Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-DAC-2009-07-01 Report to the Mayor and Common Council July 2009 City of Ithaca Disability Advisory Council The DAC Members Larry Roberts, Chair Greg Gizewski, Vice Chair Jason Anderson Charlie Dorsey George Eberhardt Otis Jackson Kendrick Kemp David McElrath, liaison to the BPAC Erin Sember Wendy Skinner Former Members John Ortiz Lauren Signer Regular Attendees Ed Swayze, director, Information and Referral, Human Service Coalition of Tompkins County Siobhan Whelhan, staff, Ithaca Youth Bureau From the City Staff liaison: Leslie Chatterton, Planner,Planning and Development Common Council liaison: Robin Korherr Mission The Disability Advisory Council (DAC), established in 1990, advises the Mayor, the Common Council and other city officials about the needs of residents with disabilities. The DAC is comprised of city residents with and without disabilities and non-city residents with an interest in the work of the DAC. Summary of Major Work Accessible (handicapped)parking The DAC has worked on the issue of accessible parking since the DAC was created. This year we had several conversations about parking tickets with Debra Parsons,the City Chamberlain. She did research and confirmed that a percentage of the surcharge on tickets for accessible parking violations is to go to the Ithaca Police Department(for training of the department in order to improve its ability to interact with persons with disabilities) and to Tompkins County(to develop an accessible parking education program). The DAC sent a letter to the county alerting it to the monies available and the county has established a working group to advise it as it creates the program. The group is made up of a subgroup of the DAC. The county's Public Information Officer, Marcia Lynch is responsible for the program. The DAC chair, Julie Conley-Holcomb, City Clerk, and Debra Parsons met with Judge Judith Rossiter to discuss whether she would be willing to raise the fines for accessible parking violations. She agreed to do so. The new fines will be $100.00 for the first offense, $1 50.00 for the second offense, and$200.00 for the third offense (this includes the surcharge) and will take effect when the Chamberlain orders and distributes new tickets. Accessible America The DAC is leading the effort to win an Accessible America award from the National Organization on Disability(NOD). A subgroup of the DAC is coordinating this effort and is working with department heads and other city staff to develop the application. The award is given to cities that the judges decide best meet the purpose of the contest. The recognition includes a$25,000 award. For more information, visit www.nod.org. Stewart Park We invited Jason Anderson to join the Council when we learned that he had emailed his concerns about access at Stewart Park to Rick Manning who is leading the development of the Stewart Park Rehabilitation Action Plan(SPRAP). Rick Manning and colleagueas provided a presentation about the Stewart Park project and took feedback from DAC members. The DAC supported an application by the Ithaca Youth Bureau to the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency to fund an accessible, universally designed play space at Stewart Park. Siobhan Whalen, IYB,worked with Parkitects, Inc and others to develop and submit a proposal, for which the DAC chair wrote a letter of support. The IURA did not fund the proposal. The chair, as liaison to the Board of Public Works,hears updates about the Ithaca Motion Picture Project and has an opportunity to give input and ask questions. Stimulus funding for improving accessibility The DAC sent a resolution to the Mayor and Common Council stating that the Disability Advisory Council encourages the City to consider accessibility and livability by incorporating them into any(stimulus)project and including them as criteria considered when selecting projects. The resolution also suggested that ADA compliance be part of any project considered. The DAC chair was advised by BPW Superintendent Bill Gray about the availability of federal stimulus funds to address specific ADA compliance needs, such as curbramps, signalization, and sidewalk repair. The New York State Department of Transportation asked the City to develop projects that it could fund to address access. The chair and vice chair, Greg Gizewski, met with Lynne Yost and Tom Logue, city engineers, to develop an approach to developing projects that could meet the need of NYSDOT. At this point, the City has submitted other kinds of projects that are shovel-ready. Superintendent Gray assumes that there will be later opportunities to apply for federal stimulus monies to address access needs. Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) Transit Development Plan TCAT launched a transit development plan to design a more effective and supportable transit system. The chair, vice chair and members David McElrath and George Eberhardt took active roles in the development of the plan. The chair was a member of the Resource Committee for the TDP and is a member of the TCAT Advisory Group. As the Program Director at Finger Lakes Independence Center, he organized an input session between TCAT and people with disabilities. David McElrath was an outspoken critic of the first set of recommendations. He wrote a letter to the Ithaca Journal criticizing the recommendations and helped establish a meeting between Titus Towers residents and TCAT. We all attended the public meetings held by TCAT. TCAT staff presented the second set of recommendations to the DAC which was much changed, in part because of the work of the DAC,FLIC, Titus Towers residents,people with disabilities, older people, advocates and the general TCAT ridership. The DAC also recognizes that the willingness of TCAT planners to receive and use input played an essential role in the development of a plan that the DAC supports. The chair was authorized to send a letter to TCAT chair Dan Cogan, commending TCAT and its staff for its commitment to developing a good public input process. Other Work • The DAC met with Jake Roberts, Ithaca Festival Director 2008 to discuss access plans for the festival. The DAC met with Jes Seaver, Ithaca Festival Director 2009 to discuss access plans; • David McElrath and George Eberhardt,residents of Titus Towers, often raise issues of concern to residents of Titus Towers. They have raised signalization and timing to cross Meadow Street at Wood Street; traffic calming around the buildings; and the inaccessibility of the vans used for trips outside the county to events or attractions; • Leslie Chatterton is updating the ADA Survey Update(1992); • The DAC received presentations about the Collegetown Plan and the Southwest Plan; • The DAC met with Sue Kittel, IURA; • The DAC met with Joann Cornish, Director,Planning and Development; • The DAC reviewed a letter from the United States Department of Justice(DOJ). The letter came to the City as a result of a citizen complaint related to ADA compliance. Rick Ferrel, Assistant Superintendent of Public Works,updated the DAC when the City had addressed all the issues raised by the DOJ. The DOJ took no further action as the City had addressed the issues to the Department's satisfaction. Other The Chair is appointed to the Comprehensive Plan Committee The Chair is appointed to the Ithaca Commons Client Committee The Chair is the DAC permanent liaison to the Board of Public Works Acknowledgements The members acknowledge the support offered to us by Julie Conley-Holcomb, City Clerk and her staff,particularly Sarah Myers. We also acknowledge Lynne Yost, sidewalk program, for her work on sidewalk and curb ramp improvements and her enthusiasm for the Accessible America application process. We thank Debra Parsons for explaining how accessible parking fine money could be used to start a handicapped parking education program. We acknowledge Tompkins County and its commitment to creating said program,particularly the leadership of Marcia Lynch, the county's Public Information Officer. We acknowledge the longtime support of Leslie Chatterton, city planner and our staff liaison. We are grateful to many of the city department heads for supporting the work of the DAC. Rick Ferrel, former Assistant Superintendent of Public Works for Streets and Facilities, worked very hard over his career to address access issues in Ithaca. We thank him and wish him well in retirement. We thank Mayor Carolyn Peterson for her support of the DAC. The DAC enjoys a good working relationship with the Mayor, Common Council, other members of city boards and committees, city staff, and other city officials. Without a good and growing relationship,we couldn't be as successful in our mission as we are. Approved by the Disability Advisory Council: August 5,2009 Presented to the Common Council: Report prepared by: Larry Roberts, Chair.