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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission On Disability - Minutes - 07/21/1997a COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES July 21,1997 2:00 pm Council Liaison: Michael Byrne Staff Liaison: Nancy Stirling Chairperson: Kathy Lassen Phone: (H) 204-0614 (W) 491-5930 Members Present: Members Absent: Kathy Lassen Amy Rosenberg Nancy Baker Ray Sanderson Laura Burnett Initha Stuckey None (presently have two vacancies) City Staff Present: Nancy Stirling, COD Liaison Blair Leist, Administrative Services Sharon Getz, Building & Zoning Guests: Jean Batchelder, Access by Design Shirley Reichenbach Angela Byrne Chairperson Kathy Lassen called the meeting to order at 2:10 pm. Mark Kramer Stacey Abate Mark Cummings (phone) I. Approval of Minutes Because there were not enough members present at last month's meeting, both the May and June meeting minutes needed to be reviewed and approved at this meeting. There were no changes named for the May minutes. Ray Sanderson moved to accept the May meeting minutes; Mark Kramer seconded. There were no changes named for the June meeting minutes. Mark Kramer moved to accept the minutes as they were; Ray Sanderson seconded. The votes for both meeting minutes was unanimous. Commission on Disability Meeting Minutes July 21, 1997 Page 1 II. Introduction of New Members Earlier this month, City Council appointed three new members to the Commission: Laura Burnett, Stacey Abate, and Nancy Baker. Laura Burnett is presently a social worker at the Fort Collins Senior Center. She is also involved with the Brain Injury support group and is available as a resource in that area. Stacey Abate is currently employed by CSU as a researcher. She has experience in teaching and interpreting for individuals with hearing impairments. Nancy Baker's occupation is as in investment broker. She is a volunteer worker involved with various groups and organization in Fort Collins. Nancy presently serves as the Director of the Colorado Easter Seal Society and is a member of the National Easter Seal Society. Note: There are currently two vacancies on this Commission. Angela Byrne is waiting for the opportunity to be interviewed in order to renew her Commission appointment. Interviews should be conducted within the next couple of weeks and new members appointment by mid - August. III. Presentation: Nancy Snow of the Colorado Civil Rights Division Ms. Snow was invited to speak to the Commission on the topic of accessible housing. She reviewed the Fair Housing Act and its' criteria: • applies to structures with four (4) or more units, single -storied • structures with elevators: all ground units must be made accessible • structures without elevators: all units in structure are to be accessible • accessible entrances on accessible routes • accessible public or common use areas • useable doors (34" to 36" in width) • 36" route throughout the unit • switches/controls between 15" to 45" from floor • bathroom walls must be reinforced • useable kitchens and bathrooms Ms. Snow also discussed briefly an `old state law' passed in 1975. This law states that one out of every seven units has to be made accessible. This does not apply to "single-family homes." To file a housing complaint, one can call the Civil Rights office in Greeley at (970) 356- 9221. IV. "BRIDGES: Joining People of ALL Abilities" Blair Leist gave an update on the activities of the "Bridges" committee. Blair, Kathy Lassen, Laurie Fonken-Joseph (City's Human Rights Officer), and Nancy Stirling have had several Commission on Disability page 2 Meeting Minutes July 21, 1997 w meetings to discuss ideas for disability awareness activities. They have also been discussing strategies for getting these ideas out to the community and enlisting support and `bodies' from major local businesses. Ideas for activities include speaker forums, interactive events such as disability simulations and sports activities (biking, wall climbing). At this point, this program is still in the "infant" and learning stage. Yet, it is anticipated that this program will expand and grow to become a recognized annual City [major] event. The City of Fort Collins organization is giving much support to diversity issues and training among employees. Educational opportunities are currently underway for diversity and disability awareness training for City management staff. October will again be declared "Disability Awareness Month". The Mayor's Awards, sponsored by the Commission on Disability, will be the capstone of the disability awareness activities. Nancy B. gave the suggestion of a program provided by the Colorado Easter Seals Society. The group, "Kids on the Block", put on a puppet show on the topic of disability awareness. The show is usually geared to children in upper Elementary and Junior High levels, but has also been shown to adults and businesses. Nancy S. gave this information to Blair Leist and both of them are excited for the suggestion and look forward to using this group in the Bridges program. V. New West Fest Nancy mailed out letters to local agencies and organizations requesting brochures and volunteer assistance to man the COD booth at the New West Fest. Kathy is in charge of coordinating the schedule and the volunteer sign-ups and has already received several responses. Ray is still working on getting the City to provide and designate handicapped parking spaces at the corner of Olive and Mathews Streets. Kathy is going to: confirm wheelchair rentals/borrowing from the Wheelchair House; with Ray, contact people who train assistance dogs (4-H?); contact family with bicycle/helmet display. Mark C. is going to arrange to have a friend take pictures of the booth and displays at the NewWest Fest. The pictures will be part of the COD orientation/presentation he is putting together. It was suggested to try an pull together photographs now on hand and make a display at the booth. Mark K. is going to contact Tom Brannigan for the brochure display and the wheelchair ramp. Mark is also going to take care of the COD banner to make it hang straight. Nancy S. has already made arrangements with A-Z Rental company for a canopy, tables and chairs to be delivered to the booth site. Commission on Disability Meeting Minutes July 21, 1997 Page 3 VI. Other Business: COD Historian Since Frank Blakely's resignation from the Commission, the Historian position has been vacant. The Commission decided to wait to fill this position when they do nominations for all the Executive positions in September. In the meantime, Nancy S. is the keeper of the Historian notebook and will accept any items that need to go into it. Note: Nominations for Executive positions (Chairperson, Vice -Chair, Member -at -Large, Historian) will be given in the August COD meeting. Voting of the positions will take place during the September meeting. Meeting Changes? Commission members discussed whether to change the meeting days from Mondays to another day of the week. It was unanimously decided to keep the meetings on Mondays. Dial -a -Ride Changes? Newspaper article from last week said that City Manager John Fischbach was to determine whether the City would take over full operation of Dial -a -Ride. As of this meeting, no decision has been hear. UBC Review Committee Building & Zoning invited the Commission on Disability to participate on a committee that will be reviewing local building codes. The Commission asked if a member would be available to participate on the committee; responsibilities include attending several meetings over the next few months. Ray Sanderson was volunteered and he accepted to attend as many meetings he could. Meeting adjourned at 4:20 pm. Commission on Disability Meeting Minutes July 21, 1997 Page 4