City Hall·Bangor Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion & Human Rights
Bangor equity committee plans quarterly council updates, language access pilot
The Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights reviewed the recent passage of the sidewalk ordinance and discussed establishing quarterly updates to the City Council to improve communication. The committee also received a status report on the language access plan, which includes a pilot program with the police department for language line services and ASL training. Additionally, members discussed enhancing the committee's website and planning participation in upcoming community events like Bangor Pride.
Key points
- The committee agreed to schedule quarterly "GovOp" workshops with the City Council, tentatively starting in July, to provide regular updates on their work and gather feedback.
- Assistant City Manager Courtney O'Donnell reported that the police department will pilot a language line service and begin basic ASL training for officers to better serve non-English speakers and the Deaf community.
- Councilor Michael Beck provided an update on upcoming City Council actions, including the appointment of nine members to the new Advisory Committee on Homelessness and the adoption of a Vision Zero resolution aiming to eliminate traffic deaths by 2036.
- The committee discussed strategies to improve their website, including adding a feedback form, a calendar of heritage months, and monthly meeting recaps to increase public engagement.
- Members expressed interest in volunteering for a table at the upcoming Bangor Pride event and potentially participating in the parade to promote the committee's mission.
Next steps
- Katie Brydon to follow up with Council Chair Susan Hawes to confirm dates for the quarterly council workshops.
- Courtney O'Donnell to present a draft language access plan to the committee at the June 23 meeting.
- Committee members to research heritage months and website design ideas to present at the next meeting.
- Katie Brydon to contact the organizer of the Recovery Palooza event regarding a potential committee table.
- Courtney O'Donnell to investigate the status of the traffic study on Davis Road regarding speed bump requests.
Where this came from
City of Bangor YouTube
The summary and transcript were made by software from the public meeting video, with names checked against the official roster, then reviewed before publishing.
Watch the meeting ↗The summary and transcript were made by software from the public meeting video, with names checked against the official roster, then reviewed before publishing.