HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission On Disability - Minutes - 08/13/2009COMMISSION ON DISABILITY
Fort Collins City Hall: Council Information Center: 12:15 p.m.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Present: Mare Franklin-Gaumer, Beverly Hageseth, Michelle Miller,
Terry Schlicting.
Absent: Sam Cavallaro, Michael Devereaux, Kalin Logan, Karen Perry,
Carrie Rogers, Lydia Wiatrowski
CITY LIAISON: Present: Jenna Stieben
Absent: Bruce Byrne
GUESTS: Cheryl Distaso – Center for Justice, Peace, and Environment
Deb, Pat and Patrick Ham – Public Comment/Larimer ARC
Member/Transfort and Dial A Ride Consumer
Joe Olson – COFC Engineering Department
Kurt Ravenschlag – Transfort
Marlys Sittner - Transfort
Jenna Van Fossan
1. Call to Order: 12:23 by Terry Schlicting
2. Introductions: (10 minutes) Sign in sheet made rounds.
3. Approval of Minutes:
July 09 (15 minutes) Approved.
4. Open Discussion General Public & Community News: (20
minutes)
It was noted that Susan Williams had a letter to the editor published in The Fort Collins
Coloradoan newspaper. The letter outlined the volunteer parking program that allows
trained volunteers to issue a Citizen’s Complaint to cars illegally parked in designated
accessible parking.
Michelle Miller was contacted by a member of the community who wanted to “shadow”
individuals who work with people with disabilities. She also wanted to attend a COD
meeting in order to network. Michelle was informed that all COD meetings are open to
the public.
5. New Business
Last meeting-
Kurt Ravenschlag of Transfort attended the meeting to address the concerns of Deb and
Pat Ham that were brought to the last meeting. Kurt explained that the decision to no
longer drop riders at the door of the Edora pool and Ice Center was based on efficiency
of time and money. A stop level analysis revealed that this stop had only 3 boardings
and drop offs per day. The stop added 6-8 minutes to the route, making it consistently
late. Routes running late cause severe reliability and safety issues. There was a lot of
discussion surrounding this topic. Terry Schlichting asked if Transfort could add the
drop as an “on request” or could Dial-A-Ride waive the fee for this trip. Kurt replied
that the City Council sets fares and the City is responsible for any sidewalk issues.
Mayor Hutchinson suggested adding some of these concerns in a letter to be shared with
Transfort, Deb and Pat Ham and City Manager, Darin Atterbury. Jenna will e-mail a list
of recipients for distribution. Kurt will report back to the COD once the letter has been
reviewed and discussed. COD thanked Kurt for his presence and assistance.
Update-
Kurt received the above mentioned letter and in response, he and Marlys attended this
meeting. Kurt stated that slopes and inclines were studied and reiterated that Patrick was
eligible to use the paratransit Dial A Ride. Mr. Ham brought up the expense and the
affect it would have on Patrick’s fixed income. Marlys explained that the fee used to be
sliding scale, but in 2007 the $1.50 per ride was set in place by the City Council, as the
City could no longer financially sustain the full expense.
Marlys and Kurt will have the Hams meet with Craig Dubin to complete the paperwork
for Medicaid Logisticare. If Patrick qualifies, he can have the fare waived.
This information was news to some of the present users of the paratransit system and
Terry asked how could the public gain access to this information.
Kurt and Marlys will look at the Transfort website to see how accessible the information
is and should it be easier to locate. Terry asked the Hams to report back to the
Commission on outcomes and thanked them for coming.
Compliments were made on behalf of Transfort drivers and their customer service and
disability sensitivity. Kurt and Marlys were thanked for their presence and participation.
Jenna mentioned that the COD needs to elect a new secretary, but it will have to wait
until next month as there were not enough members present.
6. Old Business
Mayor’s Awards Subcommittee – Mare shared the brochure for the awards.
Bike Lane Subcommittee – Joe Olson shared some potential changes to the bike lane
policy. Cheryl asked that we have time to digest the new information and discuss it at the
next sub-committee meeting. Joe said he would attend and ask the City Attorney if he
could attend to answer any questions.
7. Sub-Committee Reports
Same as above
8. Adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 1:45pm