10_17_11_ Extended HRC minutes
City of Boulder
Human Relations Commission Minutes
October17, 2011
1777 Broadway, Boulder, CO
6:00p.m.
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT:
Leisha Conners Bauer
Amy Zuckerman
JohnPaulHarris
Susan Geshundheit
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT:
Jonathan Dings (excused)
STAFF PRESENT:
Carmen Atilano
Beth Van Dusen
I.Call to Order
TheOctober 17, 2011 HRC meeting was called to order at 6:09pm by
L. Conners Bauer.
II.Approval of Minutes
A. Zuckerman
moved to accept the September 19, 2011 minutes as corrected,
J.P. Harris
seconded. The motion passes 4-0
.
IV.Community Participation
None.
V.Action Items
A.2011 Community Event Fund Reports –
1. Postoley Dance Ensemble -
Tom Masterson presentedabudget and a report
detailing the highlights of the 2011 Postoley Dance Ensemble Folk Dancing on the
Plaza. There were more than 60 children under the age of seven who participated in
the event. There were dancers from the Ukraine, Russia, China, Japan, Colombia and
Mexico. It is a cultural event that is supported by volunteers who contributed over
J. P. Harris
250 hours of time. The event is low-impact and zero waste. moved to
S. Gesundheit
accept the report from Postoley and seconded the motion. The motion
passes 4-0.
2. Boulder Asian Pacific Alliance (BAPA) -
Brenda Pearson, chair of BAPA gave a
th
report on the 18annual BAPA festival and thanked the HRC for their support. It
was a zero waste event with thirty vendors and twenty two performers. There was a
family fun tent with Japanese and Chinese language lessons, an Asian story-teller and
origami. Miss Asian Colorado made an appearance and Fox 31 covered the event.
Due to staff shortages BAPA was unable to translate material for the festival into
J. P. Harris
Spanish and returned $100 to the HRC. asked about the cost of booth
J. P. Harris
rental. Ms. Pearson provided a detailed breakdown of the cost. moved
A. Zuckerman
to accept the 2011 BAPA report and seconded the motion. Motion
passes 4-0.
3. Boulder Jewish Festival –
Cheryl Fellows presented the 2011 report for the Boulder
Jewish Festival and thanked the HRC for their support. Cheryl reported that the event
was very successful due to great planning and coordination with the city and the county.
On-line registration and accepting credit cards added to the success of the event. It was a
zero waste event. Overall the event lost $2500 due primarily tothe cost ofairfare for the
musicians. It is estimated that 15-18,000 people attended the event. Sales were down
S. Gesundheit
but attendance was up. asked about line 6 on revenue in the budget.
Cheryl Fellows explained that more money is spent on T-shirts than is recouped because
S. Gesundheit
all volunteers are given a free T-shirt.moved to accept the 2011 Boulder
J. P. Harris
Jewish Festival report.seconded the motion. The motion passes 4-0.
4. Draft RFP: Celebration of Boulder Immigrant Heritage –C. Atilano
reported
th
that the City sponsored the first annual Immigrant Heritage celebration on October 5
and that it wasasuccessfulevent. The mayor read the declaration and introduced the
Immigrant Advisory Committee Board members. The celebration included a youth
Mariachi Band and a reception with cake. In subsequent years we would like for the
community tobecome increasingly engaged and the role of the city will likely become
one of supporting the community eventsrather than sponsoring the events. The RFP
process can be viewed as a pilot effort the first year while the level of interest is
determined. There was discussion regardingthe allocation of funds and it was suggested
J. P. Harris
that this be looked at during the 2012 Work Plan budget process. asked for
L. Conners Bauer
clarification on funding proposals and events. explained that this is a
J. P.
week long event and that there may be numerous proposals/applications for events.
Harris
moved to approve the RFP for the Immigrant Heritage week with a maximum of
A. Zuckerman
$3,000 per event. seconded the motion. Motion passes 4-0.
AGENDA ITEM 6 –DISCUSSION/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
A.2012 Community Event Fund Interviews-
1. Postoley Dance Ensemble –
The application was submitted and presented by
L. Conners Bauer
Tom Masterson.asked ifthere were any significant changes to
the 2012 application. Tom Masterson explained that there is a budget item to bring in
instructors to teach a dance workshop at a cost of $250.00 and that a new computer
will need to purchased this year forthe group. Danceophile Studio is contributing
$2,860.00 toward the cost of the computer.
2.Boulder Asian Pacific Alliance (BAPA) –
Brenda Pearson, chair of BAPA
th
presented the 2012 BAPA application for the 19annual Asian Festival. Next
year,BAPA will be collaborating with the Colorado Aloha Festival in a joint event.
The festival will be larger, encompassing three blocks of Pearl Street and there will
betwo stages. There will be over 100 vendors and it is anticipated that the cost to hold
the festival will increase. It is also anticipated that there will be more volunteers.
J. P. Harris
asked about the cost of advertising. The cost is budgeted at $1000.00 which
will include advertising in the DailyCamera, Asian magazines, and will also include
printed materials.
3.Boulder Jewish Festival -
Cheryl Fellows presented the application for the 2012
Boulder JewishFestival CEF request and explained that there are slight
modifications from year to year due to community feedback and that a primary goal next
year is increase community involvement in the event.There are shows planned in
local galleries and perhaps window displays withlocal merchants for next years
festival. There were a few merchants who complained of access issues and this will be
J. P. Harris
addressed by implementing a different vendor set-up next year. asked about
the cost of advertising for the event. Cheryl explained that ads are run in all local papers,
the Intermountain Jewish News and on-line advertising including fly-outads.
Cheryl explained that this is the only Jewish festival in the state and that it brings a lot of
people to Boulder.
B.Community Foundation Trends Report –
Morgan Rogers presented the highlights
from the Trends report and explained the mission of the Community Foundation (CF).
She drew attention to information contained in the report as it relates to the work that the
HRC is committed to. Of particular interest is the fact that Boulder’s poverty rate is
15%, which is the same as the national average. The largest increase in the city is seen in
families, particularly families with children. The final numbers are on the Community
Foundation website. Another important finding in the report pertains to education.
Boulder is one of the most educated cities in the country, 68% of all adults have a college
education and 35% have a graduate degree, however, there are 6,000 adults in Boulder
who have not finished high school. There are indications that many who were already on
the edge are now actually doing worse. There are disparities in our education system.
Low income children in our schools are not performing as well as peers statewide and are
not making the same progress. There are socio-economic issues and cultural competency
issues within the educational system and our schools tend to function as microcosms.
With regard to the concept of community attachment the city scored high aesthetically
but did not score well with regard to openness. The score was low particularly for a
feeling of openness to minorities and immigrants. The full report is available on the
L. Conners Bauer
Community Foundation website. commented that the findings in the
A. Zuckerman
report can help to shape strategies for the work plan in 2012. inquired
about the strategies being developed at the CF. Morgan Rogers replied that the Board of
Trustees willchooseissues and initiatives to focus on based upon the report. These
issues will be specified throughout the grant making process.
C.NAHRW Report –J. Bunzli
provided a report outlining the highlights from the
NAHRW conference. There were a variety of excellent workshops, panels and training
dealing with diverse topics including, Intersectional Identities in the LGBT Community;
The R Word, does racism still exist?; Medical Marijuana in Colorado and Investigation
Techniques for Civil Rights Investigations. John also reported that he was elected to the
board as member at large for the Western Region. The prayer issue was obviously a hot
topic leading up to the conference and the conference planning committee chose to
continue to include public prayer as an official part of the conference. Before most meals
a blessing of the food was offered in prayer and in most cases was identifiable as
Christian. Interestingly, several first time attendees asked questions about the prayer,
expressing surprise and dismay that this was a part of a human rights conference. They
were encouraged to speak to others, particularly board members and they were
encouraged to attend the member meeting to express their concerns and opinions.
D.Statewide HRC Meeting -C. Atilano
announcedthat there will be a statewideHRC
J. P. Harris S. Gesundheit
meeting held in Denver on October 28, 2011.and will
attend.
E.2011 Work Plan
1. Committee Reports –C. Atilano
reported on the MLK Planning Committee, the
J. P. Harris
committee is meeting twice monthly. reported that is he unable to continue
attending MLK Planning Committee meetings ona regular basis and feels that it is
A. Zuckerman
important that the HRC be represented at the meetings. commented that
she will try to attend the meetings but also may not be able to do so on a regular basis.
2. November HRC Meeting -
The meeting will be held on Monday, November 14,
2011, location to be determined.
VII.Adjournment
–
J. P. Harris A. Zuckerman
moved to adjourn the October 17,2011 meeting. seconded
the motion. The motion passed with a vote of 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:05
p.m.
Attested:Approved:
Board SecretaryHRC Chairperson