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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission On Disability - Minutes - 12/10/1990ON DISABILITY Minutes December 10, 1990 - 1:00 P.M. - C.I.C. Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Nancy Jackson Gregory Funk Mike Wilson Lori Gerhicke Heather Heafer Angela Byrne Jeanne Morris MEMBERS ABSENT: Roy Beauchamp (Excused) Shirley Reichenbach (Excused) Mark Fetter (Excused) Arne Anderson (Excused) STAFF PRESENT: Felix Lee Jennifer Nuckols The minutes of the November 5th meeting were unanimously approved with no changes. OLD BUSINESS Handicapped accessible units: units definition memo to Mayor Kirkpatrick and the Building Review Boards reaction regarding the current status of housing for those in need of handicapped accessible units. Nancy asked Felix if he had anything concerning this from the BRB and a proposal on this for a city ordinance. Felix stated that the reaction from the BRB was that they were somewhat "bewildered" about what they were to do about the variance request. They asked Felix if he could formulate a letter to council to get better direction on what their parameters are. He stated that he has since worked with the City Manager and City Attorneys office to find where staff should go with this in terms of it being an ordinance or resolution to council. Felix stated that he would like to seek assistance from COD in terms of setting up a task group to work on the issue with BRB and set up some criteria that could be worked on by staff to turn into an ordinance. Nancy stated that Shirley and Arne were interested in serving on the committee and asked if there were any other members who would be interested. Heather Heafer stated that she would as did Nancy. A memo was enclosed in the COD packets from COD to Mayor Kirkpatrick regarding the definition of "units". It was to be carried over to the next meeting as an agenda item. COD Minutes December 10, 1990 Page 2 Snow removal sub -committee - Jeanne talked to Arne and the slides have been put together with he exception of a few, but since Arne was unable to attend COD the slide presentation was tabled to the January 7 meeting. Jeanne stated that there have been no returned calls from the service clubs that were contacted regarding snow removal. A letter was to be drafted to mail out by Debra. Jeanne will contact her to pick up with that. NOTE: Debra will send Jeanne the letter for mailing. Shirley and Arne are going to be talking to the First Presbyterian Church on College Avenue about getting a snow removal presentation started there. It was discussed to get another COD member trained to do these presentations so that it doesn't just rest on Shirley and Arne. Nancy asked if there was anyone else who would be interested in doing the presentations to think about it and let her know. NOD Award - Nancy stated that she did not have a lot of information on the NOD award. Shirley is the designated representative as the liaison for the NOD and she was absent so Nancy made a motion to table discussion of the NOD award until the January 7 meeting. It was seconded by Jeanne Morris. Portable Access Ramp - Enclosed with the agenda was a press release submitted by Debra Kaestner on November 30, 1990 explaining the availability of a portable access ramp to be used by businesses and individuals who need temporary wheelchair accessibility. All questions concerning use of the ramp can be directed to Felix Lee. NEW BUSINESS COD 1991 calendar and plans review dates - The meetings are going to be moved to the 281 N. College Conference room starting in January. Enclosed with the agenda packet was a list of all the meeting dates. The January and November meetings will be one week earlier due to Holidays. Plan review meeting dates will be held the first Thursday following the first Tuesday of the month at 1:00. 1991 Work Plan - Enclosed with the agenda. Nancy requested that everyone review the material for later discussion. Architectural Barrier Removal Fund - Neighbor to Neighbor has been running this program to remove barriers to the handicapped. The enclosed letter has to do with a person who needed modifications to the unit they were living in. It was owned by the Housing Authority and Neighbor to Neighbor didn't feel that ABRF should, on a priority basis, go the Housing Authority. There are two other COD COD Minutes December 10, 1990 Page 3 correspondences that relate to this situation and Nancy stated that she would like to review them. Jeanne is heading up a workshop in March that the Special Education Advisory Committee with the school district has set up. It is a one night workshop to be held at the Marriott on March 28. It consists of mini -seminars for parents and professionals as well as an exhibit room that displays information on service available in the community for those handicapped as well as those not. Jeanne stated that she would like to see the COD represented by having someone man a booth with the handouts that are already in use such as the snow removal brochure and parking reminders and that they would present the slide show. Lori and Angie expressed interest in doing it. Nancy noted that Shirley will be a speaker there along with Russ Jones discussing the ADA. Mike Wilson stated that he would like the use of handicapped stickers for Transition Services at CSU so they can park in handicapped areas when transporting HC persons. Lori stated that they could probably use the same type of parking tags that SAINT uses when they are transporting people. Nancy suggested that Mike relay that information to Transition Services. OTHER BUSINESS Plan Review - November - 422 W. Oak Raymond & Associates: No handicapped ramp access. Greg red -lied that. Plan Review - December - Elizabeth and Shields, Campus West Texaco Service Station: No handicapped parking places at all. Lori stated that she thought the additional building was just a garage and that she did not mark anything on it. 4900 S. College Ave, State Farm Insurance: No problems with that. Prospect and College, Taco Bell: Tearing down existing building and building new one to the north, using the old area as parking. Greg did not find any problems. West Elizabeth, CB Potts: There was a question to that as to whether it was the addition they already completed several COD Minutes December 10, 1990 page 4 months or a new addition. NOTE: The project is to expand the parking lot only. South Ridge Greens, Residential multi- family: no problems with them. Rams Village Phase III: Handicapped ramps need to be moved from the head of the HC parking spaces. Greg red -lined them and made notes as to where the access ramps should be placed. There were no interior drawing of the units, but there were some shell structures with HC use noted on them. West Mulberry, Rogers Park: Building a barn, and other shelter structures. Greg found no problems with accessibility. Kensington and College Ave., Amoco Service Station: There is an area where there is to be a cross walk but there is not an access ramp at that point. Greg asked that they add a ramp there. Prospect and College Ave., Schrader oil Station: Greg found no problem with their plans for remodeling. Parking Guideline - Enclosed in the agenda packet was a handout on parking lot access. Lori stated that it came about when Sherry Albertson -Clark came in to discuss the problem with HC parking and why there was always a problem with it. Sherry suggested that they put down some clear guidelines to send to the engineers during the P.U.D process. Drake and Lemay - A memo was enclosed from Rita Davis to Debra Kaestner. It was discussed as to whether the repositioning of the cross walk was meant to mean re -painting the cross walk or re -doing the sidewalk. Nancy question Felix whether is would be possible to get a drawing of what they planned on doing with the sidewalk. Felix said he could ask Rita. TICKLER Greg stated that he questioned Craig Kitzman in Engineering concerning several areas getting access ramps, one of them being u COD Minutes December 10, 1990 Page 5 the Markley Saturn dealership . They now have a handicapped access ramp on the east side of College avenue. Heather asked if anyone knew if there were any codes concerning the width of aisles in department stores. She stated that she had taken several nursing home residents shopping and they could not get their wheelchairs through the aisles. She wrote a letter to Mervyns and called the fire marshall and has not heard back from either. Felix stated that he knew there were some codes and that be believed the minimum width to be 30 inches. Angie commented that she had difficulty getting around Clairs in the Mall and that she mentioned it to someone in the new Clairs and that they said they would look into it. Nancy asked Heather if she could get with the Fire Marshal and find out what the minimum width for aisles is. Nancy stated that Shirley has been trying to talk with the management of the Macdonalds on College Ave. regarding problems with the slope of the access ramp and that it infringes on the HC parking space. There is no update at this time. Shirley also checked up on the Subway and Lemay and Riverside and is still working on talking with their management company, Realtec. DeJaVu coffee house is handicapped accessible. It is located on Laurel St. There is a ramp in the back and HC parking as well as an accessible bathroom. Poudre High School - Roy Beauchamp asked Nancy to bring up the problem of their front step and HC accessibility. A person cannot get into the front if they are in a wheel chair and the lighting is poor at the cross walk to the parking lot. OTHER BUSINESS Disabled resource services is working with Transition Services. They have been awarded a grant for Traumatic brain injured people. They will be serving 16 people over a two year period. DRS is starting a pilot program in January thru March 13 for 1 hr on Wed. there will be an interpreter who will sign for those who are deaf and a program for those unable to type to come in and use the TDD machines to allow them to communicate with others. Depending on the response, they will be looking into expanding that service. The next meeting of the COD will be on Monday January 7, 1991, at the 281 N. College Conference room. Respectfully submitted, ----------------------------- Shirley Reichenbach, Chairman ---------------- Felix L Staff Liaison Services Building Permits & Inspections Division City of Fort Collins December 14, 1990 Dear Interested Parties: The Commission on Disability an advisory board to the Fort Collins City Council, needs help from business owners, property managers and snow removal contractors. Current snow removal practices in parking lots and at curb access ramps are inconsistent and create a hardship for citizens with mobility impairments. Unfortunately, many contractors are not aware of the problems they can create. Lack of snow removal or haphazard plowing, which leaves snow piled in handicapped parking spaces and/or access routes, prevents equal access to businesses by all citizens. For the purpose of solving snow removal problems the Commission on Disability has produced a short seminar entitled, "Removing Snow Enhances Business". The materials used in this seminar include slides, guest speakers, and handouts. The Commission on Disability is pleased to make this seminar available to any business, organization or club who would be interested. To schedule this seminar for your group pleases cal Jeanne Morris at 223-5973 or 490-3235. Businesses whose handicapped parking spaces, access routes and ramps are clear will benefit by improving customer service and increasing revenue. Operating a business safely during all weather conditions is vital to the economic stability of any business. Consistent snow removal practices will increase ease of access for all, regardless of the presence or absence of mobility impairments. The Commission on Disability thanks you for your concern in this matter and cooperation in making the City of Fort Collins accessible to all people. Sincerely, Shirley Reichenbach Chairman, Commission on Disability 281 N. College Avenue • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (303) 221-6760