The meeting was called to order at 1:36 PM. Vice Chair Gebler stated that she would not be able to chair the meeting for its whole duration so Commissioner Hernandez moved to nominate Commissioner Risenberg as Chair Pro Tem. Commissioner Sanchez seconded. The motion was approved on a voice vote. 

Present	Absent
Mandy Gebler, Vice Chair Sandra Darling Manny Hernandez Angelica Sanchez Mindy Risenberg	Tarang Jain Carolyn Kidd, Chair

Commissioner Gebler read the mission statement and the land acknowledgment. 

Mr. Rhode reported that Dr. Mallett said that the Black Student Union would be leading MLK Day festivities in January and that he expected to send out an e-mail before the next meeting with more information about the event. 

Commissioner Hernandez wanted to plug the New Year's eve pinecone drop that will be free from 10:00 to 1:00 pm on New Year's Eve 

There was no Public Comment. 

Commissioner Sanchez asked for a correction in 8B to change "city Administration" to "Library Administration." Commissioner Sanches moved to approve the minutes with that correction. Commissioner Hernandez seconded. The motion was approved on a voice vote. 

Mr. Rhode reported that there will be two proclamations in January for the Commission to approve; one for Black History Month and one for MLK Day. 

Mr. Rhode gave a presentation on the City of Flagstaff's 2024 Municipal Equality Index Scorecard as published by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and on the City's Non-discrimination Ordinance. He began by talking about who the ordinance applies to, and the protected classes specified by the ordinance. He then summarized the process that the City's Civil Rights Office uses to review and investigate complaints.

Commissioner Hernandez asked how often cases reach each step in the process. Mr. Rhode said that in approximately 4 years his office has received approximately half a dozen complaints and only one has reached mediation because most are dismissed for timeliness, jurisdiction, or content. Commissioner Hernandez asked if the cases are public. Mr. Rhode responded that the records are preserved and can be requested but are not actively published. 

Mr. Rhode then moved to provide a summary of the Municipal Equality Index. He explained the areas where points are awarded and shared that Flagstaff received a score of 95 out of 100 possible points in 2024. He explained each of the areas where the City loses points and highlighted some notable areas where the City does get points.

Commissioner Riesenberg asked what the effect of not receiving points on this scorecard is to the city. Mr. Rhode explained that is meant to be educational and does not impact the city's funding. Mr. Tease asked if Mr. Rhode would be willing to give this presentation to the FlagPride Board. Commissioner Darling asked to elaborate on a comment she made in the chat where she defended the HRC's assigned score of 1 out of 6 possible points for Transgender Inclusive Healthcare because an issue like this is not truly solved until it is solved for everyone.

Councilwoman House joined the meeting and asked Mr. Rhode if the City's Score improved and if there was further conversation about the point she refuted at Council last year. Mr. Rhode said that the score remained the same and that he brought that up with the Human Rights Campaign but nothing substantial came from it. 

Mr. Rhode shared with the commission that he met with the Chief of the Flagstaff Police Department a few weeks earlier and they discussed the City's Anti-Camping Ordinance. Chief Connoly reported that no policy has changed and no directive has been issued as a result of the Grants Pass decision. He also explicitly said that the Flagstaff Police Department does not now and does not plan to develop a camp-busting program. Chief Connoly also forecasted that the department will be developing a Crime Reduction plan that should be released in 2025 and he also volunteered to make himself available at the January CODA meeting to answer questions from the commission directly. 

Councilwoman House asked if the Police Department would be willing so subject the Crime Reduction Plan to a review from the City Commissions before it is published. Mr. Rhode said that he did not ask the Chief that question and could not answer on his behalf. 

Mr. Rhode reported that he did some investigating on the rumors that work on this project may be active with another commission at the City. He discovered that these rumors are outdated and that the work was being done a few years back but has since been dropped by that commission. 

Commissioner Darling noted that she encountered a post online from Ben Nicholas from the Flagstaff Queer Collective that indicated that this topic may still be active. She pondered about how PrideFlag can continue to support this project. Dr. Tease suggested that collaborating on this project could be worthwhile but that he would not want to trample on the toes of any group that is taking the lead on it. Councilwoman House expressed her desire to continue involving Flagstaff Pride. She suggested setting up a meeting with some of the other interested parties to get everyone at the same table.

Mr. Rhode told the commission that the next step on this project is to identify a location and a funding source. He also said that this item could be agendized in the future so that the conversation with everyone happens as a CODA meeting or all the non-governmental organizations could meet on their own and communicate with CODA. 

Commissioner Darling summarized that FlagPride should look at locations and discuss possible funding sources. Mr. Rhode asked for direction on whether this should remain an item for January and if he should reach out to any other potentially interested parties. Commissioner Darling expressed support for this coming back to CODA and for Mr. Rhode doing the legwork to have the broader conversation happen at CODA. Councilwoman House said that this meeting also involved Joan (no last name specified) from the Arizona Progressive Action Community and confirmed that the Chief of Staff would likely have their contact information.

Commissioner Sanchez reported that while the Library's name change clinic was well attended and is an informational session that is appropriate for teenagers, the library is concerned about alienating audiences and removed it (and Pride in Your Community) from all banners and the young adult calendar of events. She also reported that a programming proposal for Drag Story Hour was denied and that a new Library policy requires that only library staff can read stories moving forward. She explained that this new policy will also result in other programs like Rainbow Reading Hour being canceled and clarified that this is a program that conducts readings in Navajo, Spanish, and American Sign Language (ASL). Commissioner Sanchez requested that Mr. Rhode inquire with the library on the following specific questions: 

• Is the library going to reinstate these programs in a different way? 
• What was the reasoning that lead to this new program? 
• Will other programs replace Rainbow Reading Hour?

Commissioner Sanchez finished her report with the update that the Oral History Project was not approved by Library Leadership but the Arizona Memory Project does have the resources to support it. She said that information pertaining to the Arizona Memory Project was added to the consent form and it is now back in front of Library leadership for their approval.

Commissioner Darling asked what the commission can do to support these programs and expressed her opinion that these updates are problematic.  

Mr. Rhode answered her inquiry by explaining that the commission is primarily educational and advisory. He explained that the commission can give him informal direction to reach out to the Library Administration with these questions or the commission could exercise its mandate to provide information or advice on the matter to City Council. He did caution that any formal action would require a vote at a future meeting. He also gave the commission the option to place this on a future agenda for further discussion. 

Commissioner Darling supported gathering information on this topic. 

Commissioner Sanchez reiterated the specific inquiries she has about the topic as:

• What is the reasoning for this policy change? 
• How will the library continue to be inclusive without these programs?  
• Will these programs be replaced with comparable programs or is the library cancelling all story hours in a language other than English? 
• If only library staff only are allowed to participate, what are the demographics of library staff and will the library be making efforts to diversify their staff? 

Commissioner Darling asked who specifically made the decision to cancel these programs. Commissioner Sanchez replied that a program proposal was submitted for Drag Story Hour last month but that the Library Administration denied it on the basis that their new policy states that only library staff can read stories moving forward and reiterated that this policy also affects readings in Spanish, Navajo, and ASL. 

Mr. Rhode clarified that the Flagstaff Library does not have its own board but is run jointly between the City and the County. 

Mr. Rhode then gave an update on the City's Logo Redesign Project. He shared that the design team is down to three final designs and that there is currently a public poll open on the three designs. He invited the commission to take the poll and to share it with anyone who may be interested. 

Councilwoman House asked Mr. Rhode to forward a message on a service project for MLK Day building tiny libraries for installation on the east side of town. 

Mr. Rhode reported that Commissioner Jain has resigned from the commission and that the commission will be seeking applications for that vacancy. He also reported that he put hunter Herbert in contact with Rose Toehe to continue the discussion on inclusive wayfinding. 
 

Mr. Rhode shared that he expects the January meeting to have items on a conversation with the Police Chief and continued discussion on the rainbow pavement exhibition. 

Commissioner Sanchez asked if there will be an update on the Library programs. Mr. Rhode said that he will bring it back but cannot guarantee when that will be. 

The commission adjourned at 3:11 PM.