HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-02-11-FHHR-min.pdf FAIR HOUSING AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMITTEE
MINUTES
2/11/98
Present: Florence Baturin; Ralph Clifford; Katherine Davis; Michelle Ekanem;
Mary Haskell; Stella Liu; Dan Fenn, Selectmen Liaison; Visitors: Judy
Beals, Tom Montanari, John Putnam, George Pierce; Steve Baran, Fair
Housing and Human Relations Director (Recorder)
Absent: Katherine Davis; Beverly Goodridge
Minutes of 1/14/98
The minutes of 1/14/98 were accepted with the exception that Stella Liu who was listed
as present was absent.
Visitors
Visitors were introduced and discussed their interest in the Committee:
John Putnam, former Moderator for the Town of Acton, resident of Brookhaven,
an advocate of world peace;
Judy Beals, a lawyer who has spent the last ten years in the Attorney General's
office, concerned with civil rights and victims of crime;
Tom Montanari, living in Lexington for the last 1 % years with a background in
special education, wife working full-time, Tom, part-time, just turned 50 years and
interested in new directions
George Pierce arrived later in the meeting, also expressed an interest in joining the
Committee. James Nagle, Eva Glick and Laura Lapointe who had expressed an interest
were not able to be present.
Chair of Fair Housing and Human Relations Committee
Michelle Ekanem thanked Ralph Clifford for becoming Chair of the Fair Housing and
Human Relations Committee. Michelle will continue as a committee member, cited her
job and academic load as factors preventing her from continuing as Committee Chair
Potential Committee Priorities
Committee members and staff listed the following items as potential committee priorities:
Promoting the availability of African-American realtors in town.
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Obtaining a list of large employers and meeting with their personnel managers in
relation to the diversity brochure
Liberalizing zoning requirements for accessory apartments.
Increasing the stock of affordable housing.
Creating a home loan program.
Increasing diversity including Latino and African-American households.
Holding developers accountable.
Questioning possible civil rights violations in relation to the police log.
Increasing the Black population.
Encouraging Black businesses.
Recruiting more Black, Asian and Hispanic town and school employees.
Making Lexington more welcoming.
Diversity training.
Support of METCO
Focus groups to bring people of different backgrounds together
Placing minority students from Harvard and MIT in Lexington housing.
Creating an updated version of the diversity brochure.
Pursuing the idea of investigating alleged discrimination for the MCAD at the local
level.
Responding to complaints of discrimination as they may arise.
Encouraging minorities to go into Town politics.
Reviving the Concerned Black Citizens of Lexington.
Coalition-building
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Seeking applications for the Community Reinvestment Act.
Reviewing Town of Lexington's purchasing procedures relative to minority businesses
Items advanced in common by several members of the Committee:
Revising the diversity brochure/approaching bankers and brokers.
Recruiting Black employees for employment in the town.
Seeking to expand affordable housing.
Agreed Upon Priorities
Long range goal:
Encouraging Town to recruit Black employees. Dan Fenn agreed to ask the
Town Manager to review Town of Lexington policies and practices. Steve Baran was
asked to obtain EEOC reporting from the Town Manager's office, also reporting to the
MCAD It was also agreed to follow the suggestion made by Michelle Ekanem to invite
representatives from the Coalition for Racial Equality who had pursued an affirmative
action policy with the School Department.
Short range goals (with Committee member assignments):
Involving banks and realtors in quest for diversity — Florence Baturin will
investigate banks.
Inviting the Town Manager to meet with the Committee and seek EEOC
reports— Dan Fenn.
Inviting Dave Wilson to meet with the Committee — Mary Haskell and
Michelle Ekanem.
Reviewing diversity brochure and deciding what to do with it.