Bismarck human relations committee delays officer election, sets community forum and adds youth humanitarian award

The Bismarck Human Relations Committee voted at its recent meeting to postpone the election of officers until April and approved steps to standing up subcommittees to plan quarterly “community conversation” events, with the next forum focused on people who are unhoused.

The move to delay elections gives new members two meetings to become familiar with the committee’s work, Tia, committee chair, said during the meeting. Committee members voted verbally to wait until April; the motion carried.

The committee’s community conversation series is a quarterly public forum hosted at the Bismarck Public Library that pairs panels of subject experts and people with lived experience. Committee members approved delegating planning to a subcommittee, which will identify panelists, draft invitation letters and a press release, and coordinate logistics with Whitney, the committee’s administrative staff contact. Committee members flagged transit access and scheduling conflicts (youth athletics and other large community events) as planning constraints.

Budget guidance was discussed to standardize event support: committee members said they have generally set a cap of $250 for giveaways or sponsor contributions when the committee participates in outside events. The committee also discussed paying stipends or honoraria for panelists but did not set a dollar amount; staff will prepare budget worksheets and a current-year budget summary for members to review at a future meeting.

On awards, the committee voted to add a Youth Humanitarian of the Year category for nominees under 18. Katie Houle, a social worker with the Health and Human Services behavioral health division, moved to add the award; the motion was seconded and approved. The committee agreed to open nominations in March, meet in mid-April to select winners and aim to present the award at a city commission meeting in May; plaque ordering was estimated to take a couple of weeks.

Members also discussed volunteer recruitment and engagement, including building a volunteer outreach list that records volunteers’ interests (driving, staffing tables, language skills) so the committee can match volunteers to events and reduce reliance on the same members for every activity. Olivia, who works in HR at Dakota Eye and is participating as a volunteer, encouraged broader outreach and clearer volunteer onboarding.

Committee members raised the legislature and state bills as an item of ongoing attention. A member warned of a bill that, if enacted, could limit the enforceability of municipal hate-crime ordinances; members asked staff to track legislation and bring particularly impactful bills to the committee for discussion so the group can advise the city commission when appropriate.

The meeting also covered routine items: approval of the previous month’s minutes (motion carried), plans to publish an events calendar for the year, and continuing work on the committee’s annual report to present to the city commission in the spring.

“We’re an advisory committee to the city,” Tia said; the group said it will continue to summarize forum outcomes and carry recommendations to commissioners. The committee scheduled a first subcommittee meeting to begin panelist outreach and asked members and community contacts to forward suggested organizations and individuals to Whitney for compilation.