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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission On Disability - Minutes - 10/23/2003COMMISSION ON DISABILITY Regular Meeting Minutes October 23, 2003 Members present Jill Lancaster, Susan Williams, Jeff Harris, Ruth Bell Skogerboe, Mark Beck, Diane Dittus, Jerry Patterson, Joanie Cook, and Melinda Suits. City Staff: Rachel Palmer, Tracy Ochsner Mark called the meeting to order at 12:15 pm at the Council Information Center. October 9 minutes approved unanimously. Motion made by Susan and seconded by Diane. Sub Committee Reports Mayor's Awards — Fabulous! The MC, Nancy Jackson did a great job, the mayor was very supportive of all the COD's efforts and the speaker, and Joyce Bender was moving and dynamic. A big thank you to Steve Sutter, Roger Van Leishout and the Business Leadership Network. The whole affair was described as very classy. The Marriott staff was very attentive to the needs of disabled guests and did a fabulous job with the event. Art Show — The overall impression was that the art show was very successful for a first time event. Susan indicated that all participants and volunteers contributed to its success. The artists seemed to appreciate the opportunity to show their art. Many thanks to Ann, the mall contact, for all her help. By -Laws — The following amendments were revised. (See attached.) Changes to amendments S, 9 and 10 will be considered at a future meeting. Amendment 2 — Motion made by Jerry, seconded by Melinda. Approved unanimously. Amendment 3 — Motion made by Jerry, seconded by Joanie. Approved unanimously. Amendment 4 — Motion made by Jerry, seconded by Joanie. Approved unanimously. Amendment 5 — Motion made by Jerry, seconded by Ruth. Approved unanimously. Amendment 6 — Motion made by Jerry, seconded by Jill. Approved unanimously. Amendment 7 — Motion made by Jerry, seconded by Joanie. Approved unanimously. PHA- The local chapter of AARP passed a resolution to support the efforts of PHA. The housing policy portion of the proposed city plan (Policy HSG-1.6) includes a statement regarding Basic Access which includes in part, "Housing units, including single family and multiple- housing units should be constructed with practical features that provide basic access and functionality for people of all ages and widely varying mobility and ambulatory..." The meeting was adjourned at 1:40 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jill Lancaster COD Secretary City Of Fort Collins Amendment #002 Commission On Disability By -Laws Amendment Proposal Previous Text: C. Commission Meetings 1. Regular Meetings a)-- 111) Begin at 12:15 p.m. and conclude no later than 1:30 p.m. .6) Are held in the City Hall Building, CIC Room, 300 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado 80522-0580, which is accessible to persons with mobility impairments. d) Must be attended by enough members to constitute a quorum. If there are not enough members present by 12:30 p.m. To constitute a quorum, the members present may adjourn the meeting. gf Provide alternative communication aids when requested five (5) working days prior to the scheduled meeting. ff A speaker phone will be made available to enable participation of members who are not able to be physically present. Action on Previous Text: Strike section C.Lb through C.l.f and replace with Proposed Text. Note: C.l.a will be replaced with a separate amendment Proposed Text: b) Rules on time, place, accommodation, and order must be established by motions adopted by the Commission. c) Accommodations for meetings must be made accessible to all. Rationale: The current by-laws are much to rigid. We have often violated each of the provisions currently in this section. The changes allow for the Commission to be much more flexible about where and when it meets and what and how accommodations will be provided. These changes also allow us the flexibility to change the rules or set them aside, if necessary, in order to complete the business of the Commission. M City of Fort Collins Commission On Disability By -Laws Amendment Proposal Previous Text: C. Commission Meetings 2. Voting / Ouorum a) All Commission members may vote. b) No "absentee ballots" will be accepted. c) 50% of the current membership constitute a quorum. Action on Previous Text: Strike section C2.a through C.2.c and replace with the Proposed Text Proposed Text: Amendment #003 a) Only Commission members counted present at any Commission meeting may vote on any motion considered by the Commission. b) A majority of active Commission members constitutes a quorum. n c) Motions mf be adopted by a majority of a quorum of the Commission. 1 ' \ d) Motions must not be considered without a quorum, except for a motion to recess, adjourn, or to accept subcommittee reports. Rationale: This does two things. First, it clearly defines what is currently called absentee ballots. Second, it establishes rules for how motions are accepted. Further C.2.d defines what motions can be entertained without a quorum present. Aside from the normal things you would expect to see here, this also allows for us to complete our subcommittee reports and enter them into the minutes. 0 City of Fort Collins Amendment#004 Commission On Disability By -Laws Amendment Proposal Previous Text: C. Commission Meetings 3. Special Meetings a) May be called by any Commission member with approval of a member of the Executive Committee. b) Sub -committee meetings and task force meetings will be called and held as needed at the discretion of their chairperson. Action on Previous Text: Strike section C.3.a through C.3.b and replace with the Proposed Text. Proposed Text: a) Special meetings may be called by any Commission member with the approval of the Commission chairperson and at least 48 hours advance notice of time and location to all active Commission members. b) The Commission may pass other motions to further restrict the time, place, nature, or business of special meetings. Rationale: The change to C.3.a will eliminate the possibility of any confusion about when and where a special meeting will occur. In the current by-laws, it would be possible for two Commission members to request a special meeting from two different members of the Executive Committee in order to address the same problem. While it may be inconvient to restrict this to the chair, it will also avoid confusion. The case where the chairperson is absent, will be handled if Amendment #007 is passed. The other changes just have to do with requiring reasonable notice of a special meeting to all commission members and allow the Commission to restrict the business of special meetings to certain times, places, reasons for, and business of special meetings. This also gives the Commission the authority to define specific kinds of special meetings if the need arises. I am proposing to strike the part about subcommittees here because, for one, they are not special meetings of the Commission. And, two, because there is an entire section dealing with subcommittees later on. 0\,4/ City of Fort Collins Amendment#005 Commission On Disability By -Laws Amendment Proposal Previous Text: C. Commission Meetings 4. Agend a) All agenda items will be generated by the Commission membership with the concurrence of the Chairperson and/or the Executive Committee. b) Items suggested for the agenda by Commission members must be submitted one week prior to the scheduled meeting. c) The agenda will allow for an open discussion in each meeting for the general public. d) Unscheduled presentation by City departments or the public, when no on the established agenda, will be requested to limit their presentation to 15 minutes or less. The Commission will need a clear statement at the beginning at to whether their presentation is for information or whether some action is being requested of the Commission. Action on Previous Text: In Section C.4.a: strike and/or the Executive Committee and append: and must be submitted one week prior to the scheduled meeting. Strike Section C.4.b Move Section C.4.c to C.4.b. Move Section C.4.d to C.4.c and change ...when no on... to ...when not on... Append a new Section C.4.d according to Section d) in the Proposed Text. Note: The Proposed Text section contains the text of Section CA if this amendment is approved. Changes and additions are in italics. Deletions are struck through. Proposed Text: �1 a) All agenda items will be generated by the Commission:membership with the concurrence of the Chairperson _, '__ the �E c-euti _ c C u ;,, and must be submitted one week ? prior to the scheduled meetings tifief to the seheduled meeting. b) The agenda will allow for an open discussion in each meeting for the general public. c) Unscheduled presentation by City departments ti the public, when not s. theThe established agenda, will be requested to limit their presentation [0 15 inu[es or less. The Commission will need a clear statement at the beginning whether their presentation is for information or whether some action is being requested of the Commission. -,'>d) The agenda may be amended by a one -thirds (113) vote of the quorum of a Commission meeting. Rationale: U U This, once again, avoids confusion by making the chairperson the responsible person for controlling the agenda rather than the entire executive committee. The absence of the chairperson is dealt with in Amendment #007 The addition of the new Section CA.d just allows the Commission to change the agenda if it is necessary, for example, to accommodate unannounced presentations longer than 15 minutes, an action that the chairperson found unsavory, etc. ti I VV G plt_� City of Fort Collins Amendment#006 Commission On Disability By -Laws Amendment Proposal Previous Text: D. Membership Responsibilities 7. Commission members are expected to attend monthly meetings on a regular basis. If a Commission member is absent for three (3) consecutive meetings or six (6) meeting within a twelve (12) month period the member's term of service on the Commission will be terminated. After that time, the ex -member will be invited to attend meetings and participate as a sub- committee member. The resulting vacancy on the Commission will be filled by City Council. 8. A member whose participation has been terminated may appeal this action to City Council Action on Previous Text: Strike Section D.7 up to the text ...will be terminated. and replace with the text in italics in the Proposed Text section. Strike Section D.8. Note: The Proposed Text represents how Section D.7 will look if this amendment is accepted. Proposed Text: 7. Commission members are expected to attend all regular meetings of the Commission. If a Commission member is absent for three (3) consecutive regular meetings or six (6) regular meetings within a twelve (12) month period without prior consent from the Commission, the member's term of service on the Commission will be terminated. After that time, the ex -member will be invited to attend meetings and participate as a sub -committee member. The resulting vacancy on the Commission will be filled by City Council, Rationale: This is a kinder, gentler policy. It gives the Commission the ability to discern valid reasons for absence and the flexibility to allow for members to be absent for such reasons. It also clears up which meetings of the Commission are required (the regular meetings). This disallows the chairperson to arrange special meetings in such a way as to force the termination of a member. As for Section D.8, we very well can't tell the City Council what policies to have and what rights they must give to members that have been terminated under our by-laws. If the City Council thinks that a person was unfairly terminated, they can take whatever policies and procedures they have established to remedy such situations. W City of Fort Collins Amendment #007 Commission On Disability By -Laws Amendment Proposal Previous Text: E. Term of Office / Elections 1. Commission Members shall serve on the Commission one (1) year before being eligible to serve a chairperson. 2. Officers shall be elected annually at the September meeting of the Commission. Nominations shall be made at the preceding August meeting. 3. If for any reason a vacancy occurs on the Executive Committee, the commission will elect a person to fill the vacated position for the remainder of the term. F. Executive Committee The Executive Committee shall consist of four (4) members, including the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson, the Secretary/Recorder, and the Historian, chosen from the membership of the Commission. The Executive Committee will be elected by a majority vote of the Commission members. Any member of the Executive Committee may be removed from office by the vote of two- thirds (2/3) of Commission member ship. Executive Committee meetings are held by -annually or as needed for the executive Committee and City Liaison (when available) to review the Commission's progress toward accomplishing its goals and to make recommendations for the achievement of those goals. The City Liaison is invited to attend all Executive Committee meetings. Action on Previous Text: strike Sections E and F and replace with the Proposed Text section below Proposed Text: E. Executive Committee 1. Purpose The Executive Committee leads the Commission and meets to review the progress on the goals of the Commission and makes recommendations to the Commission for how o best achieve their goals. Further, the Executive Committee ensures that the Commission remains in close contact with necessary City and City Council officials and provides reports as desired to the city council on the business of the Commission. 2. Membership a) The Executive Committee shall consist of four (4) members: Chairperson, Vice - Chairperson, Secretary, and Historian. b) Only members of the Commission are allowed to serve as members of the Executive Committee. c) Only members of the Commission that have served no less than one (1) year are eligible n to serve as the Chairperson. _ ly d) A Commission member may only hold one Executive Committee position at any given time. ej The term of every Executive Committee position ends on the first regular meeting in January after the regular election of a new Executive Committee. 3. Elections a) Nominations for the Executive Committee positions shall be made at the first regular Commission meeting in August. b) The regular election for the Executive Committee positions shall be held at the next regular meeting m`5eeting after nominations have been taken. The election must occur as the first 11"' 3 Oi_ order of business. c) To receive a position on the Executive Committee, a nominee must receive votes from a majority of the quorum present at the time of the election in the appointed meeting. d) If no nominee for a given position receives a majority of the vote from the quorum, a run-off election will be held between the two nominees that received the most votes. e) Every member of the Commission present at the election has exactly one (1) vote for each position. Members present at the election may not abstain from voting. _--j f) In the event of a tie, the current Chairperson will appoint one of the two nominees to serve as the winner of the election. 2 sl o rFis 0 � C''-"'" g) A motion can be made at any time during a regular Commission meeting to take nominations to replace a vacancy in the Executive Committee. Once nominations are in place, a vote for the position must be immediately taken. The rules for the regular Removal election are followed. I ✓ a) Any member of the Executive Committee may only be removed from office by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the active membership of the Commission. b) A motion to unseat a member of the Executive Committee may be submitted at any time during a regular meeting and must be seconded. c) Any member that forfeits their membership to the Commission is automatically removed , from the Executive Committee. y Meetings a) The Executive Committee is required to meet at leas[ once every six (b) months. b) Meetings of the Executive Committee are called by the Chairperson. c) Notification of the time and place of any Executive Committee meeting must be given to all acting Executive Committee members seventy-two (72) hours in advance. Leadership Succession a) Upon the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice -Chairperson assumes the duties of the Amp- 1 Chairperson until the Chairperson is no longer absent. b) Upon the absence of the Vice -Chairperson, the Secretary assumes the duties of the Vice- Chairperson until the Vice -Chairperson is no longer absent. c) Upon the absence of the Secretary, the Historian assumes the duties of the Secretary until the Secretary is no longer absent. d) Upon the absence of a Historian, the Chairperson may appoint a temporary Historian that will serve as Historian until the Historian is no longer absent. e) The Chairperson may appoint Commission members to temporary positions to assist a member of the Executive Committee member that has assumed a different position due to an absence at the request of the member. The appointee will serve until the Executive Committee member no longer assumes the extra position. f) In the absence of all Executive Committee members, the Commission may take nominations and elect a temporary Chairperson according to Sections E.3.e - E.3.f that will serve as Chairperson until a member of the Executive Committee is no longer absent. g) A member of the Executive Committee may be considered absent under three different circumstances: i) The member fails to he counted as present at the most recent regular meeting. ii) The member notifies of their inability to perform their prescribed duties to 1 another member of the Executive Committee or the entire Commission in ` writing, signed, dated, and witnessed. iii) The member is removed from the Commission. h) A member of the Executive Committee may remove their absent status via two means: i) The member is counted present at the next regular meeting. ii) The member notifies another member of the Executive Committee or the entire 2 Commission that they should be considered present and able to perform their • prescribed duties in writing, signed, dated, and witnessed. i) Any conflict that arises concerning the absence of an Executive Committee member may be resolved by the majority of the Commission in the next regular meeting. Rationale: There are lots of reasons for doing this. First, the procedure for elections are currently left undone. If there is a tie, or nobody can gel a majority of the votes of the entire commission, we slip into a big procedural black hole. This proposal isn't the only way to fix this problem, but it seems to be the best compromise between limiting the number of nominees, allowing the as much participation as we can in the voting, and keeping the rules simple, but avoiding the big black hole. Second, the paragraph describing everything about the executive committee was too hard to parse and you had to hunt for how to vote somebody out of office, for example. I've attempted to break out that paragraph into subsections and clarify and specify where it was unclear and vague. Third, the responsibilities of the positions were major sections instead of subsections of the executive committee section. This is part of the fix that brings everything under one section about the executive committee. The next amendment proposal, Amendment #008, will move the rest of the parts concerning the executive committee under one section. Fourth, there was no way to fill a vacancy. Fifth, ensures that only commission members can sit on the executive committee. Sixth, it establishes very clearly how to deal with absences on the Executive Committee which is currently lacking. For example, the current by-laws state that the Vice -Chairperson presides over a meeting where the Chairperson is absent. However, the Chairperson has many duties outside of the meetings. These can not be preformed under the current by-laws unless the Chairperson is able to be contacted or the Chairperson is removed by 2/3 vote of the entire commission. The suggested Section E.5, while slightly convoluted.