Meriden human-rights board meets without quorum, holds storytelling night; email raises conflict-of-interest concern

The Meriden Human Rights, Equity and Social Justice Advisory Board met Jan. 12 but did not have a quorum, so members deferred all formal votes and postponed approval of previous minutes until the March 9 meeting. The evening’s agenda shifted to a storytelling program—“Meriden Show and Tell”—in which five community members shared reflections on the city’s history, transit and civic life.

The chair, who opened the meeting and noted it was recorded for later viewing, entered an emailed public comment from Colleen Cyr into the record. Cyr asked the board to examine what she described as a potential conflict of interest arising from Emily Holland serving as both the city attorney and the human-rights advocate. The email requested that the board look into the situation and cited models from other municipalities; the chair said members would review the correspondence.

Former board member Jeffrey Friiser opened the storytelling portion and described living in Meriden for more than three decades, praising the city’s racial and ethnic diversity. He told personal stories about his immigrant grandmother and cited the recent case of a Maloney High School student, Kevin, who was detained by ICE for more than six months. “Now let’s give Kevin a path to citizenship as quickly as possible,” Friiser said, urging community support irrespective of immigration status.

Friiser also paid tribute to the late Michael Rohde, recalling Rohde’s leadership on projects such as downtown flood control, the Meriden Green, the transit center and other civic improvements, and saying Rohde’s greatest legacy was the relationships he built across the city.

Jamie Fisher followed with a presentation built around a 1918 photo of Meriden and a broader argument for walkable streets and multimodal transportation. Fisher traced Meriden’s historic trolley lines and said walkability can strengthen community ties and local economies. She argued that wider streets tend to increase vehicle speeds and crash severity and cited a study, as she described it, that a 5–10 mph reduction in speed can raise adjacent property values by up to 20 percent. Fisher suggested creative pilots—such as limited trolley service on select days, citing Missoula, Mont., as an example—could help revitalize downtown; she said she hoped Meriden might again have trolley service in the 2030s.

Administratively, the chair announced that Dan Burnett and Analika Lopez were leaving the board (Burnett due to no longer serving on city council; Lopez resigned) and said thank-you cards would be sent. The chair also said they and a co-secretary, Casey Russo, would help lead the board until a full membership could be restored and a new chair appointed.

With no substantive business that required action and no quorum, the chair asked for a motion to adjourn. A motion was moved and seconded by members present; the chair declared the meeting adjourned. The board did not take any formal votes during the session.

The board’s next meeting date was announced as March 9 for approval of deferred minutes and to address appointments and other items that require a quorum.