any submissions and
will bring to the next meeting
● No questions were brought forward as ideas for the
quarterly open forum question; will continue to discuss at
future meetings
● Sunnyside Park Cleanup (Allison)
● Next clean up is set for April 20, 10 am
● Colors of the World (Mindy)
● Commissioner Hassan and Mayor Hemken attended a
Rotary meeting. Rotary approved a grant for $500 for
this project
● Chair Curry will look to see if any information has been
received from the Lions club in terms of a grant
● Discussion about plans for contacting schools
● Year in Review (Kendra)
● Commissioners presented 2023 and 2024 HRC
information to the city council at the March 18 work
session. Will continue to do this on a yearly basis
● Human Rights/Freedom of Speech Event (Kaamil)
● Commissioner Hassan not present at the meeting to
present an update
Upcoming Meeting Dates:
- 2024: 5/6, 6/3, no July meeting, 8/5, 9/2 (Labor Day – meeting needs
to move), 10/7, 11/4, 12/2
- Saturday April 20, 10 am - Sunnyside Park Cleanup
NEW BUSINESS Commissioner Bishop asked about the mission of the HRC and goals
going forward. Commissioner Isenberg read the Overview and Function
of the HRC from the city website. Commissioner Bishop expressed how
a mission statement could help align our understanding and work
together.
● Commissioner Bishop made a motion to develop a mission
statement for the HRC and have it present on all HRC agendas;
second by Commissioner Knapp.
● Commissioner Knapp will work on a mission statement and bring
to the next HRC meeting.
● All voted in favor
COMMUNICATION &
INFORMATION SHARING None
NEXT MEETING The next meeting is May 6 at 7:00 pm.
ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Bishop made a motion to adjourn the meeting; seconded
by Commissioner Leon All voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned
at 8:04 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary Allison Isenberg