Council announces human relations panel nominees

Residents to serve staggered 3-year terms on new board

LANSDALE >> Five potential members of Lansdale’s new Human Relations Commission have now been named, and could be in place later this month.

Councilman Bill Henning announced Wednesday night that residents Aurelia Henry, Anthony Johnson, Juliane Ramic, Jessica Rice and Hanna Vargo have been nominated to serve on the new board.

“The appointments committee would like to give a big ‘thank you’ to all the residents that submitted their interest in the human relations commission,” said Henning.

“We had several good, qualified applicants, which did make the selection a little challenging, but that’s a good problem to have. Fortunately, we were able to finally narrow it down,” he said.

The human relations commission was discussed and debated for much of the past summer, as council members suggested that the all-volunteer commission be set up to field complaints and try to mediate disputes over claims of discrimination against residents or visitors to town.

The new ordinance adds gender identity and LGBTQ status to the list of protected classes able to submit alleged incidents of discrimination to the commission, and any decision from the commission could then be appealed into the court system.

A commission was first proposed in May, and residents shared feedback and terms were drafted over the subsequent two months. Council approved the ordinance establishing the new board in August, then put out a call for those willing to serve.

Henning, who is chairman of council’s appointments committee, announced during the Dec. 5 council meeting the five names that body recommended for approval, and said the others who put in for positions but were not chosen had already been notified.

“I did speak with all of those who were nominated, and I did contact all of those who were not recommended,” he said.

Announcing the names on Dec. 5 allows time for council members to contact each candidate and ask questions or learn more about them, Henning said, and their biographies would be shared with all nine council members ahead of planned votes on each appointment during council’s Dec. 19 meeting.

Terms on the commission will last three years, but the initial appointments will be a mix of one, two and three years to space out any potential turnover. Henning said he and the nominees had yet to determine which members would be asked to serve which length of terms.

“They’re going to be staggered. Who’s going to be staggered to what, we don’t know yet. They’re three year terms, so somebody unfortunately is going to be one year, but we don’t know which one that is yet,” Henning said.

The appointments committee is also still accepting applications from any residents interested in filling a vacant position on the borough’s planning commission, according to Henning, and anyone interested is asked to submit their letter of interest and resume as soon as possible to borough recording secretary Stacie Maile at SMaile@ lansdale.org or addressed to the Appointments Committee, 1 Vine St. Lansdale, PA 19446.

Borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Dec. 19 at the borough municipal building, 1 vine St.