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2018-09-05 Diversity Commission AgendaO E1),111 0 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. DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 1 DRAFT 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. DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 2 DRAFT 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. DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 3 DRAFT 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 DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 4 DRAFT 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. DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 5 DRAFT 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 DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 6 DRAFT 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. DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 7 DRAFT 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. DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 8 DRAFT 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. DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 9 DRAFT 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: DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 10 DRAFT 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. DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 11 DRAFT - 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: DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 12 DRAFT - 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 DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 13 DRAFT 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 DRAFT Meeting Summary Diversity Commission August 1, 2018 Page 14