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COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES DECEMBER 14, 1966 . M e 1nbers of the Community Rel a tions Commission met for their organizational meeting on W e dn e sda y, Decemb e r 14, 1966, at 2:00 p. m. in City Hall. The following memb e rs were pr e s e nt: Mr . Irving K. Kaler, Chairman Mr. T. M . Alexander, Sr. Mrs. Sara Baker M iss Helen Bullard Dr. Cleveland Dennard Mr. Robert Dobbs Mr. C. G. Ezzard Mr . A. L. Feldman Rev. Joseph L. Gri gg s Mr. Joseph Haas Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Mr. Al Kuettne r Mrs. Fred Patte rson Rabbi Jacob Rothschild Mrs. Mary Stephens Rev. Samuel Williams Mayor I v an Allen, Jr. called the m e e t ing to order and spoke brie fly r e gar ding t his newly created Commission. H e expr e ss e d the City's appreciation to t h e m e mbers of the Commission for th e ir inte r e st a nd willin gness to serve and to a ll those w ho have furnished l e ade rship a nd h a ve worked to see th e Community R e lations Commission establishe d . H e r evi e w e d the functions of th e Commission a s d e si gnated in the charter and cha r ge d th e gr oup as to th e ir duties and r es ponsibiliti e s. He then introduc e d t he Com munity Rel a tions Commission Chai r man, Mr. Irving Kaler, and tu rne d th e m ee ting over to him. Mr. Kale:r th a nke d M ayo r Allen fo r himself and £or h i s :fell ow n:1ett1.bers for the confi d e nc e show n in th e i r appointment s. H e stat e d the m e mb e r s o f the Commis sion r e co g nized the chall e n ge and ac c e pte d it. H e a lso st ated he fe lt the greatest res ourc e of the city wa s it s pe opl e and th i s Commiss ion seeks to reserve an d d e v e lop thi s res o ur c e so that Atl anta can have a force and economic ciimate to maintain its position of leadershi p. He then introduced Vice Mayor Sam Mas sell, J r., who has been so instrumental in the creation of this Commission. �C o rnrn uni ty Re l at ions Commission Min ute s D c c en1be r 14 , 19 6 6 P age Two M r. Mas s e ll e xpr e ss e d his pl ea s ur e in se e i n g t his Commission b e c o m e a r e ali ty a n d to ld th e g roup o f th e e a r li er rn e e t i n gs an d comm itt ees pr e c e ding this C o1n rr1i s sion. H e m a de th e fo ll owing r e comm e ndations for th e Commission's consid e ration as th e ir program i s e s tabli shed : 1. Cons i de r a tion of those individua l s co ns i de r e d for m e mbership on the Commission and those who ha ve expr essed inte r e st in a ssi sting in this work f or utilization in advisory co m mi t t e es or similar capacities. 2. A n1.a ss meeting with r e pr e s enta t i ve s of th e di sa d v antaged n e i g .b orhoods in a n atte mpt to cata log th e g ri evan c es in t h e communit y. 3. A confe r e nce or consultin g s e ss i o n w ith th e professiona l repres e ntatives . o f t h e l o c a l human relations gr oups to b e n e fit from their e xp e riences a nd idea s. 4. In quir e into th e possibility of a n O ffic e of Economic Opportunity g rant p os sibly in th e amount of $130, 000 t o e s tablish a fair housing c e nter in A t l a nt a . Mr . John Fie ld, Director o f th e C ommuni t y R e l ati o ns S ervic e o f the U. S. Confer e n c e o f May ors , spoke to t he g r oup r egar d i n g his exp e ri e nc es a nd obse r va tions o f the a ctiviti es and und e rtakin g s of oth e r commi s si ons around th e c ount r y . He s ta t ed t h at th e s e g roup s p layed va rious r o l e s in ea c h co mmunity i n clud i ng s uch things as p e rformin g a dvis o r y fun c tions for th e g o ve r n i ng b odie s, ha n dlin g compl a i nts and g r i evan c e s, a c t in g a s med i ator s, a n d reviewing a nd monitorin g the f u nctions of gove rnme n t to insu re democ ratic p arti c ipation. H e t h e n r evi ewed some of the meth od s and techn iqu e s u sed by o th e r gr oups. H e told th e m embers t h e y m u st n ow de ci de w hat ro l e thi s C ommiss ion is goin g to play in th e comm unity. T he C ommi ss i on mus t de ci d e w h e the r i t is goin g t o t r y t o do t he w ork i tse lf o r see th a t it is carried ot:it b y a noth e r gro u p and to w h at e x t e n t th e Commis s ion w ill par t icipat e when o ther e :xi s ting ag e ncies c an handle the p rob l em . He state d the n@ e s ity bi not to displ a c e o ther agen cie s b u t to w o r k w ith them. The Commi ss ion m e mbers t h en pr o c ee d e d w ith t h e ir busine ss s es sion . Upon motion duly ma d e , seconde d and u n animously passed th e C omn1.i s s io n agreed to follow R ob er ts Rul e s o f O rder for the c o n duc t o f a ll meetings. The group next co n sidere d th e e l e ction of offi c er s o f th e C ommis sion. Upon �I .- Con1rn.unity Relations Comrnission Minutes Dec e rn.ber 14, 1966 Pa ge Three 1notions duly made, seconded and unanimously passed the ,following individua ls were elected as office rs: Rev. Samuel Williams, First Vice Chairman Miss Helen Bullard, Second Vice Chairman Mrs. Fred Patterson, Secretary In accordance with the ordinance, the above officers and the Chairman shall constitute the Executive Committe e . Upon motion duly made, seconded and w1.animously passed, it was agreed that the Executive Co1nmittee has and is authorized to act for and on behalf of the full Comm.is sion, s.ubje ct to review of the Con1mission, between regularly scheduled meetings of the Comn1is s ion. A regular rneeting date was discussed at this time and it was agreed that the E xecutive Committee be allowed to deliberate on the selection of the meeting date and tin-ie and report back to the Commission at the next meeting. On behalf of the Committee appo i nted to select the E xecuti ve Director, Rev . Samuel Williams then reported that the position had been advertised in the various news media and that seventeen applications were received. Interviews have been scheduled to b egin on Tuesday, D e c ember 20. It was the sugge stion of Rev. Williams (Ch airman of the Committee) that the Comm.is s ion discuss the type qualifications, characte ristics and experien ce of the individual to fill this position. Various members gave their opinions on this subject and Mr. Feild and Mr. Clifton Henry of the Confer en ce of Mayors also offered their suggestions based on the ir work with oth e r commissions. It was generally agreed it would be necessary for the Commission to determine specifically w hat type program was to be conducte d before selecting the indi v idual to fill the position as differ ent program emphases wg\J.ld require different qualifications and experience. In an effort to e x pedite this Miss Helen Bullard distributed a questio nn aire regarding the function and program content of the Co1nmission to each member. This questionnaire is to be returned t o her for analysis and consolidation. Mr. Kaler app ointed the followin g te1nporary ad -hoc committees: Program Committe e (To make recommendations to the Executive Committee meeting in January �Corn.11.1.unity Relations Com1nis sion Minutes D ecembe r 14 , 1966 P age F o ur and th e reafte r to th e full Commission) M iss H elen B ull a rd, Chairman Mrs . S a r a Bak e r Dr. C lev c l., nd De nna r d Mr. Ro b, · rL o bbs Rev. Jos eph L. Griggs Mr. Lucie n Oliv e r Committee to Investigate P o ss ibility of OEO Grant ( and grants from Fo undat i ons ) (To make recommendations to the Executive Committe e mee ting in January and thereafter to the f ull Commission ) Mr . Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Al K u ettne r, Chairman T. M. Ale xand e r , Sr . Hamilton Dougl as, Jr. C. G. E zzard James 0. Moor e Committee to n'lake R e comme ndations on the Establishment of Standin g Committees (T o make -recommendations to the E xe cutive Committee meeting in February a nd thereafter to the f ull Commission) Rabbi J a cob Rothschil d, Chairman Mr. A. L. Feldman Mr. Jo seph Ha a s Archbishop Paul J . H a llinan · Mrs. Mary Ste p he ns There being no further business the m ee tin g was adjourned at 4 :05 p. m. R e sp e c t fully submitte d, (M i ss) Faye Ya rb r ough A c ting Se c retary �