2018-09-05 Diversity Commission AgendaO E1),111
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AGENDA
Edmonds Diversitv Commission
Edmonds Senior Center
220 Railroad Avenue, Edmonds, WA 98020
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
6:OOPM — 8:OOPM
:XIZIJaMWI M 1 M ' K '
1.
Roll Call
2.
Approval of Agenda
3.
Approval of August 1, 2018 Meeting Summary
10 min.
4.
Public Comment (3 minutes per speaker)
15 min.
5.
Washington State Voting Rights Act: Patrick Doherty
15 min.
6.
Update from the city: Patrick Doherty, Adrienne Fraley-Monillas,
15 min.
7.
Discussion on Closed Captioning in Public Venues — next steps
5 min.
8.
Student Representative: Patrick Doherty, Diana White
60 min.
9.
2018 Sub -Groups:
Policy: Council presentation
Events: Film Series, World Caf6 — October 13, 2018
Partnerships/Communications/Grants: Grand Alliance Project
10 min. 10. New Business, Commissioner's Corner
Adjourn — 8:OOPM
Next regular meeting: Wednesday October 3, 2018, 6 PM
Guiding Principles
To ensure we meet our responsibilities as a Commission, we agree to:
• start and end our meetings on time
• demonstrate our respect for our fellow Commissioners, the City of Edmonds, and the citizens we represent by: being present, being prepared, actively
listening, participating in meetings, completing our individual assignments, and holding ourselves accountable
• "step up and step back"
• establish goals and action plans that are results oriented
• establish subcommittees as needed
• engage in courageous, honest, and open dialogue when faced with difficult issues or questions
• utilize the "Ouch Rule" (assume positive intent; resist the temptation to be offended)
• embrace the education opportunities presented through the Commission meetings
• strive to make decisions by consensus. In a case where consensus cannot be reached after a reasonable attempt has been made, the Chairperson may call for a
majority vote.
DRAFT
CITY OF EDMONDS
DIVERSITY COMMISSION
August 1, 2018
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT
Diana White, Chair
Ed Dorame
Pat Valle
Dean Olson
Sarah Mixson
Brian Potter
Councilmember
officio
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT
Maria Montalvo (excused)
Anabel Hovig (excused)
Donnie Griffin, Vice -Chair (excused)
Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, ex ELECTED OFFICIALS AND STAFF PRESENT
Patrick Doherty, ED/CS Director
Cindi Cruz, ED/CS Program Coordinator
Misha Carter, Diversity Commission
Coordinator
1. Roll Call: Call to order at 6:00 p.m. Absent: Donnie Griffin (vacation extending beyond two
weeks), Anabel Hovig (work), and Maria Montalvo (work) are excused.
2. Approval of Agenda: The agenda approved by consensus.
3. Approval of Meeting Summary of June 6, 2018: Summary minutes approved as submitted
by consensus.
4. Public Comment: Danielle Hursh thanked commission for the support by the Commission
for the Pride of Edmonds picnic event on June 7. Ms. Hursh stated there approximately 75 in
attendance. They received encouragement from attendees for the picnic and hoped it would be
presented in 2019. There was a representation of all age groups. Ardeth Weed stated the 41}i of
July parade was wonderful.
5. Update from the City: Patrick updated on the progress of the translation project that was
included in the 2018 budget for $1,000. So far a translation of the P & R department facilities
rental information is the in process of being translated into Spanish and Korean as a pilot
project. Adrienne advised the Council is also working on a translation project with a potential
budget inclusion for 2019. The Building Official has provided some documents for translation
to Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. Adrienne stated there may be a couple of projects from the
Council that they will ask the Commission to work on. Patrick mentioned the presentation by
Donnie to Council and updated the Council on the progress of the Commission and issues they
are working on. Discussed meeting room options. Frances Anderson Center, ECA, and
Meadowdale Clubhouse were discussed as alternates to Public Works and City Hall. No
decision was made as the Senior Center will not be closed until year's end at the soonest. There
is still time to decide on an alternative location.
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Diversity Commission
August 1, 2018
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6. Closed Captioning in Public Venues: Dean discussed this item (see Attachment 1) about the
possibility of requiring City businesses to turn on closed captioning when using tv's as part of
their businesses. He created a draft sample ordinance based on an example from Portland, OR.
and discussed the process. The cost for the service is low as this is included on most tv's now
and as part of cable services. A low penalty for lack of compliance would be encouraged so as
not to be a burden. There was a discussion of methods and how to implement. One question is
would it be all tv's in a restaurant/bar or a percentage of them required to have the captions? It
could be a benefit to a population to whom English is not their primary language. Patrick and
Dean will discuss before Chamber and BID to ask opinions and how to provide information.
Would take code changes, ordinance, city attorney would have to create ordinance and research
process. Patrick will work with Dean on next steps.
7. 2018 Sub -Groups:
Policy: Presentation of recommendations to Mayor & Council. Pat updated the Commission
on changes in policy recommendations that are highlighted in yellow (see Attachment 2). There
was a lengthy discussion of changes. The document was approved as amended for presentation
to the Mayor and Council. Patrick discussed recommendation regarding .50 FTE and this has
been included in the budget requests but there are no guarantees of approval. The Council has
authorized the creation of a Youth Commission so potentially there could be some combination
of a staff member to work with both commissions. Adrienne stated that when this document is
presented to Council she would recommend it be sent to the department directors before
Council makes any recommendations. Could go on August 28.
Events: Film Series: Patrick passed out spreadsheet of list of potential films for the series. He
stated that we had taken in almost $1,000 in donations during the last film series including a
donation of $500 from Rick Steves. These funds can be used for supplementing the film series
budget of $1000. Categories are: emotional/mental, elder, transgender, immigration/Asian
American, Native American, and bullying issues. Discussed synopsis of movies on
spreadsheet. By next meeting will have final list of movies for the film series. World Cafe date:
October 13, 10 — noon, Plaza Room has been booked for this event. Need to review and
establish topics.
Partnerships/Communications/Grants: Grant Alliance Project, Diana discussed three ideas that
were mentioned last month. 1. Business community project; 2. Reaching out to Hwy 99
neighborhoods; and 3. National Night Out. Discussed different aspects — could 1 & 2 be
combined as a project that would include Highway 99 and businesses. Take downtown area
out of #1 and include Hwy 99. Chamber, BID, approach David Ortiz and C3 to determine next
steps.
8. Incident Response Language & Incidents in Community and Commission Role : Diana
updated that Edmonds School Dist. will be conducting training on this subject. Patrick stated
this was language that was developed when the Commission was created and could there be
more latitude for the chair and vice -chair in responding to incidents or changes in the standard
response. The speed of response is of concern and enabling the chair and vice -chair to be
responsive without having full commission review and approve the issuance of a timely
response could solve this concern. The consensus was to allow for chair and vice -chair to craft
incident responses somewhat more specifically to the incident, still following general format
of the pre -approved response.
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August 1, 2018
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9. New Business, Commissioner's Corner:. Adrienne discussed attending Ramadan and
questions were asked about students taking time off for religious activities. Diana would like
to do some research to determine the school district policy on taking multiple religious days
off. Can Commission find out and get information to Muslim community? Diana mentioned
there is state legislature talk about repealing affirmative action and would like the Commission
to issue a statement if this happens. There is a grant thru the Snohomish County Community
Foundation for equity minded approaches to reduce systemic racism, and translation project
could be opportunity for proposal from Commission for grant application. Pat mentioned that
Ramadan is a month long celebration but there are specific days at the end of Ramadan that
students may request to be excused to attend. Pat has been invited to ECA inclusiveness
committee and will discuss what Commission has been doing.
Adiourn: 8:02 PM — Next regular meeting: September 5, 2018, 6 PM at Edmonds Senior
Center.
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August 1, 2018
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Attachment 1
Require activation of closed captioning on televisions in public areas
The City of Edmonds ordains:
Section 1. The Commission finds:
Hearing loss is a significant problem in the United States. A study
released in November, 2011 by researchers at Johns Hopkins estimated that
approximately one in five Americans have some type of hearing loss in one
or both ears that affect their ability to communicate and receive information.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternaImedicine/fuIIarticle/1106004
In 1993, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") adopted
regulations requiring all analog television receivers manufactured and sold in
the United States with screens larger than 13 inches contain built-in decoder
circuitry to display closed captioning.
Closed captioning consists of a transcript of the audio portions of
television programming displayed on the television receiver screen when the
user activates the caption feature.
In 1996, Congress amended the Communications Act to require that all
video program distributors (including broadcasters, cable operators, etc.)
add closed captioning to certain video programming and authorized the
Federal Communications Commission (the FCC) to establish a transition
schedule for complying with this requirement.
Following Congress's legislative directive, the FCC adopted administrative
rules to ensure that video programming be accessible by closed captioning
to the maximum extent possible. 47 CFR Part 79 sets forth the FCC's
standards for accessibility of video programming.
In 2002, the FCC adopted closed captioning requirements for digital
television receivers.
Under the FCC's rules, video program distributors are required to add
closed captioning to all new English language programming. Starting in
2010, a similar requirement has applied to Spanish language programming.
The FCC also requires video program distributors to add closed captioning to
a certain percentage of previously broadcast programs.
In 2010, Congress enacted the Communications and Video Accessibility
Act ("CV AA"), extending the scope of closed captioning requirements to all
devices that can play back video. Since September 30, 2012, new TV
programming shown online is required to have closed captioning rendered as
well.
Television receivers are increasingly used in facilities open to the general
public, including hospital waiting rooms, bars and restaurants, health clubs,
bus stations, airport lounges, and appliance stores. These and other public
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August 1, 2018
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facilities represent the kinds of locations where the general public has access
to television programming.
Television receivers in these locations enable members of the general
public to obtain the latest news reports in an emergency, watch local sports
teams, or simply pass the time while waiting for an appointment or service
to be completed. People with hearing disabilities should not be excluded
from being able to meaningfully participate in these activities while in public
areas.
In order to avoid screening out those members of the general public who
are deaf or hard of hearing in places of public accommodation, there should
be a requirement closed captioning be activated so as to not exclude, deny
service, segregate or otherwise treat those with hearing disabilities
differently from being able to fully participate in or experience the full
benefits of the television programming offered to the public in those
settings.
This ordinance requires that television receivers located in any part of a
facility open to the general public have closed captioning activated at all
times when the facility is open and the television receiver is in use.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Commission advises:
The City Code is amended by adding a new section as follows:
Closed Caption Activation Requirement.
A. Definitions. As used here, the following words and phrases shall be
construed as defined in this subsection:
"Closed Captioning" means a transcript or dialog of the audio portion of a
television program that is displayed on the bottom portion of a television
receiver screen when the user activates the feature.
"Closed -Captioned Television Receiver" means a receiver of television
programming that has the ability to display closed captioning, including but
not limited to a television, digital set top box, and other technology capable
of displaying closed captioning for television programming.
"Public Area" means any part of a public facility that is open to the
general public.
"Public Facility" shall have the same meaning as place of public
accommodation.
"Regular Hours" means the hours of any day in which a Public Facility is
generally open to members of the general public.
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B. Any person owning or managing a public facility must activate closed
captioning on any closed captioned television receiver in use in any public
area during regular hours.
C. A person owning or managing a public facility is not required to make a
closed captioned television receiver available for viewing in a public area if:
No receiver of television programming of any kind is available in a public
area of the public facility; or,
The only receiver of television programming available in a public area of
the public facility is incapable of displaying close captioning.
D. Civil Penalties. A violation of this Section may result in the assessment of
civil penalties, as advised and proposed below:
1. If the City Attorney reasonably believes a violation has occurred, the
City Attorney may issue a written determination addressing the following:
a. A reference to this Section, describing the violations that have
occurred or are occurring;
b. The date and the time of the occurrence, and the street address
or location of the public facility;
c. A concise statement of the matters asserted or charged; and,
d. A request that the addressee provide a written response to the
City Attorney within 10 business days either disputing the occurrence
of the violation or describing how the violation has been abated and
how such violations will be prevented from reoccurring. The
determination may be personally delivered to the person, or may be
served by Registered or Certified Mail. For purposes of this Subsection,
service by registered or certified mail is complete and effective when a
correctly addressed notice is deposited with the postal service after
being either certified or registered by the postal service.
2. If the person fails to provide a written response, or the written response
fails to reasonably satisfy the City Attorney regarding the identified
violations, the City Attorney may file a complaint with the Code Hearings
Officer, as provided under city law, asking the Code Hearings Officer to
impose civil penalties not to exceed $5 for each day such violation is
committed or permitted to continue as provided in this Section. Having
made a determination to ask that the Code Hearings Officer to impose civil
penalties as provided by this Section, the City Attorney shall give the person
written notice of the determination by causing notice to be served upon the
person at their business or residence address. Service of the notice shall be
accomplished by mailing the notice by regular mail, or at the option of the
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City Attorney, by personal service in the same manner as a summons served
in an action at law. Mailing of the notice by regular mail shall be priina facie
evidence of receipt of the notice. Service of notice upon the person
apparently in charge of a business during its hours of operation shall
constitute prima facie evidence of notice to the business owner.
3. In determining the amount of the civil penalty to be imposed for
violations of the provisions of this Chapter, the Code Hearings Officer shall
consider:
a. The extent and nature of the person's involvement in the violation;
b. The harms, whether economic, financial or otherwise, which occurred
or were suffered as a result of the violation; ""
c. Whether the violations were isolated or temporary, or repeated or
continuous;
d. The magnitude and seriousness of the violation;
e. The City's cost of investigating the violations and correcting or
attempting to correct the violation; and,
f. Any other applicable facts bearing on the nature and seriousness of the
violation.
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Edmonds, WA:
Turn the Captions on Now!
Edmonds, WA: Turn The Captions On Now - Talking Points
A. Primary Purpose of the ordinance - to allow persons with hearing loss to be able to
have similar access to TV as "hearing" people. This includes regular TV
programming, sports events, etc. And it also includes emergency announcements,
such as storm warnings, terrorist attacks, etc.
B. Secondary benefits - people to whom English is not their primary language, Even
"normal" hearing people will benefit because the background noise is often at a level
that even they cannot hear what is being said on TV.
C. Other localities have done similar things - Portland, San Francisco, the state of
Maryland, Ann Arbor, MI and Rochester, NY.
D. The proposed ordinance would actually benefit businesses because, once Captioning
has been set-up as the norm, such things as the training of staff, searching for the
remote, etc. would be eliminated.
E. This ordinance would be in keeping with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) in particular Title III that mandate, among other things:
Public accommodations must --
Eliminate unnecessary eligibility standards or rules that deny individuals with
disabilities an equal opportunity to enjoy the goods and services of a place of
public accommodation.
Make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures that
deny equal access to individuals with disabilities, unless a fundamental
alteration would result in the nature of the goods and services provided.
Furnish auxiliary aids when necessary to ensure effective communication,
unless an undue burden or fundamental alteration would result.
Remove architectural and structural communication barriers in existing
facilities where readily achievable.
Provide readily achievable alternative measures when removal of barriers is
not readily achievable.
Coincidentally, this year happens to be the 281h anniversary of the ADA.
F. This ordinance is not meant to be onerous or punitive towards businesses - rather, it
is meant to be more educational. As an added benefit, this change would be of
zero cost to a business.
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G. This effort is in keeping with making Edmonds, WA a welcoming, inclusive and
accessible city.
H. Various agencies/organizations have already endorsed the concept of this ordinance:
Portland's Commission on Disability, Office of Community Technology, Oregon
Communication Access Project, the Washington State Communication Access Project,
Oregon Association of the Deaf, the Portland, OR chapter of the national Hearing
Loss Association of America and the Oregon state association of that same
organization.
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Attachment 2
MEMORANDUM
TO: MAYOR EARLING AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: DIVERSITY COMMISSION
VIA: DIANA WHITE, CHAIR
SUBJECT: POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
DATE: AUGUST x, 2018
In fulfillment of the following two key components of the Diversity Commission's
mandate, as laid out in the Edmonds City Code at 10.65.040:
• Recommend to the Mayor and City Council diversity opportunities to
promote programs, and provide guidance to assure an accessible, safe,
welcoming and inclusive government and community, and
• Support, challenge, and guide government and the community to eliminate
and prevent all forms of discrimination
the following issues and recommendations were result from the Commission's
work over the past few months which included interviews with Department heads,
the Mayor, and two City Councilmembers. The recommendations are offered for
consideration bV the Mayor and/or Council, as appropriate.
1) Edmonds has had several discriminatory incidents in the past several years,
such as, the "noose" incident, swastikas on cars/schools, Harvey's Tavern
incident, and Meadowdale school incident. We recommend doing all we can to
create visibility of a caring community which embraces inclusiveness, equity and
diversity.
Rationale:
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To highlight a community value throughout Edmonds that we seek to be free of
discrimination, recognizing that all people are unique, respected and embraced
for their differences.
Suggestions for Implementation:
- Create stickers/signs using our diversity logo to pass out to businesses
throughout the community.
- Install diversity flags on city light poles throughout Edmonds to highlights city
boundaries and to show inclusiveness to all within the city and those who
visit.
- "Diversity Embraced Here" signs as you enter the city on Highway 104 and
Highway 524/Puget Dr. (GGR 8FRS ,.,ore GGst and pGssihility of vandalism
- Work with other community and business organizations on these and other
similar activities.
- Public Service Announcements (PSA) — Channel 21 (and/or social media).
Responsibility:
Public Works and Utilities Department Director.
Development Services (Planning Division) Department Director
Economic Development and Community Services Director
Arts/Culture Manager
2) Based on our interview questions, department heads and others interviewed
shared with us incidences of inappropriate behaviors and interactions in various
departments. In order to promote diversity, equity and inclusion amongst
employees, the Diversity Commission will partner with the Edmonds City
Wellness Committee. This partnership will allow the Diversity Commission to
introduce diversity education as part of the city's existing health and wellness
program.
Rationale:
By being involved in the Wellness Committee, it gives the Diversity
Commission the opportunity to supplement the Wellness Committee's
program with aspects of diversity, inclusion and equity.
By partnering with the Wellness Committee, we hope to reach as many
employees and families as possible.
Suggestions for Implementation:
- Implicit/Explicit bias education will be included in the new employee orientation
training.
- In addition, it is recommended that Directors of each department who make
hiring decisions also be included in the Implicit/Explicit bias education.
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- HR Director will work with the Diversity Commission's Partnership committee
to advertise job openings, in hopes of attracting equally qualified diverse
applicants.
Responsibility:
- Members of the Diversity Commission's o^liGy and PaFt%FGhln I E)FnFnittoo to
coordinate with the Wellness Committee and HR.
- HR Director
- Members of the Edmonds City Wellness Committee
- PFesi&Rt "f the City Council, City-vvarr'.Gil Der -Public Safety aRrcFSGRRci
mmitte2
3) To affirm to citizens and city employees that Edmonds is committed to following
through on discriminatory and/or hate crimes reports, from first report to resolution,
it is imperative to have in place safe and secure protocols.
Rationale:
- To provide assurance to the public and employees that incidents negatively
affecting their well-being will be appropriately handled in a result -specific,
transparent and impartial manner.
Suggestions for Implementation:
3.a for City employees and volunteers:
- Establish a taskforce to review existing processes and procedures for City
employees and volunteers to report and seek resolution of bias -related
incidents, with a goal to develop recommendation(s) to the Mayor and City
Council regarding enhancements to ensure that reporting and follow-through
protocols be timely, visible, accessible, result -specific, transparent and
impartial.
- Create an annual review of any such enhancements to reporting and follow-
through protocols, as well as reported incidents, with City Council, Mayor, and
Diversity Commission leadership fer the new nr„t, GGI and repo ted innidentc+
with Gity Geunnil nn.yer, and Diversity ry ssiJienT leadership for continuous
improvement purposes.
3.b for the general public:
- Establish a taskforce to review existing processes and procedures for the
general public to report and seek resolution of bias -related incidents, with a
goal to develop recommendation(s) to the Mayor and City Council regarding
enhancements to ensure that reporting and follow-through protocols be visible,
accessible, result -specific, transparent and impartial.
- Create an annual review of any such enhancements to reporting and follow-
through protocols, as well as reported incidents, with City Council, Mayor, and
Diversity Commission leadership for continuous improvement purposes.
Responsibility:
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- Edmonds Police Chief
- HR Director
- Diversity Commission leadership
- City Council, Mayor
4) As the demographics of our city quickly change, it is vital to engage the City
Council, in the development of a leadership vision regarding diversity, equity, and
inclusion. (Three, five, and ten-year period, as strategic planning benchmarks.)
Rationale:
- The goal is to create a welcome and safe community for all.
- Create an avenue for citizens of our diverse communities to become more
involved.
Suggestions for Implementation:
- Engage all city council members in a regular dialog about issues of diversity,
equity, and inclusion.
- Create a dialog opportunity for the Diversity Commission at the City Council
retreat.
- Recommend the city hire an outside, independent consultant to review Cit
policies and procedures regarding diversity, equity and inclusion, to help
identify implicit and explicit bias.
Responsibility:
- City Council
- Diversity Commission
- Mayor
- HR Director
5) With an increasing level of activity, programs, projects and events associated with
the Diversity Commission and program, and the limited bandwidth of volunteers,
additional staff support is necessary for successful implementation of such
programs.
Rationale:
- Currently ad hGG portions of existing City staff time, plus 10 hours per month of
contracted staff, are insufficient for these purposes. For comparison, nine cities
were contacted in our local region with populations of similar -size to find out if
they have any additional support staff for diversity and inclusion. The cities
contacted were Marysville, Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Redmond,
Sammamish, Shoreline, Olympia, Lynnwood and Bremerton. Shoreline was
the only city that has a part-time additional staff person, 0.6 FTE. Olympia has
a Diversity Committee that is made up of staff members from different
departments. All other cities handled any diversity and inclusion issues through
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HR. A Rete a Lynnwood, the just re-established their Diversity
Commission; they do not have a separate staff person.
Suggestion for Implementation:
- Request increasing staff support to Diversity Commission from existing 0.06
FTE contract staff to 0.50 FTE contract or permanent staff. 2019 Budget.
Responsibility:
- Mayor
- City Council
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