Peoria Standard

City of Peoria Fair Housing Commission Met Nov. 19.

Here is the minutes provided by the commission:

CALL TO ORDER

The Special Meeting was held virtually, via GoToMeeting at 11:00 a.m. Chairperson Vaibhav Shah called the meeting to order at 11:05 a.m.

ROLL CALL

Roll called showed the following Commissioners were present: Vaibhav Shah, Cheryl Boswell, Donna Crowder, Jane Genzel, Nicole Livsey, and Michelle Sanders.

Absent was Christell Aboytes.

Council Liaison Present: None

Staff present: Kathryn Murphy and Megan Nguyễn

INTRODUCTIONS

Grants Manager Kathryn Murphy introduced herself in the temporary role of staff liaison to the Fair Housing Commission until a permanent replacement is named. Project Coordinator Megan Nguyễn also introduced herself and her temporary administrative support role for the Fair Housing Commission.

Introductions of Commissioners occurred.

REGULAR BUSINESS A. Overview of Commission Logistics

Staff Member Murphy provided details on the Open Meetings Act, noting that all commissioners are required to complete the Open Meetings Act Certification through the Illinois Attorney General’s office. Staff Member Murphy outlined additional details of the Open Meetings Act, including that any subcommittee meeting with three or more Commissioners must follow all Open Meetings Act requirements including public noticing and minutes. In addition, she highlighted that she will blind copy all commissions on emails to avoid any violation of the Open Meetings Act.

Commissioner Boswell expressed that she has not taken the certification yet and requested the link be sent to all commissioners to complete. Staff Member Murphy confirmed she would email the link to all

B. Subcommittee Updates

Chairman Shah shared a presentation introducing policies, mission statements, and objectives adopted by other states and municipalities to be used as benchmarks for the Community Outreach and Marketing subcommittee.

Commissioner Livsey suggested reviewing the State of Illinois and City of Peoria’s definition for protected class citizens, as it may differ state by state. Commissioner Livesy questioned whether these terms and policies need to be approved by the Legal Department. Charmain Shah stated that the materials are to be used as a framework for the City of Peoria’s commission, which will be ultimately be passed to the Legal Department for approval.

Included in the presentation were sample vision and mission statements used by other organizations. Commissioner Boswell added that she will provide a mission statement that were previously created by the subcommittee. Examples of intake and complaint forms were also reviewed. Commissioner Boswell recommended adopting the intake form of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the City of Peoria’s website. Staff Member Murphy stated the functionality of the City’s website would need to be investigated, but something similar could be included on the website.

Commissioner Boswell expressed the need to update the current ordinance language including additions from the lawsuit settlement. Boswell also requested for guidance on the committee’s authority to amend the ordinance language and asked when the legal department would need to become involved. Staff Liaison Murphy stated that once a draft amendment is completed it will be reviewed by the Legal Department.

Commissioner Genzel recalled the original ordinance being unclear and confusing regarding the commission’s purpose and responsibilities. Genzel expressed the need to review the ordinance suggestions provided by Community Development Director Ross Black in order to revise the current ordinance language. Commissioner Livsey proposed the ability to review the current information that has been submitted to the city based on the most recent lawsuit.

C. Next Steps and Timeline

Chairman Shah expressed the need to develop concrete next steps to address both subcommittees, noting the obviously delays caused by COVID-19 to the original timeline. Chairman Shah encouraged commissioners to work together and with city departments to address the action items for community outreach and ordinance language updates.

Commissioner Sanders exited the meeting at 11:43 a.m.

The commission continued discussing the meeting schedule for the remainder of 2020. Chairman Shah requested for assistance with the Community Outreach and Marketing subcommittee, to which Commissioner Crowder agreed to join. Staff Member Murphy suggested for the commission and use the next proposed virtual meeting date, December 10, 2020, as one of the two subcommittee meetings and schedule the regular meeting in early 2021. Subcommittee members Crowder, Genzel, and Livsey agreed upon the December 10th meeting date to serve as the subcommittee meeting for ordinance updates.

Staff Member Murphy stated she will follow-up with a different time to schedule other subcommittee meeting, to which Chairman Shah requested for two, two-hour long subcommittee meetings for the Community Outreach and Marketing Subcommittee by the end of 2020. Staff liaison Murphy communicated the difficulty with scheduling that may arise due to holiday time-off and relayed to Chairman Shah that she will work to find at least one date suitable for all members and staff.

D. Other Business

None.

E. Public Comments

No public comments were received.

ADJOURNMENT MOTION:

Commissioner Boswell motioned for the meeting to be adjourned. The motion was seconded by Chairman Shah. Approved unanimously by viva voce vote 5-0.

The meeting was adjourned at 11.57 a.m.

http://www.peoriagov.org/content/uploads/2020/03/FHC-Minutes-November-19-2020_1610401181_add.pdf