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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-HSC-1988 ITI C 1-e,Kk f NI !�li♦pTEO CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 TELEPHONE: 272-1713 COMMON COUNCIL CODE 607 ti HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES 1 /25/88 Present : Booth, Johnson, Nichols, Peterson • Excused : Lytel Others present : Diann Sama, Bob Boehiecke , Charles Manning, Cynthia Schnedecker, Beau Saul, Martin Hatch, Sean Killeen, Chief Page, Linda Beins, Media I. The committee heard reports from GIAC staff and Board members regarding the improvements needed for the GIAC facility with accommodation of expanded day care space . Some committee mem- bers raised the question of whether the same dollars set aside for GIAC daycare space could be used to finance a separate facility elsewhere . The committee passed a resolution endorsing Scheme 3 provided that common Council decides to fund all as- pects of said scheme and that the GIAC Board and the Drop-In Center agree on a form of management for the center daycare operations within the overall context of GIAC 's operations . II . Chief Page provided an overview of many issues in the police department, especially those that were noted in this commit- tee 's police report. He noted concern about staffing arrange- ments which are now being considered during contract nego- tiations . A full coding system has been implemented, as have changes in handling written reports from the street. Staff meetings, letters to crime victims updating their case, and • determining trainig priotities has occurred. The re-writing of the policy manual and the rules and regulations will be ongoing throughout the year. III . The committee briefly discussed criteria for the funding of human service agency requests. "An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program" _-,. .;.. _,..�.._..:wa.:.,�.._r�'.°r`:'°yam'. wZaAWR:-.. .. c• �* ;ollf ; � t N / `‘f ORATEO_ CITY OF ITHACA 1O8 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 TELEPHONE: 272-1713 COMMON COUNCIL CODE 607 HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES February 22 , 1988 Present : Peterson, Nichols , Lytel, Booth, Johnson Others : Cynthia Schnedecker, Donna Vaninsky,Beau Saul , Linda Beins , John Wilson, Cornell Social Policy class, media Laberta Glasser I. Daycare An ad hoc committee of GIAC and Drop-in Center Board members will review the operations of a daycare center in GIAC - in- cluding staffing, boards , low-mod income clients . The com- mittee (Human Services ) will also be gathering data about alternatives to use of a GIAC space before a final rF'commenda- tion is made . II. Police Benevolent Association PBA President Beau Saul addressed the committee on a number of issues- commitment to working with the Chief, both long term and on the proposed contract, the 5-72 schedule ,persis- tent low morale , loss of the PBA office, and problems with the Hall of Justice building. III . Human Services Funding Criteria The committee unanimously endorsed a reiolut•ion similar to the = 1987 resolution on criteria for human services agencies requesting City funds . A resolution setting human services funding guidelines at the 1987 suggested level was passed 3-2 . IV. B000th updated the committee on the hiring process for a new Youth Bureau director. V. Laberta Glasser presented statistics on the use of Southside for emergency shelter this winter. She noted that long term housing solutions for the homeless were still unresolved and that some initial work on a needs assessment was probeeding. An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program" The committee passed a resolution asking the Mayor to request from the County an update on their progress on the homeless situation. ti n oA'°ORATEO.. CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET j ITHACA, NEW YORK 114850 TELEPHONE: 272-1713 COMMON COUNCIL CODE 607 HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES March 30, 1988 Present : Booth, Peterson, Nichols, Lytel(9 :30p.m. ) Excused : Johnson Others : Laberta Glasser, members of the Ithaca Grape Boycott Committee , Bev Livesay, Diann Sams, Martin Hatch, Chris Cail, Marge Dill, Donna Vaninsky, Audrey Cooper, J. Smith, Art Santora 1 . Laberta Glasser reported that the emergency shelter at Southside will be open until April 22 . In March, 34 sleepers used the shelter. A security system was purchased; through the EOC. EOC has also pro- vided staff stipends .A flyer was presented that had information for homeless people who need help after Southside is no longer available . The Human Services Coalition is correlating data on the number of people using various shelters each night. 2 . The Ithaca Grape Boycott Committee requested that tie human services committee -pass _ ` a resolution of support for the boycott of California table grapes . The committee presented a short film on the reasons for the grape boycott and also presented written information on the topic. The committee voted 3-0 to write a resolution supporting the boycott, urging the removal of California table grapes from the Ithaca area, and banning the purchase of such grapes for City events . Peterson will try to have the reso- lution ready for the April Council meeting. In general the commit- tee felt that the labor situation in the grape fields in Cali- fornia was deteriorating, that pesticide use is a concern, and that the boycott could help the situation and possibly help New York grape purchases . 3 .An update on daycare space in GIAC was given. The next step is for the Ad-hoc committee of GIAC and Drop-in Center board members to come to an agreement on running a facility in GIAC. Council members will continue to investigate other building spaces . 4 .Audrey Cooper, director of Southside Center, addressed the com- mittee on improving communications with City Hall, future space needs , and expansion of existing programs. Lytel will pursue the issue of architectural plans for space needs and how the City might assist. 5 . The process for organizations applying for City funds and which are not human services organizations was modified to include a criteria that the group also receive a certain amount of County funding. Passed unanimously. "An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program" s —' r • HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES -3? 0 April 25, 1988 PRESENT: JOHNSON, PETERSON, LYTEL, NICHOLS, BOOTH OTHERS PRESENT: Mel Nass, Maureen Murphy, John Martini, John Wilson, Susan Sasnow, Members of Ithaca Grape Boycott Committee, Arturo Rodriquez - UFW 1 . Members of the New York State Grape Growers Association - Melvin ‘,; Nass, President of Venture Vineyards, John Martini, President of the New York Wine Grape Growers, and Maureen Murphy of Venture Vineyards, met with the committee to request recision of Council's endorsement of a boycott of California table grapes. A packet of materials from the California Table Grape Commission was distributed. Discussion centered around the necessity of appropriate pesticide application and the reasoning behind boycotting grapes instead of other produce that also receives pesticides. UFW organizer Rodriquez reiterated that grapes were seen as a distinctly identifiable crop, had the largest union of farm workers, and was the most labor intensive crop. The committee received little information on the economics to the N.Y. grape industry. The boycott endorsement was re-affirmed, stressing N.Y. grapes are not affected. II. The Youth Bureau requested Council direction for continuance of playground camp at Northeast School. The committee unanimously supported continuance of the camp if the Youth Bureau Board and staff concur, triple rates are charged for non-city participants , and the Town covers any deficit not covered by the program. III. Lytel informed the committee about a meeting he attended regarding kids abusing the public library after school hours. The committee agreed it was a problem and that the library/ schools/county/and City should continue discussions toward a solution. IV. Lytel announced that on May 25 there will be an important meeting on the homeless. The needs assessment and goals for next year are proceeding. He also added that South Side Center will send us a letter highlighting their space/program limitations. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn Peterson, Chair CP/cs HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES May 23, 1988 PRESENT: Peterson, Booth, Nichols, Johnson, Lytel OTHERS PRESENT: Debra Scheer, Eric Datz, Val Walker, Diann Sams, Sam Cohen, Ric Dietrich, Marcia Fort, Alan Green I. Four members of the Youth Bureau staff gave an excellent overview of youth development programs: One to One, Outing and Work programs, Y.E.S., Municipal Jobs Program, subsidized employment program, Youth Council, Mechanical All-Stars, and related topics. II. Val Walker, Personnel Department, and Eric Datz, the Affirmative Action Committee, presented the revisions of the City's Affirmative Action Plan. Committee members suggested re-organizing the plan into affirmative action sections and non-discrimination sections, adding to the list of laws, removing Mayor/Council specific references, numbering each section, reviewing the goals, and I etting department heads review the revisions. The plan will be brought back to committee at a later date. III. The GIAC/DROP-IN CENTER Day Care Agreement is proceeding. The main issues of merging two(2) boards and having a strong multi-cultural element is still to be resolved. The Committee stressed the importance of resolution by the June meeting. CP/cs I_ ¢ S HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES June 27, 1988 PRESENT: Johnson, Nichols, Peterson EXCUSED: Booth, Lytel OTHERS: Dan Rhoads, David Cornelius, Henry Lord, Lyman Baker, other volunteers, Linda Beins, Jill DeMauro, Cynthia Schnedecker, Charles Manning, Linda Stark, Ed Olmstead, Carol Seligmann I. Homelessness Linda Beins and Jill DeMauro of the Human Services Coalition reported on the status of the needs assessment on the homeless. They concen- trated on existing shelters and staffing, while EOC did face to face interviews. Out of the large May meeting on the homeless will -come sum- maries from various study areas, which the Homeless Task Force will then prioritize. The Committee asked to have a recommendation for the role of the City in this issue. II. Volunteer Firefighters Dan Rhoads presented background on volunteers. Specifically, 4 requests were made: hire a volunteer coordinator, provide and stock adequate turn-out gear supplies, hire a full-time training officer, and pass a City resolution supporting the career/volunteer fire system. The Committee supported the resolution 3-0 and will review the other requests at a later date. III. GIAC/Drop-In Center Agreement The Agreement for the provision of an expanded daycare facility at GIAC, as run by the Drop-In Center, has been essentially agreed upon. The Committee will attach the agreement to the Capital Projects Review Sheet for GIAC. IV. The Committee will be working with the Community Police Board to review its role through our Charter and to recommend guidelines as to the direction they should be working in. CP/efo HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES July 25, 1988 PRESENT: Booth, Johnson, Nichols, Peterson EXCUSED: Lytel OTHERS: Laberta Glasser, Audrey Cooper, Steven MaGruder, Doug Dylla, 41/0:7. N/45 —Tracy Farrell, Betty Cornish, Beau Saul, Linda Beins, Jill DeMauro, Michael Stamm, Robin Resnick, Sgt. Atwell, - `o.dO' Coert Bonthius, Margaret Hobbie 'l I. Audrey Cooper, Laberta Glasser, and Steven MaGruder presented a report on the building needs of Southside Center. They are working with Larry Fabbroni on facilities upgrading, but all plans would depend on the Board of Directors resolution for a shelter for the homeless. Proper improvements to meet code for a shelter would be needed. Although the Board is seeking a permanent shelter through a number of grant proposals, the committee felt that a nightly, as needed, emergency shelter is more appropriate for 1988-89. A resolution will be prepared for the August meeting. II . The Committee reviewed a request from Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services to be a budget line item, specifically for $80,000 in 1989. The Committee unanimously supported the request recognizing that funds are tight, valuable services would be cut otherwise, and that the service contributes to the City. III. The Committee reviewed funding requests from nine (9) agencies for the 1989 budget. These agencies provide economic, arts and culture, and environmental services to the City. Recommendations were forwarded to the Mayor. IV. Priorities for deployment of police officers were discussed. It was recommended that the Community Police Board should review current deployment with an eye to beat walking increases, focus on drug problems, traffic and morning violations, extra beats in Southside and Stewart Park, crackdown on students' return to emphasize City laws, and lifting parking ticketing from police personnel. CP/efo J efig HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES AUGUST 22, 1988 PRESENT: Lytel, Peterson, Booth, Nichols, Johnson OTHERS PRESENT: Ed Olmstead, Lyle Neigh, Laberta Glasser, Audrey Cooper, and representatives from each human service organization as listed. I. The Committee unanimously supported a resolution to permit Southside Center to be used as a temporary cold weather shelter for the months of mid-October through April. Much discussion was held over the question of fire codes for the facility. There are questions over what guidelines to follow for a temporary use, but the Committee felt that if the volunteer staff is required to continue their current rules of procedure and that the state has permitted day care use for the same facility that the people are reasonably protected. II. Lyle Neigh, a volunteer firefighter, reported on his visit to Kettering, Ohio, and their use of a paid Volunteer Coordinator for recruitment and retention of volunteers. The committee reiterated their support for the volunteers and Peterson will send a memo to the Mayor stressing that volunteer support should be reflected in budgetary priorities. III. Funding allocations for human services organizations -- See Attached Page. td 4 "I" HUMAN HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTESr,. 10 September 26, 1988 PRESENT: Peterson, Nichols, Booth, Johnson EXCUSED: Lytel ✓ ✓ OTHERS PRESENT: Linda Beins, Melissa Siegel, Mick Ellis, Dav)d Wallace Carol Seligmann, Deborah. Makning, Ed Olthstead, David Cornelius, Bob Emile, Gary Moravec, Firefighters Cook and Bruen representing a number of others present, Lyle Leigh, Dan Rhoads. I. Linda Beins and Melissa Siegel, representing Tompkins county FOCUS, requested that the City contribute $2,000 towards a comprehensive analysis and plan for County-wide human services delivery improvement. Nichols moved $1,000 (half of the County contribution), Booth seconded. The vote was 2-2, with Johnson and Peterson opposed because they supported $2,000. The issue will be sent to Budget and Administration. II. Members of the Community Police Board explained that they would like to have more initiative and responsiblilty in police matters. It was learned that the Charter appears to grant these powers, yet the Police Department rules and regulations refer to the Board as serving the Mayor. This conflict needs to be resolved and a sub- committee will meet with Ralph Nash on this. III. Members of the fire department and Fire Commissioners voiced strong concern over the Mayor's proposed budget because new personnel was not included. They stressed personal safety, increase in work load due to development growth (especially in density and high-rises), hazardous materials and a larger fire district, and better ability to serve -- especially in the case of multiple incidents. The committee was receptive to the concerns and asked the chief to work up scenarios of a budget that is 20%, 30%, or 40% over 1988's budget. This will be reviewed in October. IV. Mick Ellis brought to the committee's attention the fact that language in our AA/EEO statements on official city papers does not refer to affectional preference. Since the City has a fair practices ordinance that protects person's rights from discrimination on the basis of affectional preference, this should be noted on our documents. The committee suggested that a stamp be made with language stating these rights and that the documents be updated. HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES October 24, 1988 PRESENT: Booth, Johnson, Lytel, Nichols, Peterson OTHERS PRESENT: Valerie Walker, Eric Datz, Sean Killeen, David Cornelius, Ed Olmstead, Ken Reeves, Glenn Sharshon, Christopher DiPerno, Chief McEwen I. Valerie Walker and Eric Datz presented a revised draft of the Affirmative Action Plan. The plan was unanimously approved with some minor changes and will be sent on to Council. At another meeting, the Committee will discuss annual AA reports, the AA Committee's relationship to Council, and annual program evaluation. II. Chief Olmstead presented budget scenarios of 20, 30, and 40 percent over last year's budget. The Committee indicated a leaning toward the 20 percent increase with more gear allocation as well. It was noted that during this month's volunteer drive, 47 potential people have shown interest. III. The Committee moved into executive session to discuss personnel issues with the Police Chief. No action was taken. Action was taken on a resolution of support for the Ithaca Police Department including a statement that no proof of corruption had been presented to Council. The resolution passed 3-2 (with Booth and Lytel strongly opposed because of the timing of the resolution) . Peterson, Nichols, and Johnson will write up the resolution for Council. IV. Peterson updated the Committee on the Labor/Management Day Care proposals, the City Attorney's report on the Police Board, and a hearing on November 14, 1988 regarding fair practices language for our City work applications. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn Peterson, Chair HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES November 21, 1988 PRESENT: Booth, Lytel, Nichols, Peterson EXCUSED: Johnson OTHERS PRESENT: Linda Beins, Eric Datz, Valerie Walker I. The Committee unanimously passed a resolution stating the 1989 Work Plan for the Human Services Coalition. Items shall be review of requests for funding from human services agencies, acting as staff for FOCUS (especially noting data on the youth at risk population) and continuing to assess homelessness and related issues with an eye to the role the City should play. II. The Affirmative Action Committee presented a plan for statistical review. They would compare statistics of the City work force with the County working population - i.e. ages, male/female, minorities. The City work force would be reviewed by department and job category at total City employment. The goal is to learn where to recruit to improve our statistics. Some past years will be reviewed for a base. The committee will report to us on this in March. i l l. Eric Datz reviewed the status of handicapped accessibility improvements. Only a few items remain to be ,:ompleted from Carol Chock's report. Commons grate replacements will not be done. Respectfully submitted by Carolyn Peterson, Chair HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES December 19, 1988 PRESENT: Peterson, Booth, Lytel, Nichols, Johnson OTHERS PRESENT: Jennifer Tiffany, Elizabeth Bixler, Audrey Cooper, John Bailey, Maggie Pitkin, Wendy Shardlow, Sylvia Benaway, Leslie _Wharton, Jennifer Marshall, Allen Green, Sam Cohen 1 . Jennifer Tiffany and Elizabeth Bixler, of AIDS Work, presented background on the AIDS Work Organization and statistics on persons diagnosed with AIDS in the county. They are likely to request City dollars in the future. They also suggested that the City could play a role in education about AIDS, starting, perhaps, with City personnel. 11 . Audrey Cooper, South Side Community Center Director, updated the committee on the temporary shelter for the homeless. Increased use is dramatic. From October 17, 1988 to December 12, 1988, 302 bed nights were recorded with 34 unique lodgers. It is important to discuss long term use of this facility and its relation to the center. 111 . With input from several Youth Bureau staff, the Human Services Committee passed a resolution of transition for youth in youth development programs. A three to six months phase-out of youth from non contributing municipalities will occur, with no new youth from non contributors allowed. The two in-school programs will function as usual, for all youth, through this school year. Passed 4-1 (Johnson) . 1V. The Committee suggested topics to be covered in 1989: Cornell and Ithaca College contributions to our fire service, a long term homeless shelter, the Police Board, the October 1987 police report to be reviewed, and periodic updates from department heads.