Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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C. WORK SESSION: City Council Priority Issue – Communities of Color Meeting Debrief Mr. Carlson introduced Lauren Chouinard, executive director of Human Resources and Risk Management, to discuss the Communities of Color meeting. Mr. Chouinard introduced consultant Phyllis Lee and asked Ms. Piercy to facilitate a short debrief on the Communities of Color meeting and discussion of future steps. Ms. Piercy said the subject was an important connection to the work of the Human Rights Commission. She thanked the 65 community members who participated in the Communities of Color meeting. She asked councilors to share their experiences and what they had learned during that meeting. She said she had learned that people needed to hear more often about the City’s awareness of and commitment to the issue. She said there was some discussion at her table concerning a lack of knowledge about the City and the possibility of an activity similar to the Business After Hours events hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Poling said he heard frustration from participants about again discussing the issue, but also awareness that the City was engaged. He said there was some concern about what the next steps would be. He was struck by one of the recommendations in the report that City Councilors should participate more visibly in community events, particularly those put on by the Communities of Color. He agreed that an effort to introduce people to City government and how they might fit in and be involved was a good idea. Ms. Ortiz said it had been interesting as a person of color advocating for the event and then participating in it. She felt at times that she was “in the know” but when she met with her peers she was amazed at what she learned from people she had known for years. She said the dynamics in her group were interesting and enlightening as there were two African-American men with significantly different experiences and perspectives. She agreed that people lacked understanding of how government worked and liked the concept of holding a “government class” similar to the police academy. She said that the Bethel School District held classes for Latino parents to help them understand their role in assisting their children to have a good educational experience in the district. Mr. Kelly commented that the meeting was valuable and revealing. He said it reminded him that there was a real need for statements from leadership of the City on those issues and not just after an incident. He said there was also a need for concrete actions. He heard from participants about the amount of denial in the community about racial problems. He thought the problem was getting worse and would not improve until people acknowledged its existence. Mr. Pryor said he had a strong impression that the best way to approach problems was to acknowledge they existed. He said there was a variety of intolerance and racism in the community and it was important to start by being sincere, candid and respectful about how to approach the problem. He said part of the council’s role was to keep the issue before the public and remind people of what good behavior looked like in order to change community attitudes, similar to the efforts to discourage drinking and driving. Ms. Solomon remarked that she had a lot to learn about the issue and appreciated the willingness of those at her table to share their experiences and help her to learn more about their perspectives. Ms. Bettman said she shared the frustration about continuing discussions of the issue but no specific actions identified. She appreciated the need to have an ongoing discussion but urged the council to identify and MINUTES—City Council September 11, 2006 Page 6 Work Session