Rock Island Today

City of Moline Human Rights Commission met Jan. 8.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

PRESENT: Betsy Zmuda-Swanson

Natividad Keim, Vice Chair

Jose Castro

Diokel Gning

Avery Pearl - Joined meeting at 5:34 p.m.

Adrian Ritchie

Matt Stoefen

ABSENT: None

STAFF: Amy Saunders, Legal Services Specialist

K.J. Whitley, Community Development Manager - Joined meeting at 5:40 p.m.

OTHER: 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 December 11, 2023 Minutes; seconded by Diokel Gning. Motion passed unanimously.

Presentations

Birth to Five Illinois – Emily Cummings, Regional Council Manager; Angelica Villarreal, Family & Community Engagement Specialist; and Kelsey Swanson, Administrative Support, gave a brief presentation about their work in the community for Region 49 of Birth to Five Illinois. Region 49 covers Rock Island County. All the regions of Birth to Five Illinois are aligned with school districts across the State of Illinois. Emily shared that 90% of the brain develops in the first five years of life. Half of the children residing in Region 49 are living at 200% of the Federal Poverty Level or less. More than two-thirds of children live in households where one or both parents are working and require alternative childcare. It is difficult to find daycare. Only one-third of children can attend daycare based on availability. In addition, there are not enough teachers for daycare centers. The median income in this area is $55,980, and the average annual cost of day care is $16,104. Given this income, a family would have to spend approximately 29% of its income on childcare. Families should not have to spend more than 7% of their income on childcare. It is hard for families to afford childcare.

Birth to Five Illinois spent the last year creating an Early Childhood Regional Needs Assessment. They shared the strengths, needs and recommendations with the Human Rights Commission (hereinafter “HRC”) members.

The Birth to Five Illinois representatives took questions and comments from the HRC members. K.J. Whitley, Community Development Manager, shared that Western Illinois University (WIU) is going to open its daycare on weekends and second shift across from Project NOW in the Floreciente neighborhood. The City invested ARPA funds for childcare assistance. WIU is going to have over 100 slots available. Angelica suggested that the HRC support Birth to Five Illinois in its needs assessment for early childhood mental health. She invited the HRC members to take its online survey.

GARE – There was no presentation by GARE. The proposed speaker did not confirm her availability to present this evening.

Public Comment

There was no public comment at this time.

Questions on the Agenda

There were no questions on the Agenda.

Agenda Items

1. Elections – Chair and Vice Chair.

Election of Chair

Matt Stoefen made a motion to re-elect Betsy Zmuda-Swanson as Chair of the HRC; seconded by Jose Castro. There were no further nominations for the position of Chair. Motion passed unanimously.

Election of Vice Chair

Betsy Zmuda-Swanson made a motion to re-elect Natividad Keim as Vice Chair of the HRC; seconded by Jose Castro. There were no further nominations for the position of Vice Chair. Motion passed unanimously.

2. Future Presentations – Follow Up. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson shared that Stefanie from the Cedar Rapids GARE had a medical emergency last month and was unable to present at the December 2023 meeting. Betsy emailed Stefanie’s secretary twice since then and received no response. Today, Betsy learned that North Liberty, Iowa, is a GARE member. She also learned that some GARE members are cities and some are counties. Peoria seems to have a city and county membership. She also researched Beloit, Wisconsin, who has only been a GARE member since July 2023. Natividad Keim shared that she wants to make sure that GARE membership is worth the cost. Betsy will reach out to all of the GARE members to see who would be willing to present.

The HRC agreed to reserve the March 2024 meeting for a speaker from Prairie State Legal Services (PSLS). Betsy asked for volunteers to contact PSLS, and Natividad agreed to email PSLS about speaking at the March 2024 HRC meeting.

3. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) - Follow Up. The HRC members agreed to table this item until Corporation Counsel Margaret Kostopulos returns next month. Margaret travelled home this evening due to the current weather forecast for the next couple of days.

4. HRC Website - Follow Up. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson has been waiting for more GARE information to talk about this item more, but opened this item up for discussion tonight. Natividad Keim suggested starting out very simple at first. Amy Saunders, Legal Services Specialist, shared that she located a printout of the HRC’s former website content in the former HRC’s records. She agreed to bring it in if the HRC members deem it helpful. After some discussion, K.J. Whitley, Community Development Manager, agreed to take a photo for the website at the conclusion of tonight’s meeting.

5. Scam Seminar – Follow Up. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson shared that the first seminar will be held on January 31, 2024, at the South Moline Township, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Moline Police Chief Darren Gault will have someone there to present on behalf of the Police Department. She left a message for David Rowatt, the City IT Manager, but he has not returned her call yet. Betsy attended the Eric Sorenson presentation at the MAC and learned that the most targeted age group is the 18-29 age group. However, they do not have the money that people over 60 have. So, older people fall for the scams and lose money, but the younger group is actually targeted.

At the Eric Sorenson presentation, Betsy met a representative from the Federal Trade Commission and a representative from the Better Business Bureau. They presented for 1.5 hours and covered a lot of information. Betsy wants to ensure that people develop a plan for what they would do if they were scammed. The representative from the Federal Trade Commission had a lot of informational literature and gave Betsy a box of information to use for the HRC’s seminars. Betsy wants to find out what the Police Department and Moline IT Department are going to handle, so she knows what gaps of information to cover. She will also lead the previously mentioned group activity.

Jose Castro inquired as to whether Betsy wants a flyer developed announcing the seminars. He mentioned that Jennifer at the Library is going to put together a flyer for the February 22, 2024 scam seminar at the Moline Public Library, at 6:00 p.m. Betsy shared that the flyer needs to let people know about the four $50 Hy-Vee gift cards to be distributed at each seminar. After some discussion, the HRC members decided to call the seminar a “Scam Prevention Seminar.”

6. Strategic Planning. Amy Saunders, Legal Services Specialist, restated the five main ideas that were shared last month, which are:

A. Know Your Rights Campaign (possibly partner with Prairie State Legal Services); B. Complaint System with Hearings and/or Mediation;

C. Partnering with other organizations to help educate people;

D. Partnering with other organizations to fund items using HRC’s budget for the community; and

E. Website/Social Media presence.

Jose Castro suggested focusing on the “Know Your Rights Campaign” first. He is wondering if PSLS can help with this Campaign? Natividad Keim feels like it is time to do another survey, but she is not sure what the content should be. The HRC may need to do a needs assessment. Amy will email the former survey results compiled by Tory to all of the HRC members, so they can decide what the next set of survey questions should be.

Jose Castro opined that it would take a lot of training to reach the mediation/hearing process goal.

Avery Pearl suggested a resource fair. Natividad Keim mentioned that she thinks there are some resource fairs going on in the City of Moline. Betsy Zmuda-Swanson would like to include a section for volunteering opportunities. Avery is all for supporting other organizations at a resource and volunteer fair. Natividad suggested collaborating with other organizations at a resource fair and adding our logo to the resource fair flyer. Natividad will look for a resource fair that the HRC may attend and provide collaboration efforts.

Betsy Zmuda-Swanson asked about using some of the HRC funds to aid other not-for profits. Natividad Keim suggested an attendance scholarship. K.J. Whitley, Community Development Manager, mentioned the Moline Community Development Center (MCDC) seminars in January through June 2024. Amy Saunders, Legal Services Specialist, will email the MCDC flyer to everyone. Betsy inquired as to how much the HRC members wanted to donate to the MCDC for scholarships. Natividad Keim suggested at least one scholarship for each class. Avery Pearl made a motion to provide five scholarships per class for a total of $750; seconded by Betsy Zmuda-Swanson. There was discussion wherein Diokel Gning suggested offering four scholarships per class for a total of $600. Avery Pearl amended his motion to a total donation of $600 for four scholarships per class; seconded by Jose Castro. The amended motion passed unanimously. Amy will request a check for $600 to the MCDC and will call Natividad Keim when it is ready for pickup. Natividad Keim will take the check to the MCDC.

7. 2023 End of Year Report. Amy Saunders, Legal Services Specialist, reminded Betsy Zmuda Swanson that the 2023 End of Year Report is due on February 1, 2024.

8. Miscellaneous Business. Natividad Keim announced that she is no longer working with Every Child. She is now a therapist at the Center for Youth and Family Services.

Public Comment

There was no Public Comment

Next Meeting

The next regularly scheduled HRC meeting is on February 12, 2024.

Adjournment

On motion of Avery Pearl, seconded by Jose Castro, and approved unanimously by the HRC, the HRC meeting adjourned at 7:11 p.m.

http://www.moline.il.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/9745