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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission On Disability - Minutes - 09/13/1996COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES Council Liaison: Alan Apt Chairperson: Members Present: Members Absent: City Staff Present: Guests: Ray Sanderson Angela Byrne Frank Blakely Jackie Hyatt Peggy Irish September 13,1996 2:00 pm Staff Liaison: Nancy Stirling Phone: (H) 493-9340 Mark Kramer Ray Sanderson Kathy Lassen Amy Rosenberg Shirley Reichenbach Craig Wallerstein Nancy Stirling, COD Liaison Jean Batchelder, Access By Design Bob Lenk, Human Rights Commission The meeting began at 2:10 pm. I. Meetine Minutes Chair Ray Sanderson asked the group if there were any comments concerning last month's meeting minutes. There were none. Frank motioned to accept the August minutes as they now stand and Angela seconded. The vote was unanimous. II. Presentation: Bob Lenk of the Human Rights Commission Bob comes to the Commission as a member and representative of the City's Human Rights Commission. Bob explained that the Human Right Ordinance was created in 1972 and hasn't seen any changes since then. The Ordinance protects citizens and employees within the Fort Collins community against various kinds of discrimination. The Ordinance is presently being reviewed and revised for several reasons: 1) it's outdated; 2) City has grown in size; 3) higher number of "minorities;" and 4) the definition and forms of "discrimination" have expanded with the times and need to be included in the revised Ordinance. The Human Rights Commission is presenting their recommended changes to the Ordinance to other Boards and Commissions in order to inform and obtain support for the revisions. Commission on Disability Meeting Minutes September 13, 1996 Page Two Bob proceeded to cover the various changes and recommendations for the Ordinance. (Mainly includes "new" groups to be protected under this Ordinance.) Members of the Commission expressed an interest in obtaining the current Ordinance as well as having a copy of the recommended Ordinance to be reviewed on their own time. (Copies of the current Ordinance and the recommended revisions will be forwarded to Commission members to review.) It was suggested that the Commission should only address those areas of the Ordinance pertaining to the topic of "disabilities" and that they would support and/or make comments only on those sections. REQUEST: The Human Rights Commission is hoping to obtain the approval and support of other Boards and Commissions in writing, to be presented to City Council with the recommended revised Ordinance. They need feedback from COD by October 17' (when they meet with the Health & Safety Board). COD RESPONSE: Members of the Commission will review the Ordinance and then give Nancy their responses. Nancy will then forward a letter to the Human Rights Commission. (Please have your responses to Nancy by October 6".) III. Announcements Nancy had several announcements: Peggy Irish has resigned as a member of the Commission on Disability. She has taken another position which requires her to work afternoons and evenings; hence, she would not be able to give the time needed as a member of the Commission. Nancy spoke with the City Clerk's Office and found out that there are three applications received for the vacancies on the Commission. Interviews are being scheduled for September 24'. If all goes well, new members will be selected and instated in October. Dial -a -Ride Subcommittee: Last month, Nancy called several members asking for volunteers for the Dial -a -Ride Subcommittee. Ray Sanderson, Amy Rosenberg, and Craig Wallerstein volunteered; with Angela Byrne and Jackie Hyatt as alternates. David Lilly is to get in touch with the volunteers. Parking Plan Progress: Dick Schaffer from Parking Services has resigned from the City, but wanted the Commission to know that the Parking Plan is not yet finished. He has personnally recommended 96 additional handicapped parking spaces in the Downtown Area (lots and on -street). If we have any questions concerning the Parking Plan, we can contact Tom Frazier with the City. 0 91 C. Q Commission on Disability Meeting Minutes September 13, 1996 Page Three IV. Election of Commission Officers The Commission held an election for new Officers to serve the next twelve months. They are as follows: Chair: Kathy Lassen Vice -Chair: Mark Kramer Member -at -Large: Amy Rosenberg Heartfelt "Thanks" from all the members were given to Ray for his time and service as Chair for the past year. V. Mayor's Awards (October 15" 5.00 pm) Members of the Mayor's Awards Sub -committee met to discuss their ideas for this year's awards presentations as well as brainstormed ideas for future presentations. A handout was sent out with this meetings agenda listing the ideas. Shirley reviewed the list with the Commission. A. Ideas for this year: 1. It was agreed that there would be one (1) award per category (employment, awareness, improving quality of life) given out, with honorable mentions. 2. Reception: begins at 5:00 pm. Food will include a deli tray, relish tray, fruit tray, punch, and a cake. 3. The idea was tossed around about presenting the awards in the CIC Room instead of in front of the cameras. But eventually it was agreed to keep the presentation in the Council Chambers. 4. Nametags will be provided and available. 5. Commission members also wanted to give Certificates of Appreciation to employees of the City who have given outstanding contributions towards citizens and employees with disabilities. 6. Jackie, Shirley, and Mark will review the nominations and select the winners. (The nominations will be picked up from Nancy on the afternoon of Friday, October 4.) B. Ideas for Future: 1. It is hoped that the HP event this year will kick off interest among other city businesses and that next year, October will be a month -long tribute to Disability Awareness. It is suggested that the Mayor's Awards would become a luncheon honoring the award winners and the nominees - a capstone to the other anticipated events going on at that time. 2. Install a Dorothy Lasley Memorial Plaque in the City Hall building. Will have names of the winners added to the plaque for each year. Commission on Disability Meeting Minutes September 13, 1996 Page Four V. ADA Trainine One of the goals of the Commission, as stated in their workplan, is to obtain ADA Training for Commission members - as well as inviting others from various City departments and Boards and Commissions. Jean Batchelder has put together a 3-4 hour seminar for us. Pete Dallow has approved this seminar and will pick up the tab for it. The date of the ADA Training has been scheduled for Tuesday, October 29". The time will be 11:30 to 3:30 pm. Nancy is looking into a facility to have this class. Invitations will be printed and sent to Commission members as well as others throughout the City organization. VII.Other Business A. City's Encroachment Law: Last month, Mr. Alan Beatty approached the Commission with a request for the Commission to check into the City's Laws concerning encroachment on public sidewalks. There have been some incidences where persons who are visually impaired having difficulty manuevering around tables, chairs, clothes racks placed on the sidewalks. Amy contacted the City's Engineering Department and obtained a copy of the City's Code concerning encroachment. The basics of the Code is that store owners must obtain a permit in advance, and if they encroach without a permit they will be charged the cost of dismantling and removing the items illegally placed on the sidewalk. Other than that, there were no strict guidelines for how much space should be maintained on the sidewalk for passersby. David Stringer of the Engineering Department says he can be notified if it looks like a store is in violation. B. Building Plan Reviews: Shirley brought up this topic - saying that she feels it is an important area that needs to get picked up again in the responsibilities of the Commission. Unfortunately, it is a time-consuming job and requires knowledge of building plans. Nancy mentioned that Pete was considering hiring an outside person to do this. Nancy will pursue this with Pete and let the Commission know later what transpires. C. "Mosaics": Kathy announced that she has been asked to participate on a panel on the program "Mosaics". Mosaics is cablecast on the City's Education Channel, Channel 10. The program is being taped on Wednesday, September 18'". The show will then show throughout the month of October, so look for it on Channel 10. D. DeEtta Jones, the City's Human Rights Officer, will be writing on the topic of "disabilities" for her next newspaper article (due out the end of September). E. Perspectives Show: Is next Thursday, September 19'h, at 8:00 pm in the Council Chambers of the City Hall West Building. Panelists have been selected and contacted. Meeting adjourned at 4:30 pm.