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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission On Disability - Minutes - 12/10/1984CITY OF FORT COLLINS COMMISSION ON DISABILITY M I N U T E S COMMISSION ON DISABILITY Monday, December 10, 1984, 6:30 p.m. The regular meeting of the Commission on Disability was called to order by Vice -Chairperson Charlotte Kanode at 6:41 p.m. on Monday, December 10, 1984 in the CIC Room of City Hall, 300 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. Members Present : Charlotte Kanode, Nancy Jackson, Judy Siefke, Rosalie Smith, Eldon Decker Members Absent : Bobbie Guye, Betty Shuey, Penne Powers Thomas, Tim Kientz, Betty Pidcock, Bill Bertschy City Staff : Diana Royval Guest : Kelly Ohlson, City Councilmember and Liaison to the C.O.D. The reading of the November 14, 1984 minutes was dispensed with and the minutes were approved as written following discussion that no formal action was taken regarding the Loretto Bishop appeal because there had been no quorum present at last month's meeting. LIAISON-& SUB -COMMITTEE REPORTS The Senior Board will meet again on Wednesday, December 12, 1984 and Nancy Jackson will attend as a representative from the Commission on Disability. Section 504 Charlotte Kanode, Betty Shuey, Nancy Jackson and Bobbie Guye met with Dick Valdez of the City Engineering Department and Rob Roblin of Building Inspec- tion on November 16, 1984 to tour some of the new ramps and curb cuts being installed in the downtown area. The type of finish on the ramps and the structure of the ramps and curb cuts were reviewed. Nancy reported that the downtown area is experimenting with radial curb cuts which have rounded corners and one cut in the center of the corner rather than a cut at each COMMISSION ON DISABILITY T P.O. Box 580 . Fort Collins, Colorado 80522 . (303) 221-6758 Commission on Disability Minutes - December 10, 1984 Page 2 angle of the curb. A pedestrian is supposedly more easily seen from cars and is less likely to be hit. Charlotte stated that Haze (her seeing -eye dog) had surprised her and followed the line of the ramp even though it wasn't in line with the sidewalk. The fact that the radial cut distorts the dimen- sion of the sidewalk was reason enough for Nancy to express to Mr. Roblin and Mr. Valdez that curb cuts that line up with the sidewalk are preferable for visually impaired as well as some mobility impaired persons. Nancy reported that on December 4, 1984, Rose Kreston also met with Mr. Roblin and Mr. Valdez to give her input and voice her concerns on the ramp projects. She mentioned a specific ramp on Laurel and College which has a drainage grate with bars parallel to the wheels on a wheelchair. Another example of an unsatisfactory ramp is the new ramp at the Senior Center which has an exposed aggregate surface with polished stone, making the ramp extremely slippery whether wet or dry. Nancy asked what would be done with the information the City is receiving from us and was told it would be used in the future and that existing condi- ditions would not be corrected unless there was money left over. Rose suggested that Mr. Valdez and Mr. Roblin contact CSU for information on its ramp project. At this point, Kelly Ohlson asked if all the new ramps were done incorrectly by the City. Charlotte and Nancy explained that different finishes were the result of several factors (the workmen themselves, the interpretation of a "wood -float" finish, the length of time the concrete had set, etc.). Mr. Ohlson then asked who he could contact within the City to get the job done right and use the C.O.D.'s input. He was informed that Mike Herzig, Assistant City Engineer/Projects is the individual the C.O.D. had initially been working with and that he would probably have the most information. Nancy Jackson reported that K-Mart had indicated receipt of her letter re- garding the installation of automatic doors at the local store. The matter has been referred to the Vice -President of Western State stores for considera- tion. No response has as yet been received from the Foothills Fashion Mall. The owner of Park Plaza has not responded regarding the handicapped ramp in the parking lot. Accessible Housing Committee On December 6, 1984, Lucia Liley and a group of developers met with Nancy Jackson, Rose Kreston, Vic Beebe, Felix Lee from Building Inspection and Curt Smith, Director of Community Development, to discuss HB 1477 and accessible housing in Fort Collins. Ms. Liley pointed out that those developers present were actively involved with the Building Code review and interested in accessible housing. The builders asked how they could ensure that the handicapped units would be occupied and Nancy stated that the HID ( would maintain a list of occupied and vacant accessible units. Discussion followed on adaptable features to make a unit accessible (i.e. garden Commission on Disabpty • Minutes - December 10, 1984 Page 3 level ramp with landscaping rather than stairs) and who would be responsible for funding such modifications. Rose and Vic both stated that two priorities are accessible ingress/egress and bathrooms in any living unit. Rose then posed the question: how much does an accessible unit cost to build versus a non -accessible unit?", but didn't receive a definite answer. Ms. Liley will be back in touch with Vic Beebe, Chairperson of the Committee, to sche- dule more meetings in the future. Building Plans Review Diana Royval, Nancy Jackson and Rose Kreston met on December 6th to review three sets of plans submitted by Building Inspection which included a travel agency remodel (no problem), a six-plex (totally unaccessible) and a new high-tech facility which had one handicapped bathroom in the whole structure, located on the first floor in the employee area. While there was an elevator, the stair railings and open stair structure did not meet GSA or ANSI codes. At this point, Kelly Ohlson interjected with several comments aimed at getting the COD to be assertive and demand answers from the City Staff, and not to accept "no" for an answer or, worse yet, no response at all. He has been on City Council for two years and has yet to receive a call from the C.O.D. and assumes everything is fine. The C.O.D. is an advisor to Council and should not be intimidated by Staff. Examples cited included the ramp pro- Cjects, lack of input on our plan reviews, and so on. He felt it was ridiculous for new construction not be accessible or for new ramps to be done incorrectly. He will follow-up on these issues and encouraged C.O.D. to take on a more active role and communicate more with Council. Members thanked him for his support and announced they will certainly feel freer in the future to contact him or any Councilmember when problems are unresolved. CITIZEN'S TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD Charlotte discussed her frustration with this board regarding the bus stop across from DMA which always has cars parked in front of it and the lack of bus shelters across from the hospital. She has received on explanatory letter from Ken Sylvester/Bob Lee which was unsatisfactory. She will follow-up with a letter and report back at the January meeting. ARCHITECTURAL BARRIER REMOVAL APPLICATIONS The members present unanimously voted to uphold the denial of the application from Loretto Bishop. Bobbie Guye had submitted an absentee vote to Diana earlier in the day as she was unable to attend the meeting. Diana will send a letter to Loretto Bishop and her attorney tommorrow so informing them of the decision. Commission on Disability Minutes - December 10, 1984 Page 4 The application from G. Santistevan was approved for assistance pending a needs assessment by the CDBG's Office Project Manager. VIDEO TAPE REVIEW As a final Agenda item, the members watched the video tape of the Wrap -Up Session of October's Mayor's Awards Breakfast and reflected upon the day's events. Discussion followed for improvements for next year's Breakfast. MISCELLANEOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS Eldon Decker suggested that our Agenda format be revised to highlight problem areas requiring Council's attention. It was suggested that this be discussed at next month's meeting when more members are present. Diana Royval suggested that the Commission on Disability send a letter to Tom Frazier regarding the extremely slow process of acquiring the handi- capped signage for City Hall. It has been over a year since the Commission met with the architects to finalize details of the signs. It was also noted that none of the new non-smoking signs are designed for handicapped accessi- bility. She will contact Chairperson Bobbie Guye to write the letter. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, A -(A Diana Royval` Staff Liaison HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL! SEE YOU IN 1985