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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-DAC-2008-05-07DISABILITY ADVISORY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 12:15 p.m. May 7, 2008 PRESENT: DAC Chair — Roberts DAC Vice Chair - Gizewski DAC Members: George Eberhardt Charlie Dorsey Erin Sember Ed Swayze OTHERS PRESENT: Recreation and Support Services Intern — Siobhan Whalen Environmental Gerontologist — Esther Greenhouse Information Management Specialist — Myers Civil Engineer —Yost Historic Preservation Planner — Chatterton EXCUSED: David McElrath Otis Jackson Wendy Skinner Kendrick Kemp APPROVAL OF MINUTES: By DAC Member Dorsey: Seconded by DAC Member Sember RESOLVED, That the minutes from the April 2, 2008 Disability Advisory Council meeting be approved with noted corrections. Carried Unanimously Chair Roberts had everyone introduce themselves before the meeting began. NEW BUSINESS: Commons Sidewalk Repair Project: Civil Engineer Yost reported to the Council on the upcoming sidewalk repair project on The Commons scheduled to start after the Ithaca Festival (June 19 -22, 2008) and be completed by the end of August. She explained what work needs to be done and how that will be accomplished while maintaining access to stores and businesses and providing access for pedestrians. Discussion followed on the floor regarding how priority areas were chosen for repair and what the repairs will look like. Further discussion followed on the floor regarding other sidewalks in the City that are in need of repair and how they get on schedules to be repaired and who is responsible for maintenance and repair of them. Civil Engineer Yost explained that the City recently reconstituted an in -house sidewalk crew that can make repairs to sidewalks as well as clear sidewalks of ice and snow in the winter if property owners fail to maintain them as required by the City. The City is then able to bill the property owner for that service. She stated that there is a huge backlog of sidewalks that need repair and explained the process the City will be using to contact owners to request that they repair their sidewalks and scheduling necessary work for those that have not been maintained. It is ultimately the property owner's responsibility to maintain their sidewalks. Discussion followed on the floor regarding how repairs are made when city tree roots damage sidewalks and the cost involved with those types of repairs. May 7, 2008 Civil Engineer Yost stated that the City is considering sending information out to property owners with water bills explaining their responsibility for maintaining their sidewalks and the costs involved when the city repairs the sidewalks for them. Building Accessibility: Civil Engineer Yost explained that she would like to work with a volunteer or volunteers from the DAC to create a map that would show areas in the City that are currently accessible for people with disabilities. She stated that it would be a minimal time commitment and would involve inspecting buildings on The Commons, public elevators, public restrooms, telephones, and recreational area access. She stated that the map would be used as a community /tourism resource to show where accessible sidewalks are located, where sidewalks are steep, curved ramp locations, accessible parking spots, information on traffic signals and if audible, and bus information. She asked anyone who is interested in doing this to e -mail her. REPORT ON COLLEGETOWN DEVELOPMENT /ADA SURVEY AND COMPLIANCE: Historic Planner Chatterton reported to the Council on the status of the Collegetown Urban Design and Guidelines. She stated that there is a 90 page document that contains all of the information to date on what the project involves and steps that have been taken already. She stated that she would prepare a brief presentation for the next meeting of the DAC that would summarize that document. She explained that the document outlines the proposed changes in transportation policies, improvements to transportation services, and use of open space. There will also be improvements to the street scape and sidewalks to accommodate pedestrian safety. She reported that that major client in the Collegetown area is the biker and pedestrian and the design would reduce the number of vehicles in that area. The design guidelines have not yet been developed and explained that the consultants would be here May 20 and 21, 2008 to meet with the Collegetown Implementation committee. There will be a public meetings at St. Luke's church (which is accessible), the Board of Public Works and the Planning and Economic Development committee. She stated that some of the ideas from the consultants are very dynamic and radical because that area is so dense and unique. She urged Council members to attend one of the presentations. ADA Compliance: Historic Planner Chatterton stated that the City received a letter from the Department of Justice regarding ADA compliance deficiencies in the number of accessible parking spots, and access to city parks. She further stated that the City's current ADA information needs to be updated by staff and consultants so that it can be evaluated for completeness. Discussion followed on the floor regarding who would need to be involved with this review and how the work would be done. Further discussion followed on the floor regarding how the proposed Access America grant project would help with this or perhaps could be done in conjunction with the review of the current accessibility areas in place. ACCESS AMERICA GRANT APPLICATION: Chair Roberts reported to the Council on the Access America grant opportunity that might be available to the City. A subcommittee of DAC members and various city departments met for the first time today to discuss whether or not to submit an application. The deadline to submit applications is October 31, 2008. The possible award would be $25,000. He encouraged other members of the DAC to attend the next meeting to talk about how to put an application together, decide who would take the lead on the application process, and review what the City already has in place and what needs to be done. The group that met today thought that going for the 2009 opportunity was possible and the close deadline would provide the necessary incentive to really work on the application rather than knowing that there was over a year to work on the project if the City waited to submit an application. Vice Chair Gizewski announced there would be a meeting of the sub - committee that was established to look at handicap parking on May 9, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. at the old Jail. He invited any other members that might be interested to attend the meeting. He further announced that Finger Lakes Independence Center would be celebrating its 20th anniversary on May 19, 2008 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and invited everyone to stop by and partake of food and fun. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 1:25 p.m. Sarah L. Myers Larry Roberts Information Mgt. Specialist Chair, DAC Q