Sister Harriet Patton, President (MPNIA)
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The OPINIONS of Ms. Patton do not necessarily reflect the views of RiverCity Publications, its staff or its Board of Directors.
After many weeks attending Kirkwood City Council Meetings and after asking Mayor McDonnell and Council the same questions meeting after meeting, members of the Meacham Park/Kirkwood Coalition for Equality Rev. Ben Martin and Bob "Brother Bob" Williams finally were told what procedures to follow to get answers to their questions. They were told to put their questions into a letter and send that to the city. What follows is the letter Rev. Ben Martin and Charles Runnels of the Meacham Park/Kirkwood Coalition for Equality sent to the city:
Mr. Michael G. Brown, Chief Administrative Officer
City of Kirkwood
Kirkwood City Hall
139 South Kirkwood Road
Kirkwood, MO 63122
Dear Mr. Brown,
At the suggestion of Council Member Paul Ward, we are writing to you to request a written progress report on the commitments made by Mediation Team and the Kirkwood city Council when the Mediation Agreement was endorsed by the City Council. When I addressed these questions to the City Council during the Public Comment period at the May 6, 2010, Mr. Ward suggested you would supply the progress reports to the citizens and media of Kirkwood in response to a written report. The commitments on which we seek to obtain a written response are as follows:
(a) The creation of a Human Rights Commission Member Application with an estimated completion date of April 1, 2010;
(b) The creation of Human Rights Commission Member Profile with an estimated completion date of April 1, 2010;
(c) Recruitment of Minority Youth in the Police Explorer Program with a greater emphasis on the program to be initiated in January 2010;
(d) Emphasize the current "Ride Along" Program available to youth as well as adults to be initiated January 2010;
(e) Make pamphlets available to instruct citizens how to file a complaint against the police with an estimated completion date of April 1, 2010;
(f) Increasing the weight of a category on Department evaluations regarding discriminatory behavior in January, 2010;
(g) Sign off by every employee of the Kirkwood Police Department regarding accepted practices to be used in relationships with community citizens; in January 2010;
(h) Establish a satellite police office in Meacham Park neighborhood by March 31, 2010;
(i) Members of the City and Community Team commit to a process to envision a new sense of identity, growth and involvement for the residents of Meacham Park neighborhood and to engage in a series of focus groups to identify the current cultural composition of Meacham Park, what issues are important to the community and what issues must be addressed to effect change for the future;
(j) Members of the City and Community Team commit to engage in this effort outside and beyond this mediation process.
(k) The parties of the Mediation Agreement agree to work in earnest and convene themselves if necessary, in order to uphold the tenets of the Agreement.
At a meeting of its Steering committee on May 7, 2010, the Meacham Park/Kirkwood Coalition for Equality voted to include two additional items to this letter as follows:
(a) Request that at each meeting of the City Council that an agenda item be added as a regular order of business to provide the citizens of Kirkwood and the media a written progress report on the commitments made by the city Council and Mediation Agreement Team beginning immediately and extending for a period of three years till January 30, 2010;
(b) Request that City Council inform the residents of Kirkwood if the Meacham Park neighborhood is still designated as a "Blighted area" as was done in the process to establish the Kirkwood Commons Tax Increment Financing Project in accordance with the Missouri Revised Statues 99.805.
The Meacham Park/Kirkwood Coalition for Equality desires to work with all persons of good will towards the goal of justice and fairness for all and the building of a healthy and united community. We welcome a meeting with parties of the Agreement at your earliest convenience and request your suggestions for dates and times.
BEN MARTIN, Steering Committee
CHARLES RUNNELS, Chairman
cc: Mayor Arthur J. McDonnell, Paul Ward, Reverend David Bennett
martinben@charter.net or (314) 398-5478.
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