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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - August 22, 2006 HRC City of Azusa Human Relations Commission Minutes from meeting of Aug. 22, 2006 Present: Paul Naccachian, Marty Villanueva, Ilean Ochoa, Terry Franson, Heath Hamilton, Christina Valdez and Nancy Gibson Absent: Logan Westbrooks, Diana Williams Also in attendance were City Manager Fran Delach, Mayor Diane Chagnon, Councilmember Angel Carrillo and Coordinator Claudia O. Shields Meeting called to order at 7:07 pm Motion to approve minutes by Heath. Marty seconded. II. Public Comment: Mayor Diane Chagnon said"Thank you for your volunteer service, the past is in the past and I am anxious to hear about your October plans." III. Scheduled Item: Discussion with the City Mgr., Fran Delach Fran apologized for any misunderstandings. He has been very busy and he is sorry that he has not attended before. He said he fully supports us. "The HRC is the hardest working group of volunteers. You do most of the work yourselves and you report to the same people, the City Council. We don't want to guide, direct you or interfere. We can discuss the Coordinator's position. We can augment it if need be. We want to be collaborative, not confrontational. The HRC and the City became disconnected. I fight against this. The HRC's heart and soul is linked with all citizens. This is a great commission. I'm glad the city had the foresight to create it. I am really appreciative of your work." Terry Franson brought up the fact that"the problem with the disconnection is communication, assumptions and conclusions that aren't accurate. Paul Naccachian and Marti Villanueva have been running things with the commission and now Claudia Shields came in and they're all good people but it is confusing. We have been here for the long haul. We've done the work that was bigger than us. We are looking for stability. Is Claudia's job description the same as the previous coordinators? We've had little or no financial support from the City for the previous MLK/Hands Across Azusa. All of us want to go forward and be collaborative. You showed up tonight, Mayor, Thank you. Paul and Marti have carried the ball. The Police Dept. was not going to be part of it. Angel Carrillo and others did not feel safe. There were lots of changes in leadership. We need to address some things from the past." Ilean Ochoa said"We have the feeling of being an unwanted step-child. Put up with them(HRC).' We felt unrecognized, but personally, we wanted to keep it together." Fran answered, "The HRC was never supposed to report to the Police Dept. It's just that the Coordinator works there. The City was in crisis; it leveled out a little but we're not fat and happy. The staff support/liaison is to help accommodate the needs of the Commission and help you to carry out your workplan. There have been racial Brown& Black riots in several communities. Neither I, nor Bob Garcia wanted this to occur. The Police Dept. is the highest funded in the city. I did not have time to interface with the Coordinator. Claudia has access to P.D. information now, especially any civil rights issues. HRC is not the ACLU but Claudia is almost like an ombudsman. Whoever is the Coordinator will recognize the P.D. problem but they need access to information. They have an abundance of resources." Terry asked Angel Carrillo how he felt about the Coordinator being housed in the Police Dept. Angel answered, "I don't have a problem with it." The issue of business cards was brought up again because "it seems all other commissioners of the city have them except the HRC." Paul explained that we have been given business cards that are blank. Angel added, "With a business card, you can add staff, resources and a mission statement on the back." Ilean Ochoa added that Jorge Rosales from the Architectural Barriers Commission came to one of our meetings. He introduced himself to us and passed out his City Commission business card to each one of us. She wondered why he was able to get a personalized card but we were not. Mayor Chagnon said that the policy has changed since Mr. Rosales had his cards printed. Marti Villanueva added that when she went to a function at APU,many students had asked for her for her business card from the HRC. She had to stop and write her personal information on the card for each person she handed a card to. She said, "It was quite embarrassing to have to do that." Mayor Chagnon asked Marti, "You are putting your personal information on those cards?" Terry Franson said, "We are willing to give out our personal information." Ilean Ochoa asked"What is the chain of command? What about the outline/workplan put out by Paul Naccachian? Claudia is here but not conducting meetings. How do we work with her and what is her role? Claudia Shields said, "My job description is identical to the former Coordinator's but I am now part-time, only 20 hours per week. The former coordinator had more money to work with because of the Healthy Cities Grant money. I am a guide and a coach. No, I only direct what you do. The HRC can choose to do what I want or they can say they don't want it. We can report to each other. I'm not the boss of the Commission and you are not the boss of me". Terry Franson said, "We need to work out a good relationship. We don't need a coach. Claudia should be a liaison person. We don't need a teacher, guide or director. We need someone to help us move forward. Paul Naccachian said, "the Agenda discussion at the previous meeting was at an impasse. The hierarchy,how does it work? Mayor Chagnon said"Shouldn't Claudia do the Agenda?" Marti answered, "The bylaws state that the agenda should be composed by the Chairperson." Ilean Ochoa said, "How can we work together if we are separated? How does the Police Dept. report to us? We've done great things." Paul said, "The level of trust has been broken." He said that even as a citizen,he was stopped by an Azusa Police officer interrogated for over 40 minutes under the triple digits of the summer heat. He was then asked whether he carried a badge to prove that he was a human relations commissioner. He felt violated especially with the ride-along individual breathing down his neck. And now he doesn't trust the City or the Police Dept. and he doesn't feel safe here. Mayor Chagnon said, "I don't see the relationship. Please elaborate." Paul said"We want to trust and trust is needed but lacking." City Mgr. Delach said, "The timing(of the hiring of the new coordinator) was purely coincidental and not because of the Armenian Genocide. Ilean said, "No one reported to us. Mayor, you should have spoken to us about the hiring of the new coordinator." Mr. Delach said that he was not aware that it had taken such a long time to hire a coordinator. The Mayor asked, "Does no one trust me? Paul? Others?" Heath Hamilton answered, "I try to answer emails sent to me. I have no trust issues." Nancy Gibson said that she likes everyone and has no problems. Christina Valdez said, "Trust is not an issue. Too much time has been wasted on the coordinator issue. It should not be a priority." Terry said, "Trust and fractured communication have been issues. We need to put a workplan together. I have a good friendship with Paul. He and Marti have worked 10 to 15 hours a week to keep the commission going. We need an ally, someone who can get us down the road." Ilean Ochoa said, "Our plate is full but we're ready to work on HRC plans. Thanks to the city for a budget this year.We are all pleased to be part of this. We have a strategic plan that we're proud of" . Terry Franson made a motion to postpone the Youth Conference that was to be held in October. Heath Hamilton seconded. Discussion regarding Claudia's Antioch Intern Proposal will also be postponed until the next meeting. There was a five minute break at 9:30 p.m.. Upon return, Christina Valdez had to excuse herself as it was getting late. The remaining commissioners asked to go into closed session to deliberate regarding the internship program reported earlier by Claudia. There were a lot of questions asked and although most commissioners were ready to make a decision, few felt that they needed more time. Accordingly,there was a motion to postponed the deliberation to our next scheduled meeting on the 26th of September. Adjournment at 10:12 p.m.