CC Minutes - 11/18/09 Work Session

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Ms. Ortiz thanked Ms. wells for her presentation and agreed with her statements regarding the proactive nature of the HRC's goals and strategies. Ms. Ortiz asked if, with respect to the social equity concerns of the City's own employees, any internal surveys at any level had been conducted to assess how adequately such concerns had been addressed. Ms. wells answered that the HRC had conducted a climate survey several years ago, the results of which had been used to inform various elements of the DESP. Ms. wells further noted that additional internal surveys would most likely be conducted in the future. Mr. Pryor appreciated the work of Ms. wells and her colleagues from the HRC and hoped that the various external and internal human factors affecting social equity concerns in the community could be successfully addressed by the HRC in ways that would lead to measurable, constructive progress for the community. Mr. Pryor suggested that the HRC and its support staff figure out ways to get its work plan and strategies out to the community rather than to just the City Council. Mr. Clark expressed that his tenure as a member of the HRC continued to inform his work as a member of the Eugene City Council. He further noted his appreciation for Ms. wells' ability to translate community and staff conversations regarding social equity issues into meaningful actions. He agreed with Ms. Ortiz's earlier comments regarding internal surveys and noted that some sort of formalized HRC process or analysis tool for determining the effectiveness of the City's various boards and commissions would be helpful to the council. Mr. Zelenka expressed that the HRC might assist with the recruiting efforts for the City's various boards and commissions in a manner that would ensure that those groups maintained a high level of diversity with respect to social equity concerns. He further expressed that the HRC should work to keep the council well informed of opportunities to further the various diversity and human rights goals of the commission. Mr. Zelenka noted that the social equity component of the triple - bottom line assessment tool in various areas of the organization was often difficult to maintain compared to the environmental sustainability and economic development components since there was less quantifiable data available with respect to social equity issues. Ms. Taylor asked how the HRC planned to help protect and maintain the rights of ex- offenders in the community. Ms. Wells replied that the commission had indeed worked with the City's Human Resources and City Manager's offices to incorporate changes to the City's employment application process which would address Ms. Taylor's concerns. Ms. Taylor hoped that the commission would continue to address the needs of homeless and potentially homeless citizens in the community. Ms. Ortiz agreed with Mr. Zelenka's earlier comments regarding the inherent difficulty in adequately addressing the social equity component of the triple- bottom -line assessment tool. Ms. Wells, responding to a question from Ms. Ortiz, noted that the HRC had discussed the DREAM Act (S. 729 and H.R. 175 1) during their meeting on November 17. She noted that further HRC discussions regarding the DREAM Act were expected to continue at their December meeting. Ms. Wells briefly noted the basic components of the DREAM Act for the benefit of the council. Ms. LeMasurier, responding to a request from Mr. Zelenka, thanked the council for the recent passage of the City's Mental Health Resolution and noted that the resolution had been the result of many years of work to provide more thoughtful and comprehensive mental health care to the community. Ms. wells added that the Mental Health Resolution had been designed to empower community members to make better, more proactive decisions regarding their mental health. MINUTES Eugene City Council November 18, 2009 Page 3 Work Session