Feb 17, 2011 ... Tab 2. COMMISSION REPORTS: HRC LIAISON. ♢ Dr. Brian ... that the “noose” in
question was a slipknot used to pull conduit and had been.
REVISED HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING Minutes Thursday, February 17, 2011 9:15 a.m. City Hall 455 N. Rexford Drive Conference Room 280-A ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 9:17 a.m. Present: Absent:
Pease, Meshkaty, Yousem, Sherman, Linder, Nazarian Ginsburg
Ginsburg arrived at 9:18 a.m. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES 1. Minutes of January 20, 2011 MOVED by Meshkaty, SECONDED by Sherman to approve as presented (7/0) AYES: Pease, Meshkaty, Yousem, Ginsburg, Sherman, Linder, Nazarian NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: CARRIED ORAL COMMUNICATION FROM THE AUDIENCE Beverly Hills resident, Lorraine Althea, requested help from the Commission to file a police report. CONTINUED AND NEW BUSINESS Tab 2. COMMISSION REPORTS: HRC LIAISON ♦ Dr. Brian Goldberg of the Beverly Hills Unified School District updated the Commission on the status of an alleged hate crime committed between two school district employees. After a school district investigation, it was determined that the “noose” in question was a slipknot used to pull conduit and had been there for years, which is a common construction practice. There were also nine employee layoffs announced at the last board meeting.
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♦ Sgt. Lincoln Hoshino of the Beverly Hills Police Department presented an update on the status of hate crimes in Beverly Hills and the surrounding area. There were no new hate crimes to report. Sgt. Hoshino scheduled a meeting with a BHPD later the same day for Ms. Athea supported by Administrator Latta to file a police report. ADMINISTRATOR Latta updated the commissioners on the following items: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Complaint to Commission forwarded to Beverly Hills Police Department Homeless Count 2011 Reorganization of Department 2011-12 Budget Annual Conflict of Interest reports for 2010 Civility Accord press release February 7, 2011 Premier of HRC Election Civility PSAs
CHAIR ♦ Chair Nazarian gave a report on the February 9, 2011Mayor’s Cabinet meeting. Tab 3. WOOFSTOCK EVENT AD HOC REPORT: Administrator Latta reviewed the Commission’s role in Woofstock 2011, which is part of the General Civility Statement campaign. Commissioners briefly discussed it as well. MOVED by Sherman, SECONDED by Pease, that the Commission participates in Woofstock so that residents can obtain a free (“It’s Your Dooty”) sign from the City, so that the dog-related ordinance materials will be distributed, so that we can create a better neighbor-to-neighbor conflict resolution source of information, so that we can distribute our Embrace Civility post cards, and invite the people there to view the general civilty public service announcement. (7/0) AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: CARRIED
Pease, Meshkaty, Yousem, Ginsburg, Sherman, Linder, Nazarian None None None
Tab 4. AD HOC REPORT ON CURRENT ELECTION CIVILITY WORK: Latta reviewed the recommendations of the Election Civility ad hoc committee. The committee chose not to pursue the idea of postage stamps, but will move forward with the creation of civility bookmarks and produce a press release of the General Civility Statement for dissemination in the community through the media. Finally, a letter
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requesting a meeting to share the Embrace Civility message with youth sports participants will be drafted. MOVED by Ginsburg, SECONDED by Yousem that the Human Relations Commission accepts the recommendations of the ad hoc committee (pass for now on Embrace Civility Stamps; approval of bookmark quotes; promotion of the election and postelection civility statement; draft editorial or civility statement press release to submit to Communications for release; disseminate civility statement to the Beverly Hills community’s youth sports organizations) as a group and move forward with the items that have been agreed upon. AYES: Pease, Meshkaty, Yousem, Ginsburg, Sherman, Linder, Nazarian NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None CARRIED Tab 5. WORKPLAN EXERCISE: Administrator Latta introduced City Council’s new priority for the Commission. Guided by the City Council liaisons, the Commission is asked to develop recommendations for Council for balancing a desire by some residents for more flexibility to have late night parties in their homes with the desire by other residents to have quiet use of their homes. Michele McGrath, Beverly Hills Senior Planner, addressed the Commission about the direction given at the February 15, 2011 City Council meeting regarding the noise ordinance. The Human Relations Commission will hold a series of widely publicized meetings intended for members of the community to attend and voice their opinions and experiences on the matter, which will be taken into consideration when the Commission presents its recommendations to City Council. The number of meetings that will occur, as well as the times and locations have not yet been determined. Commissioners each chose their top three choices from a list of 13 workplan items. A first choice selection was worth three (3) points, a second choice was worth two (2) points, and a third choice was worth one (1) point. The top three work plan choices receiving the most votes were as follows: 1. Human Service Commission Award Program (9 points) 2. Heritage Week (7) 3. Celebration of First Day of Spring (6)
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MOVED by Nazarian, SECONDED by Meshkaty that the Human Relations Commission provides the mayor with a press release with regards to the celebration of the first day of Spring (Nowruz), for March 20, 2011. (7/0) AYES: Pease, Meshkaty, Yousem, Ginsburg, Sherman, Linder, Nazarian NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None CARRIED Tab 6. COMMUNITY OUTREACH REPORT: Due to time constraints, the Community Outreach Report was not presented. Tab 7. CALENDAR FOR 2011 COMMISSION MEETING DATES: The Commission was provided with upcoming meeting dates. Staff recorded planned absences, if any, on the calendar. COMMENTS BY COMMISSIONERS INCLUDING TOPICS FOR FUTURE AGENDAS Commissioner Sherman expressed her desire to have an introduction featured at the beginning of each version of the Civility PSA. Vice Chairperson Linder would like to have guidelines from the City Attorney regarding hearing public complaints about the Police Department. GOOD AND WELFARE Commissioner Meshkaty would like commissioners to ask for permission from the Chair before getting up to leave meetings to prevent the possibility of losing quorum. Chairperson Nazarian and Vice Chaiperson Linder are considering working on Big Sunday on their own if the Commission does not as a group. ADJOURNMENT MOVED by Ginsburg, SECONDED by Meshkaty to adjourn meeting at 12:54 p.m. (7/0) AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: CARRIED
Pease, Meshkaty, Yousem, Ginsburg, Sherman, Linder, Nazarian None None None
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PASSED, Approved and Adopted This _______ day of _______, 2011
___________________________ Nazarian, Chairperson
