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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-DAC-2011-10-05DISABILITY ADVISORY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 12:15 p.m. October 5, 2011 PRESENT: DAC Chair — Roberts DAC Members: Otis Jackson Allen Walters Andrew Rappaport Jocelyn Scriber — arrived at 12:30 p.m. Information Management Specialist — Myers EXCUSED: DAC Vice Chair - Gizewski Jason Anderson David McElrath George Eberhardt Erin Sember -Chase Alderperson Rooker Courtney Glenn APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Approval of the September 7, 2011 Disability Advisory Council Meeting Minutes — Resolution RESOLVED, That the minutes of the September 7, 2011 Disability Advisory Council Meeting be approved as published. The approval of the September 7, 2011 Disability Advisory Council Meeting Minutes was post -poned to the November meeting due to lack of quorum. Chair Roberts stated that he had hoped to have a "brain storming" session about issues and tasks the DAC would like to pursue in the future. There being only three members present, it was decided that it would not be useful to do that today. Chair Roberts further stated that he had hoped to have the following take place at today's meeting, but due to conflicts in schedules it was not possible for people to attend today's meeting — a conversation with the Mayor, update on the status of the Jungle, and update on the status of means restrictions on city bridges. Chair Roberts provided updates on the following: TCAT has announced service reductions and fare increases. There are open public sessions scheduled throughout the month of October at various locations throughout the County. Chair Roberts explained some of the proposed changes where services may be reduced or eliminated. He noted that fares have not increased since 2003. Chair Roberts distributed information regarding upcoming events being held at the Finger Lakes Independence Center. He reported that Vice Chair Gizewski and Marcia Lynch had been able to connect and that he would be doing the voice public service announcements regarding handicap parking education. He stated that the Comprehensive Plan Committee is meeting again and had a kick -off meeting with the client committee. He is one of the few remaining committee members who has been on the committee since it was started. It requires a lot of work and energy being put into the development of the plan. October 5, 2011 He reported that there will be a Mayoral forum on October 24, 2011 hosted by the Community Leaders of Color to address issues regarding the school district. A Mayoral forum had been one of the things that had been identified by the DAC as needing to be done, and he encouraged everyone that is able to attend. New York State Independent Living Council has received funding from the Federal government to hire consultants to assist municipalities on how to include people with disabilities in their emergency management planning. This is a mandate that has to be complied with to plan and work on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities. He explained that the first training course is scheduled for the first Wednesday in November (he will provide details later to DAC members), and hopes that there will be a good number of people with disabilities who will want to attend the training. The training does conflict with the November DAC meeting, so he will look in to possibly rescheduling it. He further reported that he had a nice meeting with the staff of the City of Ithaca Building Department. They invited him to talk about how to interact with people with disabilities as they conduct housing inspections. He noted that it is important that tenants are notified about when inspections are scheduled and why they are necessary. Communication is key to assisting both building department staff and tenants or property owners through the inspection process. A brief discussion followed on the floor regarding what interpreting services are available. DAC Member Jackson questioned whether the DAC could work with the Ithaca Car Share to obtain an accessible van for people with disabilities in the community. Chair Roberts responded that the Finger Lakes Independence Center has been having conversations with Ithaca Car Share about this, but these types of vehicles are very expensive and so individualized that it would be difficult to offer that option. He stated that discussions are moving forward about providing accessible taxi cabs in the City of Ithaca, which will help quite a few members of the community. Chair Roberts stated that New York State has a "Complete Streets" program which outlines the responsibilities of municipalities for maintenance of streets, sidewalks, and pedestrian intersections. He thought that the DAC might want to invite Civil Engineer Lynne Yost to discuss how this program affects the City of Ithaca. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 12:40 p.m. Sarah L. Myers Larry Roberts Information Management Specialist Chair, DAC