City of Moline Human Rights Commission met Oct. 9.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
PRESENT: Betsy Zmuda-Swanson
Natividad Keim, Vice Chair
Jose Castro
Matt Stoefen
ABSENT: Diokel Gning
Avery Pearl
Adrian Ritchie
STAFF: Amy Saunders, Legal Services Specialist
K.J. Whitley, Community Development Manager
OTHER: Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel
Toni Bare, Toni’s Smokin’ Grill
Jim Maloney, Visitor
Sue Normoyle, Resident
Call to Order
Human Rights Commission Chair, Betsy Zmuda-Swanson, called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m., in the Gold Room, at the Moline Public Library.
Approval of Minutes
Matt Stoefen made a motion to approve the September 11, 2023 Minutes; seconded by Jose Castro. Motion passed unanimously.
Oath of Office
No Oath of Office was taken, as Avery Pearl was unable to attend tonight’s meeting.
Public Comment
Sue Normoyle inquired as to whether there were any updates concerning the scam training. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson replied that she would address it during the “Miscellaneous Business” portion of the meeting tonight.
Jim Maloney asked about the status of the paratransit survey. Amy Saunders replied that it ends on October 30, and she will present the results at the November 13 Human Rights Commission (hereinafter “HRC”) meeting. Jim Maloney shared that he plans to take the survey results to the community foundation to apply for some grants. He also mentioned that he might start a commission to obtain more paratransit options.
Toni Bare, from Toni’s Smokin’ Grill, shared her concerns about a person who manages a Food Truck Park on 52nd Street in Moline. Per Toni, said person approached Toni to help with the food truck park. During a Facebook Live event, said person made a racist comment about Toni that included the term “shucking and jiving.” Toni also shared that a City Official referred to a girl named on one of Toni’s T-Shirts as “the colored girl who got killed.” Toni, the HRC and Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel, discussed ways to collaborate with and help Toni in this situation. Margaret shared that the HRC is currently working on some education initiatives for the community, City Departments, etc. Toni shared her appreciation with the HRC for listening to her tonight. Members of the HRC thanked Toni for sharing this information with them and invited her to come to future HRC meetings.
Questions on the Agenda
There were no questions on the Agenda.
Agenda Items
1. 2024 Meetings Calendar – Amy Saunders, Legal Services Specialist, shared that the HRC needs to set the 2024 meeting calendar to be posted on the City’s website by the City Clerk per State statute. There was discussion. The HRC agreed to continue holding the HRC meetings on the second Monday of each month in 2024, except for November, as the second Monday in November is a holiday. As such, the HRC agreed to hold the November 2024 HRC meeting on the first Monday in November 2024. The 2024 meeting dates are as follows:
January 8, 2024
February 12, 2024
March 11, 2024
April 8, 2024
May 13, 2024
June 10, 2024
July 8, 2024
August 12, 2024
September 9, 2024
October 14, 2024
November 4, 2024
December 9, 2024
Amy Saunders will submit said dates to the City Clerk for approval by the Moline City Council.
2. Future Presentations – Follow Up. Natividad confirmed that five representatives from the Quad City Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees will present at the November 13 HRC meeting. Natividad also met with a representative from Birth to Five about presenting at the January 8 HRC meeting. Natividad will confirm the Birth to Five presentation date before the November 13 HRC meeting.
K.J. Whitley, Community Development Manager, confirmed that Natividad Keim would be presenting at the CACUP meeting on the third Wednesday of October at 4:00 p.m. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson also shared that she may attend this meeting, but needs to check her schedule to confirm. Matt Stoefen confirmed that he has another commitment that day.
Betsy Zmuda-Swanson asked Toni Bare if she would be interested in any presentations. Toni responded that she is taking everything in tonight and is thinking about everything.
Jim Maloney mentioned having someone present about a person’s rights (i.e., disagreeing with landlord actions). K.J. Whitley, Community Development Manager, and Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel, suggested having a presentation by Prairie State Legal Services. It was noted that the Moline Housing Authority has a waiting list and affordable housing is an issue. K.J. also mentioned having Drake Daley, Building Official, present in the spring of 2024, concerning the New Rental Program.
Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel, shared that the Moline City Council just passed a resolution to fund the Level Up Program for 2024, which is a collaboration with Project Now. The City of Moline is giving a $200,000 grant to administer the Level Up Program, which sets aside a certain amount of money for such things as furnace issues, etc., and a certain portion, which will be a certain income up to $500 per year. Level Up could help renters and other individuals who have unexpected expenses and need assistance to get to the next step. K.J. shared that research has shown that the average family cannot afford a $400 emergency, so that is why the program was designed. The City is hoping to help 20-40 families.
Sue Normoyle asked if the BOOST Program helps. K.J. responded that the BOOST Program is for small businesses. Level Up is going to be financed by Cannabis revenues per the Moline City Council. The Level Up Program starts on January 1, 2024. It will be run from the Rock Island Project Now office.
3. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) - Follow Up. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson read what Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel, said at the last HRC meeting. She understands that the UIC program is not free, which is very disappointing, because the HRC and Margaret spent a lot of time and energy pursuing the UIC option. Now, the HRC is attempting to shift gears to research other initiatives that could help the HRC achieve the DEI goal. Margaret challenged the HRC to think about other options. There are a couple of other programs that might be good. She focused on programs that were designed for local government entities. One is called Ethos, and they are working with some other Illinois communities. Ethos is an Illinois group. The HRC could also think about pursuing the GARE route again. However, GARE is geared towards municipalities that already have a program in place. Margaret mentioned having the Dubuque contact person meet virtually with the HRC to give some better direction. The group agreed to do this in November or December 2023. Betsy will invite them to attend virtually. She suggested having the QC Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees present at 5:30 p.m., and have the GARE person present at 6:00 p.m.
4. Islamic Center of the Quad Cities – Saturday Dinner Follow Up. The HRC tabled this item to a future date, as Diokel Gning was unable to attend tonight’s meeting.
5. HRC Website Follow Up. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson shared that she has a call in to David Rowatt, the City’s IT Manager. David previously asked her about the informational videos on the Cedar Rapids and Dubuque HRC websites. Betsy was thinking we could obtain information from others and link it to our website. The resource guide would also be a part of the HRC’s website. Natividad Keim shared that the QC Open Network has a resource guide, and we could provide a link to its resource guide on our website. Other links the HRC could include on its website may concern protected classes, housing resources, renters’ rights, tenant rights, how to make a discrimination complaint, and other things that the QC Open Network may have on its website. The HRC could also provide a link to Toni’s Facebook page, “Misguided Souls.”
6. Community Resources Guide Follow Up. See Item No. 5 above.
7. Miscellaneous Business. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson provided an update on the scam training matter. She talked to some people at the NPC/HRC picnic and heard similar stories from several people. One of the scammers apparently showed up at the person’s house to get the money they requested. When Betsy went to Verizon, they shared that they received a scam call and thought the caller was from the FBI. Betsy took her computer to Computer Evolutions who told her he sees 12 of these scam issues a week. Betsy opined that the scammers’ targets are people over 60 years of age, U.S. Citizens, and people who own a small business. Mayor Rayapati told Betsy that on September 29, the Western Illinois Center on Aging had a disability and senior expo. It included a segment on scamming. Per Jim Maloney, Detective Woods, a Rock Island Police Officer, gave the presentation.
Betsy called the Moline Activity Center (MAC) to see if it would be interested in a presentation. She learned that Eric Sorenson was supposed to present to them about this issue on October 10. However, he was called away, and the speaking event at the MAC was canceled. Betsy is going to call his office to follow up on this matter.
Per Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel, the HRC talked about the scam training and agreed to go ahead and plan it. Margaret spoke with Chief Gault, and he said the Moline PD could do a brief presentation concerning the current trends in scamming, what the Moline PD is seeing these days, etc. However, the HRC will need other presenters, as well. Suggested presenters were the Rock Island PD, Davenport PD, Eric Sorensen’s group and David Rowatt, Moline’s IT Manager. This training would not take place until sometime in January 2024 (after the holidays), and Betsy is looking at having it at the Moline Public Library. She can reserve a room at the Library online. Betsy shared that she filed a police report with the City of Moline and filed an online report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Betsy lost $25,000 via a scam, so she is very passionate about this issue.
Jose Castro invited the HRC to conferences for refugee families in February 2024. He may also invite members from the Quad City Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees after their presentation next month.
Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel, shared something that Diokel Gning raised at last month’s HRC meeting concerning developing additional goals and doing some strategic planning. Natividad Keim mentioned she would be more comfortable if the HRC had a set plan or focus. Per Natividad, we need more definition and direction, because we are casting a wide net right now. Margaret mentioned doing goal setting or strategic planning in December 2023 for the year 2024. All members could bring ideas to share. Margaret asked the HRC to set aside the December meeting and use it for goal setting and strategic planning purposes.
Public Comment
There was no public comment at this time.
Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled HRC meeting is on November 13, 2023.
Adjournment
On motion of Matt Stoefen, seconded by Natividad Keim, and approved unanimously by the HRC, the HRC meeting adjourned at 7:04 p.m.
http://www.moline.il.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/9521
Alerts Sign-up