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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission On Disability - Minutes - 03/17/1997s 6 0 COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES March 17,1997 2:00 pm Council Liaison: Alan Apt Staff Liaison: Nancy Stirling Chairperson: Kathy Lassen Phone: (H) 204-0614 (W) 491-5930 Members Present: Members Absent: Mark Kramer Initha Stuckey Kathy Lassen Jacque Hyatt Ray Sanderson Amy Rosenberg Mark Cummings City Staff Present: Nancy Stirling, City Staff Liaison Debra Passareillo, Director, Facility Services Wendy Irving -Mills, Facility Services Dane Talmage, Facility Services Guests: None Shirley Reichenbach Angela Byrne Frank Blakely Meeting was called to order by Vice -Chairperson, Mark Kramer at 2:10 pm. February Meeting Minutes Mark asked the Commission members if there were any comments or changes for the February meeting minutes. There were none. Angela motioned to put the minutes to a vote. Ray seconded. Vote was unanimous to accept the minutes as written. II. Presentation: Facility Services: Results of City ADA Compliance Review Dane Talmage, a temporary employee of Facility Services, presented results of his review of City buildings and offices for compliance with the ADA. In 1992, City buildings were evaluated for compliance with the ADA guidelines. Several areas were targeted for improvement. Dane took the recommendations made in 1992 and revisited targeted areas (and all the City's facilities) to see if improvements were made, if the improvements truly "solved" the problem and/or met ADA guidelines. Dane discussed the procedure of priorizing needed modifications. He used slides to demonstrate some good examples of ADA compliance (ex. Parking space in the parking lot for Risk Management) and some not so good examples (ex. Signage for visually impaired - located above a doorway in the Lincoln Center). Dane says that in comparing the 1992 report with what he saw in his evaluation of facilities, the City has done a pretty good job in making some modifications in areas of accessibility and signage. Some areas that Dane felt were not being changed or modified quickly enough were in increasing access to non-public areas: lunch rooms, meeting rooms, office spaces, etc. Dane felt that by making these types of modifications, the City could then encourage more employment of person with disabilities. Next Step: Nancy asked Debra P. (the Director of Facility Services) what the next step would be since compiling this information from Dane. She said: • to update there current databases (of changes/modifications since 1992; recommendations) • the information will tell them where the City is at as far as ADA compliance • answer questions such as: "Did the corrections solve the problem?" • then to educate managers throughout the organization At the conclusion of the presentation, members of the Commission gave their appreciation to Dane for his hard work in reviewing and gathering information for the review. The fact that Dane himself is a wheelchair -user provided some real insights to obstacles other individuals with disabilities may encounter when visiting City building or offices. III. Announcements Nancy had several announcements and handouts for the Commission members; A. Commission member Craig Wallerstein resigned from the Commission, effective March 14. He has accepted a new employment position in Chicago as a "Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor." B. Term expirations: Shirley is the only member who's term ends this July. With the vacancy left by Craig, this will make two (2) positions available to be filled. Angela has the option of renewing her membership on the Commission - and she has completed an application form to renew. Ray's membership does not expire until July 1, 1998 - so he will be with us until next year. Amy and Jacque are eligible to renew their membership. Amy says she has completed an application form. Jacque has not yet decided whether she will or not. C. Nancy handed out to the members copies of a "COD Follow-up" document. This is an attempt to follow-up on items that required further action by individual COD members. Hopefully this method will help the Commission to put to close issues and items that are discussed at meetings. D. Nancy also handed out copies of flyers for CSU's disability awareness days, going on this week. IV. Other Business A. New West Fest: Only a couple of the committee members were able to meet together. It was discussed to leave things as they are for now. Nancy should be getting the registration information in April sometime. Committee members are to collect information from various Commission members on what steps/responsibilities need to be included in a document that would outline procedures/steps for New West Fest. B. Post Office Issue: Shirley has not yet contacted the Post Master (of the New Main Post Office) to arranged a meeting to discuss the door situation. Nancy received a call from the Mayor's office — the Mayor would like to be included in any discussions with the Post Master. C. Building Compliance with ADA: Shirley has discussed a particular housing development with Nancy Snow, of the Colorado Civil Rights Division. Shirley feels the housing development is not taking steps to be ADA compliant — and that the City's Building & Zoning office is not assuring compliance. Would like to see Council adopt specific HUD requirements in their City Code. Shirley would like to invite Nancy Snow to attend a COD meeting, having Council members and Building personnel in attendance, to discuss housing accessibility requirements. Shirley is to put down in writing the situation, what can/could be done (i.e., getting Council to approve and accept specific building guidelines that would be part of the City Code and can then be enforced.) and get them to Nancy. Meeting adjourned at 4:15 pm.