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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-07-09-FHC-min.pdf RECEIVED y SELECTMEN L ' '� af)I-. II,- itj es FAIR HOUSING COMMITTEE Minutes of the Meeting of July 9, 1985 Present Bob Pressman, Steve Baran, Bill Spencer, Hilary Harris, Vidya Bhatia, Bea Phear Guests Dr and Mrs Niall Heney MCAD Report Bea circulated her draft report to MCAD and requested comments from the Committee She will meet with MCAD' s Franklin Young on Thursday, and will invite him to a future Committee meeting She will also request that the reporting be done semi-annually rather than quarterly Bob Pressman suggested adding the Town Manager's letter of July 3 to the report Vandalism Incident Bob explained the purpose of the Committee to the Heneys and said that we felt it was a fair housing issue to enjoy the right to a home free from harrassment and that the committee had concern for the reputation of the Town, both of which were reasons that we wanted to talk with them. Mrs Heney reported that the incident happened on a Monday night and was discovered by a neighbor Tuesday morning The Police were contacted and a cruiser came over promptly The officer (name unknown) was friendly and paternal, saying that it was probably a prank, suggesting that she repaint promptly, and offering extra cruisers around to help her feel more secure A neighbor called the Chairman of the Board, Paul Marsall, who requested a more thorough police response Detective Baylis came over on Wednesday evening to investigate He told Mrs Heney that no police report had been filed from the previous day He said he felt it might have been a grudge, and asked about possible disputes The Heneys mentioned an issue with a baby sitter and with a lawn contractor They also reported that there had been a number of frequest annoying late night phone calls for about six months previousely, which they had reported, and which caused them to have an unlisted number (no calls had been received since they unlisted their number) On Thursday evening Mrs Heney tried to telephone the police department and got no answer, so she drove there to discover that the police were having phone lines down She felt the lieutenant was too casual, and implied that she was wrong to be upset On Friday she came to Town Hall to see the Manager and bumped into the police chief instead. He was fatherly and sen the detective to her house again Friday evening A storm window in their son's room was found broken There were extra cruisers in the neighborhood for about a week, but no further incidents or reports The Heneys felt that Paul Marshall had been very supportive and concerned, even to the point of coming to a neighborhood meeting, and that neighbors and the community were very positive in their responses They learned how good people are The Fiske School had discussion about the incident (at the Heneys' suggestion) , but the Superintendent was less interested. They felt the police response was inadequate They thought the police work was not thorough, for example not checking handwriting and not looking into the type of spray paint (and suggesting that the evidence be painted over) , and not going to the contractor's garage to see if he had red spray paint. They also felt the police were insensitive to their anxiety and were too eager to treat it as an isolated act of vandalism, even though the go home Mick implied a targeted house The Heneys also thought the Town officials should have been much more' supportive in a public way They believed other such incidents have happened, for example the clergy association mentioned Asian families, a man called who had been similarly vandalized, and a Greek family was painted with swastikas about five years ago The Heneys were thanked for their time, and were asked if they would request that the man who confided in them be invited to talk with the committee They will get back to Bea with an answer No one suggested the Attorney General or federal investigations to them previously, nor a telephone tap, when they were bothered. The Committee discussed the issue and decided to ask to talk with other victims to learn more about police responsivness Vidya mentioned that someone has put marshmallows and popcorn on her driveway repeatedly, but she has never reported it She was urged to report it if it happened again. Bob will see if Jim Brannon's friend can come to the next meeting, also Bea will try to get the Greek family and the other man Vidya will ask her Indian friend who has had eggs thrown at the house Selectmen's Report to Town Meeting Bob distributed a letter from Bob Hutchinson (enclosed for those not in attendance) It was felt that the issue was nddclosed for this year, but that the Committee should remember next year and perhaps consider filing their own report to Town Meeting Minutes The minutes of the meeting of June 11, 1985 were approved as mailed Arlington-type Project Bob pointed out that Arlington had started by diagnosing a problem of not enough minorities living there, and decided on action steps to address possible hostility within the town, real estate personnel, and awareness of housing openings and encouraging employers to direct people to Arlington There was discussion about looking at the school curriculum, the Metco experience, and parent volunteers in the schools Vidya and Hilary feel that plenty of minorities want to come to Lexington and we don't need to "sell" the Town, but the issue is affordability Bob feels we could possible get a larger share of minorities, especially blacks, who can afford the community Looking at the statistics, there are disproportionately fewer Blacks and Hispanics than Asians It was suggested to go to employers to see what personnel departments do, as an exploratory step - "Would support from our group to your department be helpful?" Bea will ask MCAD about minority employment in the area. LexHAB Bea reported that LexHAB was planning to select ten names on July 9, and then interview, hoping to present a list to the Selectmen in a couple of weeks Jean Gaudet hoped to have tow or three minority tenants Next Meeting Wednesday, July 24 at 7 30 p.m. room G-15 Respectfully submitted, Bea Phear