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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission On Disability - Minutes - 10/11/1982MINUTES COMMISSION ON DISABILITY OCTOBER 11, 1982 The regular meeting of the Commission on Disability was called to order by Chairperson Bobbie Guye at 6:55 p.m. on Monday, October 11, 1982 in the new Municipal Building at 300 West LaPorte Avenue in Fort Collins, Colorado. ROLL CALL Eldon Decker called roll and all members of the Commission were present. They include: Eldon Decker, Bobbie Guye, Charlotte Kanode, Dorothy Lasley, Nancy Jackson, Mike Meyers, Pat Crist, Rose Kreston, Betty Shuey, Guests: Jim Nance and Bill Way. City Liaison: Diana Royval GUEST SPEAKER Bobbie Guye introduced Jim Nance, who is running for County Commissioner in District #1, as an Independant candidate. He is running on the platform to "serve the people, not himself." He believes in an "open door" communica- tion policy with the people he represents. Mr. Nance is not only a disabled veteran, but is also employed by the Larimer County Veterans Administration Office, as a veterans service officer. He is sensitive to the needs of the handicapped and has promised his support of county funding for the Architectural Barrier Removal Funds program. Both Mr. & Mrs. Nance have offered to provide transportation for the handicapped on Election Day, as well as furnish a notary public for absentee voters. Mr. Nance concluded his brief campaign speech by answering questions from the group. MINUTES Pat made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from last month and accept them as written. The motion was seconded and carried. LIAISON REPORTS Bobbie reported she attended the Mountain Bell Consumer Panel Meeting on September 15, 1982. Discussion centered on the AT&T merge and what effects it will have on services. It appears discounts for TTY users and the 911 emergency number will remain intact. It is anticipated a system similar to the one used for identitying those receiving directory assistance at no charge can be implemented for telephone users, who are volunteers or handicapped, in order to keep their telephone bills at a minimum rate. Presently, Mountain Bell's services and fees are still in the process of re-accessment. Bobbie will continue to attend the monthly panel meetings and report any additional changes pertinent to the Commission. -1- COD OCTOBER MEETING MINUTES - Page 2 LIAISON REPORTS (Con't) Dorothy attended the Community Action Board Meeting last month. She requested the Board consider allocating $40,000 of their Community Development money to the Architectural Barrier Removal Fund, since handicapped citizens in need of modifications living outside the City limits of Fort Collins, aren't eligible for this assistance. It is unlikely the requested amount will be considered, since the Loveland sewer project is a top priority. However, Dorothy is hopeful some funding will be forthcoming after the completion of the sewer project. Diana mentioned the Citizen's Steering Committee needs a representative from the Commission on Disability. Bobbie agreed to attend the next meeting on Thursday, October 14, 1982. This meeting is responsible for the dispurs- ment of Community Block Grant monies. It seems imperative to keep the Committee abreast of the needs of the handicapped community with representa- tion from our Commission. With regards to the Commission on Disability being told we must generate our own operating funds. Dorothy contacted Dennis Liebert, Chairperson to the Human Relations Commission. He stated their operating expenses were all paid through the City of Fort Collins. Bobbie stated she discussed the matter with City Manager, John Arnold. His reaction was that the City has money to cover general expenses from all City Commissions. He was to look into the matter further and report back to Bobbie. Since Bobbie hasn't heard from him yet, she'll remind him in writing. The City has posted an ad in the Coloradoan in an effort to fill the 2 vacant positions on the Commission on Disability. There has been one inquiry so far, made to Diana. RESOURCE DIRECTORY Mike reported that although he arranged to get the printing of the Resource Directory donated for free, paper, ink, typesetting and commercial work will need to be paid for by the Commission. The cost of these items will run somewhere between $200 and $300 for 5,000 copies. It will take approximately a month to complete the directory once the "go ahead" is given. Due to the uncertainty of the financial situation of this Commission, further work on publishing the Resource Directory will be temporarily halted until further notice. MAYOR'S AWARD BREAKFAST Mike represented the Commission with a bill totaling $122.36, for the 250 employment brochures and awards. Itemized,it includes $33.00 for typesetting, $50.00 for photography, $29.36 for printing and $10.00 for lettering on the awards. The bill will be presented to the Larimer County Association of the Blind & Physically Handicapped by Bobbie to be paid out of the IYPD reserve of $289.00. All members agreed the brochures turned out very well. The unused brochures will be displayed at the Handicapped Information Office. The Mayor's Award Breakfast was successful in spite of Mayor Cassell being absent from the event. Awards were represented to: Jill Volt Bolles, Gerry Benson, Ph.D., Manager of Wags Restaurant, Nona Thayer for Larimer County, the Jim Hoffman family, and Tom Gleason of First Interstate Bank. -2- i 0 COD OCTOBER MEETING MINUTES - Page 3 MAYOR'S AWARD BREAKFAST (Con't) The four youngsters, who submitted posters for the Poster Contest were also recognized and given awards. They include Lisa Meyers, Danny Soldner, Becky Clark amd Sheldon Love. Mike will see that all award recipients are mentioned in the Applause section of the Coloradoan. The persons who participated in the panel discussion were Don Cacciatore representing the deaf population, Patty Jacobsen representing the blind population, John Anderson representing the mentally handicapped, Jeff Tonkin representing the physically handicapped and Ed Gibbs from the Office on Civil Rights discussing protection against discrimination of the handicapped. It was decided too few questions were asked by the audience, so next year a moderator will be used with the intentions of generating more questions. The persons who roll -played a disability and their partners included: John Arnold paired with Bobbie Guye as a paraplegic; Nona Thayer paired with Sharon Hinde as a paraplegic; Ellen Bartlett paired with Beth Campbell using crutches; George Brelig paired with Sharol Enockson as a paraplegic; James Dean paired with Lori Shay as visually impaired and Dr. Banning paired with Charlotte Kanode as visually impaired. Bobbie will send thank you letters to all participants in the Handicapped Awareness Day. Although there wasn't television coverage this year, two articles appeared in the Coloradoan and the wrap-up session held in the City Council Chambers was video taped and will appear on cable T.V. tomorrow. During the wrap-up session the role players agreed their sensitivity had been greatly increased through this experience. All felt they needed to develop better organization skills in order to perform their job more effectively with a disability. Each individual experienced accessibility problems with ramps, curbs, elevator doors and bathrooms. Suggestions made for improving the breakfast next year included having a hostess to greet the guests and provide assistance to those with disabilities, especially the visually impaired and blind, who have difficulty pouring coffee and getting seated; all adaptive equipment will be prepared beforehand and tested for effectiveness; have name tags for everyone; and either pair award recipients with Commission members or have the recipients sit at a special table honoring them. Bobbie mentioned Gail Woods suggested the Commission recognize a disabled mother as another catagory at the awards breakfast. 504 CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE Nancy reported the 504 Campaign Committee continues to meet on a regular basis approximately every two weeks. Rose reported the hearings held in Washington D.C. concerning PL 94-142 was quite vocal and there were so many in attendance who wished to publically comment that the group was divided in half allowing for 2 sessions held simultaneously. Rose attended the PL 94-142 Public hearing held in Denver, September 20-21, 1982. Although it wasn't well represented by people from the dis- abled community, there were many parents of handicapped children who ex- pressed their concerns regarding the proposed changes. On September 26, 1982, the Disabled American Veteran hosted a bar-b-que at the American Legion Hall in LaPorte, to which the public and candidate running for Public Office were invited. Representing the 504 Campaign Committee, Bobbie attended and highlighted the candidate's speeches. -3- COD OCTOBER MEETING MINUTES - Page 4 504 CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (Con't) Congressman Hank Brown was unresponsive to questions raised concerning Section 504. His reaction was in direct opposition to his letter mailed to all persons signing the 504 petitions opposing any changes in Section 504. His letter indicated he had forwarded the signed petitions to the Department of Justice, giving the impression he was supporting the issue himself. Dorothy mentioned the Rocky Mountain News carried a story that Secretary of Education, Mr. Bill, withdrew the proposed changes concerning PL 94-142. This is a real victory for all who mailed letters opposing the changes. There is no recent information how this action affects the remaining public comment period. Rose has been contacted by a group from Kansas representing the handicapped. She will maintain contact with them in order to share ideas, discuss concerns and work together effectively in a networking system. This will be especially useful during the public comment period for Section 504. The next activity scheduled for the 504 Campaign Comittee is to attend an informal brown bag lunch at CSU on October 12, 1982 to discuss issues affecting the handicapped with Bud Bishopp, the Democratic Candidate for Congress. MINUTES AND NEWSLETTER According to Diana, the monthly Commission minutes can be printed and mailed through her office. However, future issues of the Newsletter cannot be reproduced or mailed until clarification from City Council is received regarding our finances. RESTAURANT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDE The Restaurant Accessibility Guide has been published and mailed by the Office of Resources for Disabled Students under the direction of Rose. Local Social Services Agencies were mailed copies. Rose will investigate obtaining additional copies for Commission members. The Handicapped Information Office was issued one and will keep it on file as a resource. NYDP AWARDS APPLICATION Dorothy gave a brief explanation what the awards application form en- tailed. In order to relieve the burden of completing the form by one individ- ual, it was agreed the Commission would work on it as a group at the next Commission meeting. Copies of the application will be mailed with the minutes so members will be able to prepare comments beforehand. MISCELLANEOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS Recently KCOL has been airing a PBS announcement made by Rose on employment of the handicapped. It is very well done according to those who have heard it. Dorothy announces the Colorado Collilition of Citizens with Disabilities is having a conference on Employment on October 20, 1982. Dorothy and Bobbie, as well as other disabled people plan to attend. Care -A -Van will provide transportation at the County's expense. -4- COD OCTOBER MEETING MINUTES - Page 5 MISCELLANEOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS (Con't) Bobbie has spoken with a woman from the Humane Society and through her support, wi}1 be meeting with June Baker of Moondrift Farms next Friday to discuss the possibility of year round horseback riding for the handicapped. Diana gave Bobbie the guestbook from the Mayor's Awards Breakfast and a rubber return address stamp used for the Newsletter mailings. Since there was no further announcements, Charlotte made a motion to adjourn. It was unanimously seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Eldon Decker, Secretary Bobbie Guye, Chairperson -5-