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Adrian City Commission, Human Relations Commission to meet May 1 – The Daily Telegram

ADRIAN — Since the beginning of April, town halls, programs and community events that were in the works to be hosted by the Adrian Human Relations Commission have been put on hold, indefinitely, at the request of the Adrian City Commission.

This request, which the city commission discussed for nearly an hour during its April 3 work study session, stemmed from what the commission described as a “lack of focus” and a “lack of communication” from the HRC regarding its programming and events.

To, in essence, right the path of the HRC, both panels will have a joint meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 1, at the Adrian City Chambers building, 159 E. Maumee St., to discuss the purpose of the Human Relations Commission and to potentially rewrite the HRC's ordinance, mission statement and literature.

The joint meeting is scheduled prior to the city commission's premeeting work study session at 6:30 p.m. and its 7 p.m. regular meeting.

The tipping point leading to Monday's meeting occurred, according to Adrian City Administrator Greg Elliott, when four events the HRC envisioned to host were scheduled within the span of one month. One of the events, he said, conflicted with a date already scheduled for a regular meeting of the Adrian Planning Commission.

The city, Elliott said, has a policy in place since the COVID-19 pandemic of conducting its city meetings in person and virtually through the use of software such as Zoom.

“It's a lot,” Elliott explained regarding the number of HRC events that have been proposed. “When dates were originally proposed, they conflicted with other city events.

“It becomes burdensome to staff and our if we are doing this so many times and so often,” he said during the April 3 discussion. “There really needs to be more advance planning if we are going to have (the HRC) in City Chambers, on Zoom and have a staff person available after hours to run Zoom, no matter who it is, for those events.”

The current HRC ordinance, Elliott said, does not provide very much guidance as to what the HRC is expected to do on a month-to-month basis.

“The planning commission, in contrast, if they don't have anything on their agenda as a business item, then they don't meet,” he said.

Elliott and several of the city commissioners who were present for the April 3 discussion said they were uncertain if the HRC has a clear direction in what it's doing.

There are seven members on the Human Relations Commission: chairperson Andre'a Benard and Joaquin Ramos, De'Angelo Boone, Pat Harvat, Bob Behnke and Steve Gonzales. Adrian Mayor Angie Sword Heath, as part of her mayoral duties, also is part of the HRC.

The mission statement of the HRC is “To actively promote respect for human rights and cultural diversity, to foster mutual self-respect and understanding and promote amicable relations among all Adrian residents.” The HRC meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesdays of each month.

A list of goals and objectives of the HRC are posted on the city's website, www.adriancity.com. Also listed regarding the HRC, are services and support provided to Adrian residents by the HRC, including diversity and multicultural competence training, public forums, cultural events and educational programming including film discussions, lectures, youth programming and senior support.

The HRC is tasked with education within the community, Heath said. She added, the HRC is the “most focused it has ever been,” since she has been a member. Members of the HRC are also “excited,” she said, about bringing real change to Adrian.

In January, the HRC had a town hall meeting for Human Trafficking Month. Each year, it conducts a home ownership seminar. A “Bridging the Divide” program, Heath said, was well attended as it sought to bring together the community and the Adrian Police Department. Attendance at most of the town hall meetings, she said, is like a city commission meeting.

And like the city commission, Adrian City commissioner Kelly Castleberry said, the HRC should be tasked with forming a strategic plan for the entire year, especially when considering its budget and seeking direction of topics of discussion from the community.

“A survey can tell us what our constituents want to hear and see and what tensions they are feeling and how we can make change. That's where that guidance should come from,” she said. “I think planning, long term, is our best option for that.”

Castleberry, throughout the discussion, continued to stress the word “strategic” when talking about what makes the HRC click. Guidance on what the community needs, she said, should be the agenda for the HRC.

City commissioner Allen Heldt was the first person to suggest rewriting the HRC's ordinance as a means for providing clearer directions, organization and structure. The pause placed by the city commission on any further HRC events, he said, will allow the city commission to consider how some HRC events fall within the scope of its ordinance.

“Unless there is business to tend to, there should be no reason to meet,” Heldt said.

Conversations about the Human Relations Commission also took place during the city commission's April 17 meeting. Former HRC member Ashley Cavasos-Franck addressed the city commission at both April meetings. At the April 3 meeting, she said she was “disgusted” by the conversation the city was having regarding the HRC. During the April 17 meeting, she said, “As long as there are humans in the city, there will always be business for the HRC.”

Cavasos-Franck said she joined the HRC, a group of unpaid, minority volunteers, in 2020 and was a member for two years before she left, citing a lack of support given by the city commission.

“We asked for guidance. We asked for help. We asked for strategic planning. We asked you guys to come to our meetings. Mayor (Heath) is the only one there, and it's her job obligation to be there,” she said at the April 3 discussion.

City commissioner Mary Roberts called it “bothersome” the HRC was proposing to conduct four events and as a city commissioner she was never made aware of any of them.

“We need to be on the same page,” she said.

Ramos, meanwhile, said he has been an HRC member for at least four years. During that time, he said April 3, HRC members have been reaching out to the city commissioners for guidance and ideas.

“It's put all on us when we have less resources than literally every other commission. That doesn't seem quite fair,” he said.

 

This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.

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PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.

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EYES ON TRAFFICKING

This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.

ABOUT PBJ LEARNING

PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials online course is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.

More stories like this can be found in your PBJ Learning Knowledge Vault.