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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-DAC-1992 DISABILITY ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES January 8 , 1992 PRESENT: J Merritt, D Pogson, A Watkins, R Furruggio, R Maxwell B Kuhn, L Roberts, L Farrel , A Watkins, J Ives (guest) The meeting was opened at 12 :10. 1) December ' s minutes were approved. 2) Sherry' s Resignation Sherry Thurston' s resignation from the DAc was announced. Jon will write her a letter of appreciation. He will also act as acting secretary. 3) DAC By-laws Committee Richie will set up a meeting of the committee. They will report at the February DAC meeting. 4) City' s 1985 Access Study Leslie Chatterton will have a written report on the Planning Department' s survey by January 31. She will mail this to DAC committee member . We will begin discussion of the report at the February meeting. A search committee was formed to find legal guidance for our discussions and decisions. Art and Richie volunteered. 5) Snow and Ice PSAs have gone out to the Ithaca Journal and to local radio stations reminding people to shovel their walks. Jon will contact the weekly newspapers. Brenda reported on the status of the snow and ice removal ordinance. Appropriate city government representative responded favorably to the proposed changes. The DAC members changed the wording of one sentence to read " . . . for all those who use sidewalks. " Money for the CIVITAS worker for volunteer coordinator has been approved by Common Council . 6) Meeting Access LeMoyne requested information on the status of the public meeting access issue. Brenda volunteered to get in touch with Assistant City Attorney, Pat Kennedy, and report at the next meeting. 7) Library Larry made a recommendation that the DAC advise the City to advise the County to look into the inaccessible bathroom situation at the Tompkins County Library. This will be discussed at the next meeting. 8) Meeting was adjourned at 1:10. i i i DISABILITY ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES February 5 , 1992 PRESENT: J Merritt, D Pogson, R Furruggio, B Kuhn, L Roberts, L Farrel , N Golder (liason) Bruce Babcock (guest) , Ray Reynolds (guest) The meeting was opened at 12 :10. 1) January' s minutes were approved. 2) By-laws Committee Report A committee meeting was set for 2/5/92, 2pm,at City Hall . Election guidelines will be addressed. 3) 1985 City Access Study Update Leslie Chatterton continues to work on the written report of the survey results. She offered several completed surveys for distribution to DAC members. In response to a request for legal advice on this issue, Richie reported on his conversation with Rosie Lamb of the State Office of Advocate for the Disabled. 4) Update on Snow and Ice Removal Neil Golder reported that the revised snow and ice removal ordinance was well received by the Charter and Ordinance Committee . It will be presented to Common Council at their April meeting . Brenda will write a letter of thanks to Chuck Guttman, City Attorney, for his fine work . Brenda had spoken with Rick Farell , DPW, about the CIVITAS worker . He informed her that,due to financial cut backs, Cornell wants the City to pay a larger portion of the worker ' s salary. Rick thought this money could be found within the DPW budget. Brenda will follow up and bring information to the next rneeting . Jon reported that he sent notices about snow and ice removal to both weekly newspapers. Brenda had notified the Ithaca Journal again with success. 5) Report on City Meeting Access Brenda met with Pat Kennedy, Assistant City Attorney. Ms. Kennedy is working on a draft of the formal proposal . 6) Tompkins County Library Access It was agreed that a letter to library director, Mr. Metzger, and County Administrator, Scott Hyman would be wiser than getting the city involved at this time. Larry mentioned that he had spoken with Jim Kazda, County Buildings and Grounds, about the completion of the new ramp. The date given was February 10th. i 7) New Business Bruce Babcock shared some of his personal experiences with disability discrimination. He asked for advocacy assistance. Brenda took copies of his documentation and will contact him soon. Larry Roberts submitted his resignation from the DAC. Jon will write him letter of appreciation. DISABILITY ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES June 3 , 1992 Present : Kuhn, Far-rugio, Farrell , John Ives, (Architectural Barrier Free Consultant, FLIC) , Merritt , Pogson, Maxwell , Peg Mohn (guest) 1 . May minutes were approved. 2 . Report on City/County Accessible Transportation Plan The final draft of the Accessible Transportation Plan will be brought before City Common Council, Tompkins County Board of Reps, and Cornell ' s Transportacion Department for approval during the month of July. The date for transmittal to the Federal Department of Transportation is July 26 . After their OK, we move on to budget negotiations . 3 . Stewart Park John Ives reported on his work at Stewart Park as a representative of FLIC. He has contacted Rick Farrel . Others from the DAC offered to call Rick on the issue. 4 . Handicapped Parking LeMoyne volunteered to take over the handicapped parking committee. She will continue the research process necessary for establishing an authorized volunteer ticketing core . There was also a suggestion to do some awareness training in the interim. This might include newspaper articles, letters to the editor , PSAs, distributing information on how one acquires a handicapped parking permit , and information on the proper procedure for reporting a car illegally parked in a reserved space . LeMoyne , Diana and Peg agreed to work on this . Richie included a paragraph about parking consideration at the end of his Journal article this month . 5. Snow Removal DAC members were encouraged to call Rick Farrel , and remind him of the planned interviewing of CIVITAS workers scheduled for August . The worker would be a city employee hired to coordinate a city wide volunteer snow removal project . 6 . New Business Gary Wilson , an independent , Ithaca based, architect approached the DAC for input on architectural accessibility for a building at 402 N. Cayuga St. Brenda offered information on acquiring a special parking permit for the Ithaca Festival . The meeting was adjourned at 1 :25 . s i z s' CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF TELEPHONE: (607)274-6504 CITY ATTORNEY FAX: (607)272-7348 MEMORJNDUM TO: Mayor Benjamin Nichols All Department Heads Members of Common Council Chairpersons of all City Boards and Commissio s FROM: Patricia M. Kennedy, Assistant City Attorne DATE: March 24, 1992 SUBJECT: Implementation of the Americans With Disabilities Act This memorandum is intended to provide the paid and volunteer members of City government with some basic information about the Americans With Disabilities Act, to clarify some of the goals and minimum standards of the Act, to stimulate discussion and creative response to meeting our responsibilities under the Act and to provide information about some of our basic resources for insuring access. This memo will focus on the role of the City in prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the provision of services, programs, and activities. The focus will be on the meetings and other types of activities, programs and services provided by the City, including those provided over the telephone. Our office plans to prepare and circulate additional material on the subjects of public transportation and employment in the near future. SOME GENERAL BACKGROUND The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a wide-ranging civil rights statute that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. The Act is intended to provide protection to individuals with disabilities similar to that provided to women, minorities and others under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It has been estimated that there are more than 43 million Americans and about 2. 5 million residents of New York State who have some type 'An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program' CJ Recycled Paper i r of physical or mental impairment that substantially limits activities such as walking, talking, seeing or self-care. As a "public entity" the City of Ithaca is covered by Title II of the ADA. Effective January 26, 1992, the ADA provides that no qualified individual with a disability can be excluded, by reason of that disability, from the benefits, services, programs or activities of a public entity. Thl' s section of the Act extends the prohibition of discrimination which has existed for federally assisted programs under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to all activities of state and local governments, including those that do not receive federal financial assistance. This section of the act also incorporates the specific provisions against discrimination on the basis of disability from all of the other sections of the ADA (Title I - Employment; Title III - Public Accommodation; Title V - Miscellaneous) . Title II , therefore, adopts the general prohibitions against discrimination established under Section 504, as well as the requirements for making programs accessible to individuals with disabilities and for providing equally effective communications to all persons. WHO IS CONSIDERED "DISABLED" UNDER THE ADA? ADA protection is extended to any person with a disability. The term "disability" is defined by the Act in three components. First, a disability is any physical or mental impairment which substantially limits an individual' s ability to perform one or more major life activities. Such activities include walking, talking, seeing, hearing and caring for oneself. Secondly, a record of such an impairment can be considered a disability under the ADA. Third, someone who is "regarded as" having an impairment may also be entitled to ADA protection. WHAT CONSTITUTES DISCRIMINATION? In the public service context, discrimination can basically fall into several categories. The most obvious form of discrimination against the disabled is that created by architectural barriers to access. In other words, when a disabled person cannot attend a meeting, use a service available to others or participate in a program offered by the City because the building in which the meeting, service or program is offered is designed or constructed in such a way that a person with disabilities cannot attend. The ADA requires that all governmental activities, even if they are carried on by private contractors, be accessible. 2 All meetings, services, programs and activities offered by the City should take place in buildings which are architecturally accessible to those who have mobility or visual impairments. There is a second category of activities which includes communication with the public. For example, telephone contacts, office walk-ins or interviews and the public' s use of the City' s facilities. These services must also be provided in an architecturally accessible fashion. The Act requires that, to the maximum extent feasible, facilities must be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. This means that it is not sufficient to provide features such as accessible routes, elevators or ramps if those features are not maintained in a manner that enables individuals with disabilities to use them. Inoperable elevators, locked "access" doors, "accessible" routes that are obstructed by furniture, filing cabinets or potted plants would not be considered accessible to nor usable by individuals with disabilities. The architectural access standards under the ADA do not require that extensive retrofitting of existing buildings take place so long as alternative methods are adopted for the provision of programs. Title II requires a public entity to make its programs accessible in all cases, except where doing so would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program or an undue financial and administrative burden. Congress intended that the "undue burden" standard in Title II be significantly higher than the "readily achievable" standard in Title III (which covers places of public accommodation) . Title II is intended to insure that individuals with disabilities can participate in and benefit from services, programs or activities of public entities in all but the most unusual cases. The decision that compliance would result in an undue burden or extensive and expensive alterations must be made by the mead of the public entity or by someone designated by that person. In other words, any decisions which would deny access must be made by the Mayor or a Department Head -- someone who has budgetary authority and responsibility for making spending decisions. Structural changes in existing facilities are required only when there is no other feasible way to make the service or program accessible. The City may comply with program accessibility requirements by delivering services at alternative accessible sites. Of course, all new construction must be consistent with current accessibility standards. 3 i COMMUNICATIONS The City is required to take whatever steps are necessary to insure that communications with applicants, participants and members of the public with disabilities are as effective as communications with those who are not disabled. Under Title II, the City is required to furnish appropriate "auxiliary aids and services" when necessary to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in and enjoy the benefits of all of the City' s services, programs or activities. The City is required to provide an opportunity for individuals with disabilities to request auxiliary aids and services of their choice. The City is required to honor the choice for auxiliary service unless the City can demonstrate that another effective means of communication exists or that the use of means chosen would not be required under the Act. The federal regulations indicate that deference to the request of the individual with a disability is desirable because of the range of disabilities and the variety of modern auxiliary aids and services. For instance, some court rooms are now equipped with "computer-assisted transcripts" which allow virtually instantaneous transcripts of court room argument and testimony to appear on displays. Such systems, which are quite expensive, might be an effective auxiliary aid for a person who is deaf or has a hearing loss and who uses speech to communicate, but may be useless for someone who primarily uses sign language. In some circumstances a note pad and written materials may be sufficient to permit effective communications. In other circumstances, this will not be sufficient and a qualified interpreter may be necessary when the information being communicated is complex or exchanged for a lengthy period of time. The City, in providing these services, in entitled to consider factors such as whether an interpreter may be the better choice because of the number of people involved or the importance of the communication. INFORMATION AND SIGNAGE Title II requires the City to provide information to individuals with disabilities concerning accessible services, activities and facilities. The City is required to provide signage at all inaccessible entrances to each of its facilities that directs users either to an accessible entrance or to another location with information about accessible facilities. For example, signage somewhere in a large building should indicate where a hearing- impaired person may be able to find a TDD-equipped pay phone or a TDD-equipped phone which is accessible to the public. 4 NOTICE Title II requires that the City disseminate sufficient information to applicants, participants, beneficiaries and other interested persons to inform them of the rights and protections afforded by the ADA. Some of the suggested methods for providing this information include the publication of information in handbooks, manuals, and pamphlets which can be distributed to the public and which describe methods for access to the City' s programs and activities. The City could also display informative posters in service areas and other public places or broadcast the information by television or radio over local channel or access channels. Whatever method of providing notice is selected, the City is required to comply with the general requirements for effective communication. In other words, if auxiliary aids or services will be necessary in order to communicate notice requirements to the potentially disabled public, the City will need to do that on a regular basis. TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICES FOR THE DEAF (TDDs) Title II requires that where the City communicates with applicants and beneficiaries by telephones, TDDs or equally effective telecommunication systems must be used to communicate with individuals with impaired speech or hearing. Some problems have arisen when public entities which do not have TDD need to communicate with an individual who has a TDD or vice versa. One way that this problem is being dealt with is through a separate section of the ADA. Title IV of the ADA requires the establishment of telephone relay services to permit communications between individuals who communicate by TDD and individuals who communicate by telephone alone. New York has established this relay. If you are on a "voice" phone and wish to use the relay service to call someone on a TDD, the number is 1-800-421-1220 . If you are going from a TDD line to a voice line, the relay number is 1-800-662- 1220. The relay operator wiii help you by acting as a conduit for the voice and TDD transmission. For those who have never seen one, a TDD, a photo is attached. The Federal government encourages entities which have extensive telephone contact with the public such as City Hall, public libraries and public aid offices to have TDDs to ensure more immediate access. TELEPHONE EMERGENCY SERVICES Many public entities including City government, provide telephone emergency services by which individuals can seek immediate assistance from police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services. I believe that both the Fire Department and the Police Department are currently outfitted with telephone emergency 5 i services which are accessible to persons with impaired hearing and speech. SELF-EVALUATION The Act requires that the City evaluate its current practices and policies to identify and correct any which are not consistent with the requirements of the ADA. The City has until January 26, 1993 to complete that self-evaluation. The self-evaluation must be in writing and must be maintained in a file which is available and accessible to the public. The self-evaluation report must be kept for at least three ( 3 ) years. The self-evaluation should include an examination of training efforts to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not subjected to discrimination because of insensitivity. The U.S. Attorney' s Office suggests that lack of training could lead to discriminatory practices even when the discrimination is not intentional. It is very clear that conducting the self-evaluation does not put off the effective date of the ADA. Starting with January of 1992 the ADA requirements for public entities have been effective and applicable to the City of Ithaca. Because the City was already attempting to comply with requirements of Section 504 of the Disability Act as a result of its receipt of federal funding, some of the architectural access issues have been already discussed, addressed and implemented'. However, self-evaluation is not going to shield the City from discrimination claims for those sections of the Act. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES AND COMPLAINTS The Act requires that all public entities that employ fifty ( 50) or more persons establish a grievance procedure for the resolution of complaints . Any disabled person who believes that he or she has been subjected to discrimination on the basis of disability can file a complaint either with the City or with any agency providing funding to the City, or with the Department of Justice. Complaints should be filed within one hundred and eighty days ( 180) of the date of the alleged discrimination. The Act encourages voluntary compliance agreements but provides for the payment of attorney' s fees by the municipality to the attorney for the individual who has been discriminated against. The Act also authorizes and encourages the use of alternative means of dispute resolution. t Leslie ChattertonIs "Accessibility Survey Update" of January 1992 is now available in the Planning Department. 6 No City will be excused from compliance with any of the requirements of the Act because it was unable to identify an agency which could provide technical assistance to it in conforming with the Act. H. Matthys Van Cort, Director of Planning and Development, has been designated under the old Section 504 to hear complaints. A copy of the Grievance Procedure as established for 504 complaints and as adopted by Common Council on August 7, 1985 is attached. WHERE SHOULD WE GO FROM HERE? It is the suggestion of our office that all Departments, boards and commissions and others who are responsible for the planning or implementation of City programs, services or activities begin the self-evaluation process with the intention of creating a written report as soon as practicable. Primary attention should be given to: 1) Identifying programs, services or activities provided by the City department or commission. 2) Identifying any architectural barriers which would prohibit those with disabilities from participating fully in the program, service or activity. 3 ) Determining what structural changes might be necessary to eliminate architecture barriers. 4 ) Determining alternative methods of providing the program, service or activity which would not require structural changes. 5) Determining what steps would be necessary to insure that communications with applicants, participants and members of the public with disabilities are as effective as communications with others who are not disabled. 6) Determining how to notify potential applicants, participants or beneficiaries with different disabilities of their rights and option for access to the departments or commissions, programs, service or activity. 7 ) Developing a complaint procedure and person identified to act to resolve complaints. RESOURCES One of the City' s best resources for performing this self- evaluation and implementing the goals and requirements of the ADA is the City' s Disability Advisory Council. Brenda Kuhn, the Chair of that Council, has indicated that Council members are willing to 7 i provide suggestions to City staff and volunteer boards as the City seeks to insure that its citizens with disabilities have full access to all that the City offers. Another good resource is the Finger Lakes Independence Center. John Ives, who is on the Center' s staff, provides "Barrier-free" consultations. As I indicated at the beginning of this memo, there will be follow- up materials on employment and transportation services. In general, Title I of the ADA which deals with employment takes effect on July 26 , 1992 for employers with twenty-five ( 25) employees or more. Public transportation provisions are included is Title II . Since August 26 , 1991, all public entities which purchase passenger transport vehicles have been required to insure that such vehicles are accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities. By June of 1992, entities which operate fixed route systems are required to provide para-transit systems for those with disabilities to the extent that undue financial hardship is not incurred. New public transportation facilities must be accessible and key existing stations or transit locations must be accessible by July 26 , 1993 . Questions may be addressed to our office and if we do not know the answer we will attempt to find it. Attachments i 8 DISABILITY ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES April 1 , 1992 Present : Kuhn, Farruggio, Golder , (liaison) , Farrell , Maxwell , Watkins, John Ives, (Architectural Barrier Free Consultant , FLIC, ) , Merritt, Samms, Pogson , Binta- LLoyd 1. March minutes were approved. 2. Election Guidelines A nominating committee was formed . The members include: Art Watkins, Richie Farruggio, Lemoyne Farrell , Jon Merritt. This committee will send out explanitory letters and applications to people on the potential members list. They will meet before the May meeting of the DAC. Final decisions about recommendations for the Mayor will be made at the DAC' s May 6th meeting. All DAC members whose terms run out in June 1992 oppted to remain on the Council . ' They will be reappointed for a three year term, if the Mayor approves. They are: Richie Farruggio, Afi Binta-Lloyd, Dick Buckingham, and Jon Merritt. 3 . City' s 1985 Access Study Copies of Leslie Chatterton' s Survey were handied out. Members were asked to review it, and bring comments to the next meeting . 4 . Assitant City Attorney' s City -Access Memorandum The question was raised as to whether the DAC should present a formal resolution to Common Council asking them to "strongly support and enforce" the guidelines set forth in the attorney' s memorandum. A final decision was tabled till the May meeting . 5. New Business Lemoyne reported on her attendance at the BPW meeting . She informed the board of the need for a zebra stripe to aid pedestrians crossing at the light next to the County Mental Health Building . It was suggested that future DAC meetings be held to a one hour length. All agreed to try this. The meeting closed at 1 : 50 . i THE DISABILITY ADVISORY COUNCIL Brenda Kuhn - Last July Ithaca 's Common Council approved the formation of the Disability Advisory Council (DAC) . The twelve member council is an official committee of tne city government with the majority having disabilities and two-thirds being city residents. As stated in our proposal for formation , we have come together to "ensure that all citizens regardless of physical or mental disability shall freely enjoy all the rights and privi- leges poSSesSed by n0n-diSabl2d citizens". In pursuit of this, we have agreed to make assessments of obstacles to full partici- pation in all city activities and opportunities" and to work with City officials to find resolutions' Liasons with specific City boards and departmentS, such as the Board of Public Works, the Planning Board , the Building Department and the Human Services Committee, were established' Some of the initial directions the DAC has set for itself include: 1 ' Using available local media to gather community input on needs and suggestions, and to offer educational opportunities to learn about various disabilities and their potential impact on life style; 2' Acquiring a second handicapped parking space at City Hall ; 3' Contacting the City Police and the County Sher- iff 's Department about installing Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDDs) ; 4' Working with the City 's Interim Parks Commission to help create truly recreationally accessible parks; 5' Sending a delegation to appear before the BPW to discuss clearing sidewalks and curb cuts of ice and snow; 6' Inves- tigating the follow up of the Report on Acessibility of City Programs, Activities, Services, and Facilities mandated through the Federal Office of Revenue Sharing in 1985' In pursuing this final Project , we came across a Proposal to place eutomatic, electric doors (similar to those at the Finger Lakes Independence Center) at the ramped entrance to City Hall . in November , we brought this information , and specifications of whet the project required , before the Budget and Admimistration Committee' To our pleased surprise, it was included in the DPW budget , and we are working with that department to install the doors early next year. Through our efforts, we have gained the respect of City officials, some of them valuable allies for this important work. We need your input as well . Please contact us through our mailbox at City Hall : Disability Advisory Council , City Hall , 108 East Green Street , Ithaca, New York , 14250; or by calling Ray ReynOIds 387-5290, or Brenda Kuhn or Richie Furruggic at the Finger Lakes Independence Center 272-2433. i DISABILITYADVISORY COUNCIL PROGRESS REPORT I. Completed Projects 1. Acquired a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) for the Ithaca City Police Department. 2. A committment from the Ithaca City Fire Department, and the Police Department of place the TDD emergency phone number on their new stickers. 3. A second handicapped parking space for evening hours at City Hall. 4. Acquisition of a city funded sign language interpreter for DAC meetings. ll. Current Projects 1. Follow up work on automatic doors budgetted through the BPW for City Hall. 2. Acquire a TDD for the Sheriff's Department and provide training for its use. Provide Training for the TDD's at the Tompkins Community Hospital. 3. Arrange snow and ice removal from curb cuts through the BPW or through alternative means. 4. Handicapped parking enforcement: research and recommendations. 5.Work with the City Engineers Office for the addition and maintainance of handicapped ramps (curb cuts). Ill. Long Range Goals 1. Provide better transportation for individuals with disabilities. a) Promote the enforcement of existing accessibility laws and codes. Promote voluntary compliance with requirements and encourage improvement to standards above and beyond those prescribed by law. b) Seek inclusion in the future planning of city transportation issues that will affect people with disabilities. i 2. Provide more and better affordable, accessible housing. a) Promote the enforcement of existing accessibility laws and codes. Promote voluntary compliance with requirements and encourage improvement to standards above and beyond those prescribed by law. 3. Increase City Government's awareness of disability issues. Encourage people with disabilities to serve on City, County and municipal boards and committees. 4. Work with the City Engineering and Building Departments on researching compliance with architectural accessibility codes throughout the city. Major institutions are a prime focus: Ithaca City School District, Cornell. Disability Advisory Council Internal Goals I. Team building, Personal commitment, Energy, and the development of a division of labor among DAC members. II. Educate ourselves and others on ADA as part of our work. a) Conference/Workshop on ADA. III. Building networks between other orgainzations who share common goals. i DISABILITY ADVISOR`! COUNCIL MINUTES April 4. 1991 PRESENT: R Reynolds, J Merritt, R Furruggio, B Kuhn, S Thurston, L Roberts, D Pogson, R Buckingham, P Clair, K Decker (liason) , N Golder (liason) , M Fisher (interpreter) The meeting was opened at 1 : 10 pm. 1) February 21 , 1991 minutes were approved unanimously. i} Membership Changes Lynn Logan has resigned from the DAC and Larry Roberts is replacing her, effective April 4, 1991. Ray Reynolds is moving from the area, leaving the chair position open. Brenda Kuhn. Vice-chair, will be filling in until a new chair is elected. Because several terms run out in August, July will be membership drive month. Larry has agreed to put together a press release to recruit new members for the DAC. ;�) Second Handicapped Parking Space Ray read a letter he had sent to the BPW, thanking them for the new handicapped parking space. Neil had also publicly thanked the DPW at the Common Council meeting. 4) Policy Statement Brenda reported that work was currently being done on a policy statement draft addressing the need for DAC backing before issues are brought before the community or City Government by a DAC member or liason. 5) DAC Evaluation The DAC`s Charges, as presented in the proposal to Common Council , were reviewed. A listing was made of accomplishments and goals we have not yet achieved. Goals still unfulfilled: A. Media outreach to the Ithaca community publicizing the DAC. B. Public speak outs at DAC meetings. Accomplishments ( completed and ongoing) : C. An automatic door budgeted for City Hall . D. A second handicapped parking space for evening hours at City Hall . E. A promise from the Ithaca City Fire Department for the placement of the TDD Emergency Phone Number on their new stickers. F. A delegation went before the BPW to address the issues of snow and ice removal and handicapped parking. G. Ongoing advocacy was intiated -for new curb cuts and renovations of al read. existing ones. H. TDD training at Tompkins Community Hospital is in process. i .r � I . Acquiring TDDs for the Sheriff and Police Depart- ments. This is also in process. J. Acquired a city funded sign language interpreter for DAC meetings. K. Intiatinn research on citizen enforcment of handicapped parking spaces. 6) Ongoing Goals See A,B,C,E.F,G,H, I .I-: above. 7) Long Range Goals a. Transportation: exploration of options. b. Accessible, affordable housing for disabled citizens. c. Alerting local business/building owners to accessibility codes and regulations. d. A conference on the Americans with Disabilities Act for the disabled community_ . e. Audible cross walk signals for visually impaired individ- uals. f. Researching architechtural accessibility within the Ithaca City School District. g. Encouraging individuals with disabilities to serve on City and/or County boards/committees. 8) Internal Goals a. Familiarize ourselves with various disabilities. b. Strengthen our capabilities to communicate with City Government and the Ithaca community. 9) Larry made the motion that, following the approval of the DAC, copies of these minutes should be sent to the Mayor and Common Council . It was so moved. 10) It was suggested that a newspaper article about DAC`s achiev- ments and goals be distributed to the local press. Jon Merritt voluteered to work on this. Meeting was adjourned at 2 pm. i Committee Assionments Committee Who Is Servina TDDs: D Buckinaham Snow/Ice Removal : J Merritt C Franco ^. Curb Cuts: J Merritt Handicapped Parking: D Pogson (� r L Farrell �J Merritt Automatic City Hall Doors: B Kuhn R Farruggio ? Transportation: B Kuhn Housing: K: Decker Publicity: J Merritt R Farruggio ? Conference on ADA: Audible Crosswalks: School System Accessibility: Please think about which committee you would like to serve on and let us know at the next meeting. Your input is vital . Next meeting will be May 2, 1991 , 7:30- 9:30pm,City Hall , 2nd Floor Conference Room. i Disability Advisory Council Minutes May 2, 1991 Present: Diane Sams, Jon Merritt, Dick Buckingham, Brenda Kuhn. Meeting opened at 7:45pm 1) April 4th minutes were approved unanimously. Membership Changes 2) The filling of Ray Reynolds position as a D.A.C. member was discussed. Dick Buckingham has agreed to fill out Rays term as a member. Final vote on accepting Dick was not taken due to a lack of a quorum. A call vote was discussed and agreed to. Brenda Kuhn will fill Ray Reynolds chair position until a replacement can be voted on. BPW Capitol Funds Project 3) There is money availibale from the BPW budget that can be used to do some small projects. Some ideas were discussed: a) Lowering Parking Meters, or alternative payment plan. b) Woolworth's Parking Lot. c) Better accessible parking at Stewart Park and making the park more accessible. d) Bathroom doors at city hall. Diane Sams will investigate the parking meter situation. 4) Committee Structure A new structure for committees was discussed. It was felt by those present that some consolidation of projects could be done by organizing commtties in the following groups: 1) Publicity 2) Transportation 3) Accessibility 4) Technology Those present felt that any projects the DAC works on could be placed under one of these four catagories. i 5) Miscellaneous A) Dick Buckingham reported on the status of TDD acquisition and training within city departments and at the hospital B) Neal Golders idea of focusing on one or two primary issues was brought up by Brenda Kuhn, for Neal Golder who was out of town. It was felt that one or two projects could be delt with more efficiently and that they had a better chance at being successful with focused group effort. The consensus was that the initial focal project be disabled parking violation enforcement. 6) The Meeting closed at 9:15pm. Addendum 5/22/91 Two additional DAC members were contacted in reference to Dick Buckingham's invitation to join the Advisory Council. Having reached quorum, his resume will be presented to the Mayor and Common Council for approval. i