Advisory Committee on Accessibility

Advisory Committee on Accessibility Monday, April 21, 2025, 3:00 PM, This hybrid meeting will take place in the Sharon Bushor Conference Room, first floor of City Hall 149 Church Street, Burlington, Vermont and online over Zoom. Meeting Invite information Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/92356452507?pwd=Zk6QCJswEJla4hSa3seazYvWwFa3Uh.1 Webinar ID: 923 5645 2507 Passcode: 120399 1. Adopt the Agenda 2. Adopt Minutes Subject 2.1. Advisory Committee on Accessibility Monday, March 17th Meeting Minutes Meeting April 21, 2025 - Burlington Advisory Committee On Accessibility - Monday, April 21, 2025, 3:00 PM, This hybrid meeting will take place in the Sharon Bushor Conference Room, first floor of City Hall 149 Church Street, Burlington, Vermont and online over Zoom. Category 2. Adopt Minutes Department Other Type Subject 2.2. Advisory Committee on Accessibility - Playground Subcommittee meeting April 10th Meeting Minutes Meeting April 21, 2025 - Burlington Advisory Committee On Accessibility - Monday, April 21, 2025, 3:00 PM, This hybrid meeting will take place in the Sharon Bushor Conference Room, first floor of City Hall 149 Church Street, Burlington, Vermont and online over Zoom. Category 2. Adopt Minutes Department Other Type 3. Committee Member Introductions 4. Public Forum Page 1 of 15 5. News and Updates Subject 5.1. Communication: HR Committee - Councilor Litwin appointment of member of the public to the committee Meeting April 21, 2025 - Burlington Advisory Committee On Accessibility - Monday, April 21, 2025, 3:00 PM, This hybrid meeting will take place in the Sharon Bushor Conference Room, first floor of City Hall 149 Church Street, Burlington, Vermont and online over Zoom. Category 5. News and Updates Department Other Type Communication Recommended Action waive the reading and place the communication on file Subject 5.2. Communication: Scottie Taylor - comments on Universal Design - Subcomitee on playground Accessibility Meeting April 21, 2025 - Burlington Advisory Committee On Accessibility - Monday, April 21, 2025, 3:00 PM, This hybrid meeting will take place in the Sharon Bushor Conference Room, first floor of City Hall 149 Church Street, Burlington, Vermont and online over Zoom. Category 5. News and Updates Department Other Type Communication Recommended Action waive the reading and place the communication on file 6. Discussion on Parks Foundation Draft Universal Design Policy 7. Follow up Discussion on BPRW Design by Subcommittee 8. Discuss filling final 2 positions required for committee and next steps 9. Other Committee Business 10. Adjournment Subject 10.1. Motion to adjourn Meeting April 21, 2025 - Burlington Advisory Committee On Accessibility - Monday, April 21, 2025, 3:00 PM, This hybrid meeting will take place in the Sharon Bushor Conference Room, first floor of City Hall 149 Church Street, Burlington, Vermont and online over Zoom. Category 10. Adjournment Department Council and Board Type Recommended Action Page 2 of 15 11. Informational and Non-Discrimination Statements Subject 11.1. This agenda is available in alternative formats upon request. Persons with disabilities who require assistance or special arrangements to participate are encouraged to contact 802-865-7000 (voice) or 802-865-7142 (TTY) at least 72 hours in advance so that proper arrangements can be made. The City of Burlington will not tolerate unlawful harassment or discrimination on the basis of political or religious affiliation, race, color, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, HIV positive status, crime victim status or genetic information. Meeting April 21, 2025 - Burlington Advisory Committee On Accessibility - Monday, April 21, 2025, 3:00 PM, This hybrid meeting will take place in the Sharon Bushor Conference Room, first floor of City Hall 149 Church Street, Burlington, Vermont and online over Zoom. Category 11. Informational and Non-Discrimination Statements Department Council and Board Type Page 3 of 15 Page 4 of 15 Page 5 of 15 Page 6 of 15 Page 7 of 15 2025-04-10 BACA Subcommittee Meeting 645 Pine Street Front Conference Room and Zoom In Attendance: Nate Besio Karen Downey John Thomas Shelby Glass Scottie Taylor Sophie Sauvé Members of the subcommittee introduced themselves and their role on the Burlington Advisory Committee on Accessibility. Sophie provided an overview of Universal Design (UD) Principles, which BPRW is adhering to for the replacement of all city playgrounds going forward. While the City is required to adhere to ADA guidelines, UD goes above and beyond ADA and targets making spaces more inclusive and accessible on multiple layers. A summary of the Seven Universal Design Principles can be found here: Universal Design Principles | Disability Access & Compliance Sophie reviewed the Pomeroy Park Playground Project history to date, site analysis, public engagement and proposed concept design. The Pomeroy Park Playground Project evolved out of the removal of the playground’s Tot Lot in 2021 due to safety concerns and strong support for its replacement. BPRW bid out the project in 2022, however, no bids were received. Upon evaluating the playground as a whole and the timeline for all of its replacement against other playground replacement needs in the city, the BPRW team decided that combining the full replacement with the tot lot would likely generate competitive bids, be more efficient and less disruptive to the park/playground as a whole. The proposed concept plan for the playground includes adding in unitary surfacing throughout the playground, but retaining the surrounding vegetation/trees that provide a great deal of shade to the playground. Sophie is working with the City Arborist on identifying any care needed to preserve the trees and any work that could be done under the trees to offer more natural interest in the playground area. Interplanting was also discussed to stagger the tree stand’s age and to meet future needs. The team discussed ways to improve accessibility for the visually impaired, especially children, at the playground. There was discussion around tactile feedback, such as a sandpapery tape or texture surfaces, to warn of drop-offs and provide additional warning. Exploring the use of bumps or cane guides, such as those used in Japan, were also discussed. As was the potential for an area (maybe not at Pomeroy, but at a larger playground like Leddy) where a rope guide could be set up for children who are visually impaired to run, guided by the rope. Page 8 of 15 Other parts of the design were also discussed, including moving the fence to create more space for all the different conceptual areas of the playground, elevation changes and intentional use of the surface to add another layer of play to the playground. Discussion of a track around the perimeter of the playground for kids who are learning to ride on balance bikes or for anyone to follow around the playground, including kids who use mobility devices. Benches will include space next to them for a mobility device, a person using a mobility device or a stroller. The need for an ADA parking spot and the required space was also discussed. Page 9 of 15 Timothy Williams From: Sarah Carpenter Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2025 4:11 PM To: Evan Litwin Cc: Katherine Schad; Lynn Reagan; Nate Besio; Timothy Williams Subject: Re: Possible New Member for the Accessibility Advisory Committee Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged If the process is approval by the HR committee I think we need to set a date (which we can’t do until we appoint committees). Lynn - do you have any agenda items for mid-late April. I am also am letting Nate Besio know about this. Once we have a date we should probably advertise. Katherine - can you check with the CA to see if we have to do anything else. Can we just post on city website as opposed to any paid notice. Thanks. Sarah Carpenter Sent from my iPhone On Mar 27, 2025, at 3:17 PM, Evan Litwin <elitwin@burlingtonvt.gov> wrote: Hi All, I recently reached out to Katherine because I have a constituent that seems like she would be an excellent addition to the committee and was advised that the next step, now that she has indicated strong interest to me, would be to schedule her to meet the HR Committee, who would then make a recommendation to the Council to appoint her. Katherine if I misunderstood that please do correct me. If that is the case. Sarah I was hoping we could add this to a future agenda of the HR Committee. Her name is Sharon Henault and she lives at Cathedral Square's Juniper House in Ward 7. I'm waiting to hear back from Sharon on her email address since I only had a phone number for her but once I hear back from you all we can coordinate via email. Thanks, Evan Evan Litwin (he/him) Ward 7 City Councilor 1 Page 10 of 15 Be Alert: Visit SeeClickFix or download the app to submit a wide variety of service needs around our city including street or sidewalk pavement issues, graffiti on public property, greenbelt violations, and dozens of other community concerns. Select "Parks Department Issue" to report encampments, down trees, or other issues in city parks. Stay Informed: A huge amount of city business is discussed and worked out in committee first. Visit CivicClerk to view all public meetings and associated documents for City Council, boards, and committees. Once logged in, click the "Manage Subscriptions" button in the upper-righthand corner to get email alerts for any committee or board you are interested in when they post their agenda! Learn more about our various Boards, Commissions, and Committees and how to apply to join one. 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Please note that this communication and any response to it will be maintained as a public record and may be subject to disclosure under the Vermont Public Records Act. 2 Page 11 of 15 Timothy Williams From: Scottie Taylor <scottietaylorvt@gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2025 4:17 PM To: Sophie Sauvé Cc: Nate Besio; Karen Downey; JThomas@vabvi.org; Glass, Shelby; Timothy Williams Subject: Re: BACA - Playground Subcommittee Meeting Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged [ WARNING ]: This email was sent from someone outside of the City of Burlington. Hi all! Glad to have been able to hear the meeting - I tried to unmute myself a couple of times and seemed to be on a weird connection, so apologies that I *only* listened. I also ended up losing service with about 8 minutes to go and didn't call back in. My thoughts: 1. I love the information and details shared about past decisions, current plans, etc - thanks for all of it! 2. I love the idea of different textures for information gathering - either at the edge when up high or approaching the end of the track edge we are considering for biking and exploring. 3. Universal design being considered for playground building is amazing and I love that we are using that standard as compared to ADA compliance - thank you for that! 4. I'll keep my wheels turning - did I miss, at the end, scheduling for the next subcommittee meeting? If so, just let me know and I can add it to my calendar! Otherwise I will look for the next "coordinating" email. A little background about me, I have worked as a pediatric PT in the community for years and have accessed *many* playgrounds in my work and look forward to collaborating on this project for our city and community members! What a great opportunity we have. Again, apologies I couldn't weigh in "live" but am really glad to be on this subcommittee! --S Scottie Taylor [they/them] 802-345-9885 On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 3:32 PM Sophie Sauvé <ssauve@burlingtonvt.gov> wrote: Hi all! Looks like this is the best time for many – hopefully Karen too! 1 Page 12 of 15 As the meeting must be hybrid, the front conference room at 645 Pine is available for in-person (and the acoustics are pretty good for hybrid) and the parking is easy at this time. Let me know if you plan to join in person. I’ll be here! Tim- let me know what we need to post it for Open Meeting Law. Thanks! Sophie ZOOOMMMMMM************************************** BPRW 1 is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: BACA Playground Subcommittee Time: Apr 10, 2025 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/94352398741?pwd=N7RGw2MgGbyanoQlCzDJwoygio6B7B.1 Meeting ID: 943 5239 8741 Passcode: 039646 --- One tap mobile +19292056099,,94352398741#,,,,*039646# US (New York) +13017158592,,94352398741#,,,,*039646# US (Washington DC) --- 2 Page 13 of 15 Dial by your location • +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) • +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) • +1 305 224 1968 US • +1 309 205 3325 US • +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) • +1 646 931 3860 US • +1 386 347 5053 US • +1 507 473 4847 US • +1 564 217 2000 US • +1 669 444 9171 US • +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) • +1 689 278 1000 US • +1 719 359 4580 US • +1 253 205 0468 US • +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) • +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) • +1 360 209 5623 US Meeting ID: 943 5239 8741 Passcode: 039646 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aew2hruhzo 3 Page 14 of 15 Please note that this communication and any response to it will be maintained as a public record and may be subject to disclosure under the Vermont Public Records Act. 4 Page 15 of 15