City of Peoria Fair Employment and Housing Commission met April 6.
Here is the minutes provided by the Commission:
The meeting was held on April 6, 2017 at 4:35 p.m., at City Hall, Room 404, 419 Fulton Street, Commissioner Rev. Barry Robinson, Chair presiding.
Roll Call:
Roll call showed the following Commissioners present: Rev. Barry Robinson, Michelle Sanders, Heather M. Oyler, Nicole Livsey, LaRon D. Jones and Christopher Bailey, – 6. Absent: Irma Ali Khan – 1. Also present was Staff Liaison David Watkins, E.O. Manager.
Minutes:
Commissioner Heather Oyler motioned to approve February meeting minutes; seconded by Commissioner Christopher Bailey.
Motion was approved by unanimous voice vote.
Commissioner Reports:
Commissioner Heather Oyler reported on comments she heard about the commission by some council candidates at the public forms she attended.
She mentioned a lack of awareness about the commission and what it does was the common theme of the comments.
Unfinished Business:
None
New Business:
Construction Activity Report
Staff Liaison David Watkins handed each member a copy of the Construction Activity Report. He mentioned reports shows had good participation, but that does not mean the goals were achieved on all projects. Female participation continues to be challenging.
Commissioner Nicole Livsey noted on a few of the high dollar projects the minority worker goal was not met. She mentioned Seal-Coating Contract 2016 as an example.
Commissioner Rev. Barry Robinson mentioned the HQA Slurry Seal Project. He questioned the level of minority participation achieved and the lack of female participation given the high dollar amount.
Staff Liaison David Watkins explained sometimes the high dollar cost of a project can be misleading if you think it infers there is a lot of scopes of work on a project. For the Slurry Seal Project he pointed out that the bulk of the cost is the materials needed. Applying the materials to street surfaces was the only scope of work, which was done by a small crew.
Staff Liaison Watkins told the members to look at the total work hours as a guide for judging if there was a lot of work to be done on a project. The bigger the number the more work.
As discussion continued, Commissioner Nicole Livsey asked what happens if a contractor does not meet the goals. Are they not allowed to do other jobs; are they fined? Staff Liaison Watkins said both options are available. His approach is to build a case against the company, particularly if the contractor is a regular builder of city projects.
Staff Liaison Watkins explained if a company under performed on a project he would talked about results with company and give them a chance to do better on another project, but ask for a written commitment. If company does not succeed now have a track record of trying to work with company. Efforts put the city in a better position to consider more stringent enforcement options.
More stringent options include having the contractor debarred or bring the company before the FEHC to impose a fine. Generally only explore these options if company has clearly made no effort to comply.
Vision 2017:
Further discussion of the comments Commissioner Heather Oyler reported lead the members to include increasing awareness of the commission in its plan They chose to begin by contacting each council person. The members agreed to make contact by letter.
Commissioner Michelle Sanders handed the members a written summary of the Arkansas Fair Housing Ambassador Program she discussed last month. She thought it could bring more visibility to the commission.
Commissioner Michelle Sanders asked the members to review document and consider doing the program. The idea could be discuss at next month’s meeting.
Community Input:
None
Proposed Agenda Items for Next Meeting:
1.Arkansas Fair Housing Ambassador Program
2.
Petitions from Citizens/Officials:
None
Adjournment:
Commissioner Nicole Livsey motioned to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Commissioner LaRon Jones.
Motion was approved by unanimous voice vote.
http://www.peoriagov.org/boards-commissions/
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