2022-10-19-LHRC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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TOWN OF LEXINGTON HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, Oct 19, 2022 Conducted by Remote Participation LHRC MEMBERS PRESENT Tanya Gisolfi, Chairperson (TG) Mona D. Roy, Vice-Chair (MDR), Christina Lin, Clerk (CL) Stephanie Hsu (SH), Lexington Public School District - Larry Freeman (LF), Town of Lexington, Police - Collen Dunbar (CD), Town of Lexington, Human Services - Melissa Interess (MI) Liaison Town of Lexington, Selectboard - Mark Sandeen The minutes were taken by Christina Lin, LHRC Clerk • Meeting Called to order at.8:47AM, Quorum was present at 8:47AM • Meeting Minutes - No amendments or edits to draft minutes. Minutes for meetings from o May12, Jun09, Jun29 and September14, 2022 and the Jun02, 2022 Racial Disparities Subcommittee minutes were all approved by unanimous vote. • Discussion on aims and goals of the LHRC group - The purpose of this agenda item is to look at the capacity of the committee in terms of bandwidth and sustainability, consider the type of work committee members wish to accomplish. Additionally, it is important for the committee to maintain connections with the town and community organizations. Currently - the committee organizes 3 annual events (MLK Day Community Conversation on Race, Race Amity Day, and No Hate November) and investigates incidents on the LHRC Complaints form. o LHRC Event organizing - Several committee members expressed interest in planning LHRC events 9-12months in advance to reduce the immediate workload on volunteers. A committee member suggested that the LHRC set goals annually and subsequently organize the events in relation the annual goals. o Question on the LHRC charge to report to the Selectboard - Selectboard Liaison, Mark Sandeen, contributed to this conversation and provided insight and clarifications on the matter. LHRC had reported to the Selectboard meeting in past years. More recently switched to a written report but questions about whether this is a sufficient level of communication between the two committees were raised. There was a desire for the committee to increase partnership opportunities with the Selectboard, encourage more two-way flow of information and feedback. A member recommended re-starting the LHRC recommendations to the SB on an annual basis and to also receive feedback from the SB . Whether is a policy or program that should be initiated, those are excellent things to bring to the SB. o Question on Expanding the committee by 2-4 additional seats - There is a desire to expand the LHRC committee size because the current size is too small to get through the workload and there are concerns that the current size limits the ability for the group to see more perspectives.