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Home My WebLink About2024-10-29 Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes ACREIHR Advisory Committee of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes for the Tuesday, October 29, 2024 Meeting 6:OOp � Council Chambers Members Present: Chair Liana Fellis, Vice Chair Katie Brydon, Member Andre Chasse, Member Kathryn Robinson, Member Jason Canniff, Member Gabrielle Wiley Members not present: Member Julie Davis, Member Gabrielle Wiley, Member Theron Letterlough, Student Rep. Rebecca Jones, Student Rep. Evelyn Marasco, Member Melissa Bulcholz, City of Bangor staff and guests present: City Manager, Debbie Laurie Call to Order Call to order at 6:OOpm Introduction of advisory board members and city members present Minutes Motion to approve by Member Canniff; seconded by Vice Chair Brydon The minutes were unanimously approved at 6:05pm Education Update on the Encampment Closure • October 16 announced that the City will move to close the encampment • The city will officially close the encampment December 31, 2023 • Resources from the City will be provided; health and wellbeing of those living in the camp are a priority o Contributing factors: drug trafficking, health, violence o City will also prioritize the mitigation of criminalization related to homelessness; working on storage of personal items, facilitate family units and pets staying together • 73 in the camp; 20 who are not engaged at all with services; other 53 are engaged with some or partial engagement • Friday, November 15t: first warming shelter will be opened 0 2 overnight, 2 daytime opportunities 0 41 units for permanent supportive housing coming online this winter • Goal is to have all individuals sheltered this winter (permanent housing or reunification, temp. shelter, etc. • Wednesday, October 23: first partners meeting on encampments with residents, partners, etc.; provided space for people to share concerns. o Workgroups will be identified to work on housing options o Workgroups will also strengthen relationships between partners and residents o Thursday, Oct. 24, a meeting was held at the encampment with information shared by those working directly with the encampment • 2nd partner meeting and workgroups will meet on Wed. October 30 • Signage posted on Oct. 29t" and water will be shut off at the end of the month to the encampment • Friday, Nov. 1 signage will go up that encampment will be closed on Dec. 31 with resources listed, phone numbers, etc. Questions: • Police presence will be on site to support residents moving out on the 315t • What model is Bangor using for this process? o Bangor worked with HUD in the spring to clear encampment on Valley Ave o A lot was learned from that experience, mostly that permanent housing is the right solution for all residents in finding new housing. Setting people up for success. o Sanford, Waterville, and Portland have used a similar model • Peer to Peer networking plan to keep residents connected to community i Advisory Committee of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes for the Tuesday, October 29, 2024 Meeting 6:OOp � Council Chambers • Help support individuals to be resources adjacent and protect the relationships they have with the outreach partners • Amy West: outreach medical provider will support and keep service providers connected with those who are moving out of the encampment • What was the strategic plan for closing the encampment; what happened between Sept. and October? 0 41 housing units available in December that they will move into; this was the catalyst for closing the encampment Policy Review of the naming of city owned property, Policy 16-047 • Naming policies will go through the ACREIHR group to approve and also include a call for feedback and recommendations from Bangor citizens • Provision will not apply to buildings with naming rights (ex. Cross Insurance Center) • Policy will be sent to the Gov. Ops committee to review and approve on Dec. 2 • Naming of streets and places in Bangor o Should we develop a committee of historians, subject matter experts, underrepresented communities to be a part of the renaming o Meet with the cultural commission to work on downtown names and adding Wabanaki language o Opportunity for the Education Sub-Committee to bring these community partners together to explore naming rights • Explore the opportunities and costs for renaming the streets, city owned buildings to add Wabanaki language to all placards State of the Committee • Will table conversation until November meeting to ensure City Council Chair can attend to guide the process of renaming the committee • Review of the name of the committee, ordinance, etc. • Need feedback from the committee members by November 15tn • Need to update the parameters of the ordinance to identify what our goals are and what we hope to accomplish (should we add areas of focus, like accessibility?) • What name should we change it to be more attractive and compelling? o Proposed idea: DEIB Action Committee o These ideas are due by Nov. 15 • New committee members will be added in December as an invitation to get involved o Still looking for high school and college members to join; the application for these positions remain open Other Items Opportunity for the ACREIHR to co-sponsor the Martin Luther King Breakfast Celebration • Request from NAACP: is the advisory committee interested in supporting? • Set up conference call with Samantha Le and City Manager, Debbie Laurie, to discuss the possibilities and options to support Renaming of city places • City Manager Laurie will set up meeting with Bangor Historical Society and reference desk at the BPL to identify if there is a database of why/how city structures and streets were named • Does the committee need to identify a process for unnaming a city owned place/street? z Advisory Committee of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes for the Tuesday, October 29, 2024 Meeting 6:OOp � Council Chambers o Explore the dissension process that was used when renaming Broad Street Park o Do we need to add a grievance process? • Committee should review the names of streets and city government buildings included in the October packet City Manager Updates • Preparing for Election on November Stn • Recommendation to look at the Council Year in Review on the homepage of the City website • Things to celebrate: 0 50,000 calls for safety 0 2600 service orders met by the Bangor app 0 200,000 individuals came to Bangor with the Waterfront Concerts 0 200,000 individuals came to Bangor with Cross Center 0 2,200 came to Bangor by cruise line • City of Bangor working with the CEO of Versant to get information more directly to individuals who may be out of power o Currently hiring for a Fire Chief who will work directly to oversee safety and power • Website is on track to be ready to go live in November o New site will have features that make it easier/better for citizens of Bangor • Request for update about City Hall renovations Reminder.•next meeting will be Tuesda y before Thanksgiving, Nov. 26 Public feedback • Ordinance feedback from Michael Beck • More opportunities for the City to work more closely and be more connected with the Adv. Committee • Recommendation for liaison from City Council to attend meetings to have a more transparent mechanism between committee and council Call to adjourn Motion to adjourn by Vice Chair Brydon; seconded by Member Wiley 3 Advisory Committee of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes for the Tuesday, October 29, 2024 Meeting 6:OOp � Council Chambers • Centralized map of resources? o Working with the city to update the website and improve the ways in which people can find the connectedness of resources o Working with FAM and their Peer Workforce Navigator to jumpstart them into employment • Partners o Outreach Providers in the encampment, shelters, Bangor PD, Bangor Public Library, Food and Medicine, CHCS o Always looking for new partners to collaborate, specifically nonprofit • Goals: o Short term goals: understanding the community of unhoused folks in the community; who are they, what are the demographics, etc. o The number of older adults who are experiencing homelessness are increasing at an alarming rate; currently experiencing circumstantial homelessness, not chronic homeless because there is a gap in assisted living, etc. o Long term goals: better system mechanisms, reaching quality data (a reliable data set); right now much of what is gathered is self-reported o HUB 7 goal: reach quality data set by January 2025 • Next steps: get folks into space that feels safe and warm to be able to envision themselves being housed, such as the warming centers. During this time, introduce them to resources and service providers to help o Housing First model o Dramatic increase in the number of individuals who are staying in shelter long-term (from 40 days pre-pandemic to one year) so we can't serve more individuals • Maine Housing Grant o Housing Navigation and Stabilization and Eviction Prevention Grant will hopefully provide them the resources to help provide people the resources before and after they experience homelessness • www.youtube.com/cityofbangor—Gov Ops meeting from September 4t" will explain Built for Zero and Public Health response to HIV outbreak in the encampment Education Election Update from the City Clerk, Lisa Goodwin • Polls: 7am —8pm. Free rides on the Community Connector all day • Absentee ballots will be mailed on October 7tn 0 2600 people have already requested early voting o Can request online if voter registration is up to date; a family member can request for you • Starting on October 8t", residents can vote at the City Hall until October 28tn • October 28— November 2: will be available at the Cross Insurance Center to vote • Same day registration in the state of Maine;just bring ID and proof of residency. If you don't have proof of residency, you can ask to swear an oath of residency • Maine.gov/vote to register beforehand • Accessible voting: online ballots for individuals who cannot handle paper o Can request through the state o Accessible voting machine for everyone to use ■ All polling places are ADA compliant • Updated the place for tabulation to be closer (less walking for individuals) • Clerk goes to all nursing facilities and level 4 housing units; also going to Dorthea Dix for voting 4 Advisory Committee of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes for the Tuesday, October 29, 2024 Meeting 6:OOp � Council Chambers • Provisional/challenge ballot for folks who do not have an ID or residence (unhoused); you do not have to have a 'home' to register to vote. You can register where you live, even if it is outside • Poll watchers and petitioners allowed to watch; they cannot impede a voters' right to vote Election numbers • 24 machines, 28 different tallies o State ballot will have rank choice and plurality on the other side 0 3 ballots for each individual ■ City candidates; UTC ballot and city referendums; State candidates and state referendums League of Women Voters Candidates Forum • October 8t", 5:30p—8:OOp • Will be hosted at (temporary) City Hall for all school committee and city council candidates Policy Naming of City Owned Properties • Policy and purpose was given to the ACREIHR meeting in the September agenda • Comments, questions, suggestions by October 15th to ACM 0'Donnell Naming of City Street Names • Separate process to evaluate • Share recommendations/ideas for the city to explore, such as best practices for updating names, improving our recognition of Wabanaki land, etc. State of the Committee Review of the ordinance: is there a way to improve the name of the committee • Advisory Committee vs. Committee with city involvement • More emphasis on the subcommittee work and advancing the achievements/outcomes of the work • Is the subcommittee structure working? • Is ACREIHR working or should there be a more recognizable/actionable name? Appropriate structure and improvements to consider: • Do we need to increase the number of individuals on the committee to do the work being done? • Is there a way that we can involve volunteers? • Are committee members charged by the council then allowed to put that charge on others, especially volunteers? • Expectation: if involving volunteers, can't charge the volunteers with the work of the committee that comes from the City Council New Business Applications for new individuals to join the ACREIHR • Four openings for the committee and two student appointments will be open • Encourage citizens to apply Next meeting topic:state of the committee and ordinance change options. Need to invite City Council Chair. s Advisory Committee of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights Minutes for the Tuesday, October 29, 2024 Meeting 6:OOp � Council Chambers New Website Launch • Updated and will launch on October 31 • Feedback and information shared about layout and changes have been made • ADA compliant and accessible • To consider.•ACREIHR page on the new website with resources and information Community Connector will suspend Saturday service temporarily Closing of Meeting Move to adjourn by Vice Chair Brydon, seconded by Member Robinson Next Meeting: October 22 at 6:OOp 6