good evening everyone and welcome to the Chaza Human Rights Commission meeting for Thursday March 27th 2025 Uh usually we begin with our roll call So please would you be so kind to do that Commissioner here
here Commissioner H here Commissioner me here Commissioner Sanderson Commissioner Hamza Commissioner Commissioner Dy Commissioner Duffy Chair Carlson here Thank you so much We have an agenda
that um was distributed to all of us Um I think you've had a chance to chance to take a look at it Um are there any changes additions that need to be made If not may I have a motion to adopt
So move Second Okay A motion made by Brit seconded by Jennifer If there's no questions all in favor signify by saying I I Oppose Eyes carry Thank you So tonight we have a special guest with us
We have with us tonight Bridget and her mother Katie Rotunda Now what's so special about Bridget is that she participated in our Dr King art contest And so her uh coloring was selected for
our category of age four and under And so we want to have a special presentation to uh Bridget and uh so uh commission members if you'll join me in front and we can do a photo Um I would say that
she has received a gift certificate uh from Little Ruse here in Chasa and I think she's made some selections there too So if you don't mind joining me So where would you be Why don't we I'll
go there and I'll move the um drawing closer there So Bridget do you want to come up and join us with your mom I wonder if she'll do it all by herself She might be in the picture too if you want Mommy
[Music] I can use your Okay Can you see us Yeah stand up Say cheese Put your chin down for just Okay So Katie you have to be
specific All of us are All right One two three Monkey Okay I'm going to Can I do one photo real quick Can I do one photo with you Yeah
One more Can you do one Cheese Say peanut butter and jelly Peanut butter jelly Yeah Okay we're good Thank you guys Thank you so much You're very welcome Thank you for coming
to the Dr King uh event and for doing your wonderful coloring Thank you so much We really appreciate all you have birthday princess birthday Thank you so much [Music]
Thank you Well thank you commissioners for for helping celebrate yet another piece of our Dr King event Um it's been fun and I don't know Hana is going to be joining us later Um I
think she's on the road but what a great idea that she offered to the Dr King celebration Really a great great hit Um so okay U moving right along Uh next up
is our approval of minutes And if you had a chance to take a look at them I noted one correction that has to be made Um on page three of five item number eight
um Jubie in the last sentence um Commissioner Gandhi noted that this year they have decided to celebrate India That was actually in 2024 we celebrated India Are there any other corrections to the
minute or any other things that you spotted Having heard none may I have a motion to approve that correction So thank you Kevin Is there a second Second Are there any further questions If none
all in favor please signify by saying I I opposed eyes carry So the treasures report so you're always kind enough to provide this information to us and keep a tally of our funds How do we look Uh chair
calls and commissioners You'll see in February there was one uh new expense added to your list here and that was for new commissioner name Duffy and other than that you sit at just over $5600 Any questions
Um we usually ask for a motion to approve the treasury report So thank you Jen Is there a second Second Thank you Brit There's been a motion made by Jennifer seconded by Brit
um to approve the March 27 2025 treasures report All in favor signify by saying I Opposed Eyes carried Great So our reports and updates tonight
um pretty extensive list although we may not have updates on some of these events tonight Um I'll start off with the human rights celebration As as indicated we celebrated one last piece of the Dr King
uh event tonight with having um Bridget and her mom here with us tonight U so I'm going to jump to uh and I don't have any updates So moving right along to women's
appreciation I think that is Brit and Judy Julie is not with us tonight but Brit do you have a hand Uh no we do not Great Okay Pride celebration Hello Uh Pride Celebration I think
Um let's see Jen Kevin and Judy So who will give the report I can They can jump in though anytime Um we had a meeting last week was it And
um just kind of did some beginning stage planning for our June 21st Pride celebration Um just kind of talking about things that we're brainstorming about right now Um
but some of the things that we did talk about are that um we wanted to have music again Um and so we talked about a DJ and found out that um Zack
Sardis he was our DJ a couple years ago um a dad from the community here and he helped us out when things fell through with our other DJ and he came in and was DJ middle-aged dad and he was a big hit
So um he reached out and said that he would love to support us again and he's willing to do that Um we also discussed that Kichi who's our new commissioner um was interested or said she could do the
DJing We discussed it and thought maybe she should attend it first so she knows kind of what it's like you know and so then we can call on her when we meet her for sure Um but as long as we have someone that also reached out about it
then this would be a great thing And um Zach has confirmed that he will do this So um we're really excited that he's going to come back and make it I don't know more exciting that way
Um we have talked about some organizations that we like to collaborate with and have been great supporters in the past Um parks and recreation the high school and the chess library Um and So you know we're talking
with them about ways that we can work together on this Um Parks and Wreck has offered to help us find um food trucks and so we have requested two
which are nautical bowls and something like the coffee cart which is like a snack type thing They had like walking tacos and something else that were they're kind of late meals but you know
fun food to have at a fair kind of thing And hopefully those will work out We are going to be having this at McNight Park again this year and that seems to be really conducive with having the the food trucks right near the
action So that's kind of nice because people don't have to walk across to find fun find food trucks too Um we're planning to keep tie-dye and yoga as parts of the of the day
again because those are both big hits as well as ice cream Um and um we're not sure yet how we're going to do the t-shirts this year Last year we
did sponsors which was great but we have some 30 leftover t-shirts from last year So we're not sure how it's going to go from year to year having different sponsors We're talking about different
ways that we can maybe highlight the sponsors instead of out t-shirts and we haven't come to conclusions yet about that So if anyone has ideas let us know Um I reached out to Cassie um Burnhard
at the Chesa High School She's the art teacher and she's always helped us with the community art project and so hopefully we'll get some other great ideas from her so that we can do that again
Um we we talked a little bit about vendors but we're not sure if we're going to invite vendors or not this year Um that's to be determined I guess
the we're going to have yard games again Um hopefully have face painting again We'll reach out to the the same person who's done it every year That's been a lot of a big it with people and then Elise was going to reach
out to the library to see if they want to participate Did you get a chance to talk to them Okay But they've been a big supporter in the past I'm sure they'll have something to do with us And
[Music] um so that's kind of a summary of what we've talked about so far unless you have something else Kevin just a budget request Yeah So then um that was the main thing that we wanted to do
tonight is that we thought that um we would request $2,000 for this event That's what we requested last year Um we came in a little bit under budget
but that was because we also had the $700 from t-shirt sponsors And so basically it worked out to about $2,000 So we're thinking we could stick with that this year and if we get sponsors
then we can give some back to the to the pot questions I have a couple questions um for pride for the event What date is that June 21st
Thanks At 3 to 6:00 p.m at Big Lake Park Great Um would we be purchasing like a flat amount with the food truck so that if the person who was doing the visiting the event would go and get a snack I
don't believe we've paid for them Typically in the past um they just buy their own Okay And um we don't usually pay a fee for them to come but we talk about people typically show up that sort of thing Okay
Uh has the committee considered inviting the Harvard County Pride event folks They were we participated in their event last year Um I don't know if there's been there hasn't been
discussion about that but that is certainly a group that we can reach out to to see if they'd like to be involved in some way Anybody else have any questions We doing a parade We're not doing a hurry
Not this year Is there any way you can track attendance this year So we can plan next year at least and try to use that
That's a good question We'll think about ways that we could do that because is a good idea for planning purposes to park and direct They usually have good estimates of how many people have their events and so I'll follow up
with them and see how they maybe getting a ticket to get ice cream and then when we get ice cream we just collect the tickets That might be but parks and probably has lots of ideas
but that could be Sure So the subcommittee is asking the commission for up to $2,000 um to be set aside for the pride
event Is is that a clear understanding of your motion Yes Okay What are you using money for There you go We're using the money for
um t-shirts supplies for the different projects the art projects and things like that Um the ice cream We won't need money this year for NDJ because he's offered to contribute this
for free which is great Um looking through my list see what else But where the other costs that you know so for last year you had about $200 in just supplies Um some of that was art
supplies um tie-dye supplies bowls for ice cream that sort of thing The DJ your t-shirts were made your expense at $1,200 Ice cream at about
$225 And I think with the t-shirts I mean that is a big expense but that is one of the really big things that we've received feedback about from people They really enjoy it participating in it look
forward to it each year I know the first and maybe the second year we did not have t-shirts We told people to bring their own We supplied some handkerchiefs that did not hold the ink very well Um and that's just not the same as them
going home with the t-shirt And I think that that's a really a nice way to kind of display your chest of pride is to be able to go home with the [Music] t-shirt I believe that the person that
we has offered to be our DJ I believe that we gave an honor to that individual That was two years ago I think it was two years ago I think we offered it and I think he did Okay I
remembered something about that Okay Martin did that answer your question I'm sorry Zone out for just a second We thought about advertising outside of Facebook We have not yet We I mean we've just had our initial meeting So these are things
though that we should definitely talk about How many leftover t-shirts 30 something How many did we buy Say it was about 100 right So it might be slightly cheaper this year or
Right and we plan to bring the t-shirts that we have left over Um but we're thinking that either we want to just have blank t-shirts or have some generic chest
comp you know graphic on there that can carry over from year to year so that we don't have to worry about oh that was last year's design or something Um because we'd like to continue giving a chance for people to take home
Would you leave the year off Yeah that's what we plan on doing now It did rain last year Yes they did But then the clouds opened with the sunshine at 3:10 Yeah And it and stayed rainless for I
think the rest of the time Did you see anything that impacted the tendencies flooded I felt like it was flooding This the setup time was pouring So um yeah it was probably flooded by the time
the event started Yeah I remember the grassy area being quite wet for yoga So could I'm just throwing this out there I'm not on the committee and I'm not working So no food Could you use take your part of your
um we call it fund raise money because I can't think of right um your sponsorships and put that towards advertising out so you can increase attendance and if you use that attendance numbers for next year might
help you increase sponsorships for next year and then maybe have a level or something okay advertisements $50 So if we do that or you suggest we say they're going to advertising so they may listen because
I'm kind of struggling with other places right now that I'm thinking about where you know are widely seen in this area Are we able to
buy a portion of utility bills we can insert be We could A lot of people are going um paperless in online billing but that that's an option If that is something
the committee would like to do we can certainly include an answer Our news our new uh Carver County News um is offering advertising space If you haven't signed up for that free subscription
um you can Yeah we can look into the advertising rates right They because they are I think advertising for or they're asking if you're interested in advertising to contact somebody at Carter County Probably Christa or Kevin
in our communications department Nobody know the answers to that For the sponsorships one idea is they could like if we're having the art and the ice cream or whatever like people would sponsor different pieces of that ice
cream or whatever Yeah And we could have signs by each one right Sure Like proud Yeah I mean one nice thing about the sponsors I think is that it demonstrates support for the community That's what I
really like is that even with the t-shirts it showed there are businesses and organizations in town that are behind this and they're really supporting the the celebration that we're having
So to go back there is a motion made u for the commission to authorize up to $2,000 for expenses associated with the pride event for June 21st at Mcnite
Park Is there a second I'll second Thank you Yeah Are there any additional questions or comments I didn't know one of the the items or advertising kind of
mechanisms we had discussed last year was potentially having outdoor signage and or around um like like the Home Depot
Yeah But without being that potentially we could create some signage that is adaptable or it's just I mean because that we'd obviously want to put the date on there um and potentially the location or URL
for more information or something like that So I didn't know that was something that we still wanted to consider just because it's such a hight traffic area Yeah these are all great ideas that we can talk We have another meeting planned
coming up in like a week or so I think So we'll definitely discuss things more You know this is just like an initial meeting to kind of think about how this is going to go But um you know there's some things that it's really good you
guys brought them up because they are things that we need to talk about Well thanks Kevin and Jen and Judy who's not with us tonight for working on this and getting some getting the ball rolling for our annual
event So uh going back we have a motion by Jennifer It was seconded by Brit Uh one more last call for any discussion Any additional discussion or questions If not all in favor of the motion please signify by saying I I
opposed Great Thank you guys Um River City Days Um Ren and Kichi are not here this evening Um but I think we are going to register ourselves to
get a booth or table or location Great Thank you Um and we'll come we'll circle back to River City days Um cultural heritage month That's Brit Sarah and
Ren And we haven't had a meeting yet but could we ask you to try to coordinate a meeting Yeah I will Kevin is the staff on for that one so I'll talk to him about on a date Um I did have the opportunity
to go to um the program at um the cultural fest at Shakabe High School on March 14th They produced a program
um they had an incredible amount of food that was available that was distributed by tickets Um and then they had presentations by a host of
um dancers and cultural representatives and I was very impressed Um many many people were there Um and I got some good ideas So hopefully I can
bring that forward Um and we got a great list of restaurants serving uh appropriately cultured food depending upon what culture we do if or maybe not But certainly some great suggestions of
locations for restaurants that catered food for their event Put that on Um actually it's a an assortment of people that included
but it's done by the leaders in education and diversity and they partner with Nikasa um with various events celebrating diversity within the school and the
broader community So lots of student representation were there um right down to uh people in clothing from their their um heritage greeting
people at the door So like I said it was quite an event and so glad that I it popped up on um something and I thought "Wow this is good I think I'll try to go over there
and do that." And I was just I was amazed Really amazed So um indigenous people's recognition Um I'll look to you but I don't know if
you had an opportunity to Okay Yes Yeah Okay Martin and Bren you're down for veterans acknowledgement Any any opportunities there yet No Okay great We have an idea Excellent
Excellent Um let's see Community outreach Um the three of you are there Here we are I'll exchanging knowing nothing Okay great Um all kinds
of things that uh we want to talk about in future months I have a question Yes please For these types of subcommittees where there's not an event can do we still need a representative present
I would highly encourage that you have a staff representative there just uh help you be able to put things together Just make sure it's in the city's review Okay And then I know you sent out the email about everything that's out Was there a
staff representative assigned this Yeah for uh community outreach Yeah Kevin Okay perfect Do we have any new business to discuss this evening [Music]
Any announcements Kevin Okay Well our belonging message this month is um about neural diversity and Um each of you have um kind of just
a kind of a word cl word cloud but something that has lots of words there and um I guess the the message is that neurodeiversity describes a concept where differences in our brain wiring or
neurological makeup are considered and respected just as kind of a variation in humans We're all different You know all of our brains are a little bit different Uh Dr Thomas Armstrong in his book entitled
Neurodeiversity writes this about neurodeiversity Instead of pretending that there is a normal brain to which all other brains must be compared we need to admit that there is no such brain and that in fact
diversity among brains is just as wonderfully enriching as biodiversity and the diversity among cultures and race So foods for thought Um next meeting will be in April April
24th Um it we'll get some meetings in between with various committees and have some more information for us to consider in April And again thanks for all of your hard work that you've put in so far
committee We'll get going on our other work and we'll see you all in April if not before Motion to adjourn So so concluded