Disability Advisory Commission

City of Fresno City Hall 2600 Fresno Street 2nd Floor, Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final Room A (2165) Disability Advisory Commission Chairperson Dr. Jenelle Pitt Vice Chair Kyra Schleef Board Member Frances Reyes Acosta Board Member (ex officio) Carlos Duarte Board Member Ken Elvington Board Member Heather Flores Board Member Tiffany Potter Board Member Mary Beth Randall DAC Secretary Shannon M. Mulhall Tuesday, September 8, 2015 10:00 AM City Hall 2600 Fresno Street Meeting Room A (2165) Regular Session 1. Call To Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Pitt at 10:09am. Member Flores attended via phone and arrived at 10:29am. Present 8 - Chairperson Dr. Jenelle Pitt, Board Member Tiffany Potter, Board Member Frances Reyes Acosta, Board Member (ex officio) Carlos Duarte, Board Member Ken Elvington, Board Member Heather Flores, Board Member Mary Beth Randall, and Vice Chair Kyra Schleef 2. Approval of Minutes ID#15-797 Approval of the Disability Advisory Commission Minutes from June 9, 2015 On motion of Vice Chair Potter, seconded by Board Member Elvington, that the above Action Item be approved. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Chairperson Pitt, Board Member Potter, Board Member Reyes Acosta, Board Member Elvington, Board Member Flores and Board Member Randall City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 1 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 8, 2015 Commission Abstain: 1 - Board Member (ex officio) Duarte and Vice Chair Schleef ID#15-796 Approval of the Disability Advisory Commission Minutes from August 4, 2015 On motion of Board Member Schleef, seconded by Vice Chair Potter, that the above Action Item be approved. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Chairperson Pitt, Board Member Potter, Board Member Elvington, Board Member Flores, Board Member Randall and Vice Chair Schleef Abstain: 1 - Board Member Reyes Acosta and Board Member (ex officio) Duarte 3. Member Reports and Comments Member Reyes Acosta shared that the RICV annual dinner was a success. RICV is continuing to promote Inspiration Park through fundraising efforts and donations. Member Randall invited all to attend the CA Council for the Blind 2nd Annual Dining in the Dark event on 9/19/15 at Yosemite Falls restaurant. Interested parties can see her for tickets. Member Schleef shared that she met with the general manager for the Saroyan and Selland regarding the listening devices that are not compatible with hearing aids. They indicated that they are planning to conduct an acoustical analysis and hope to do a full upgrade of the sound equipment, which may be able to include upgraded assistive listening devices. 4. Secretary's Report Secretary Mulhall reported that Joni & Friends invited the DAC to have a booth at their 9/26/15 Walk "N" Roll event. Mulhall is not available to attend. Member Randall indicated that she would be attending the event and could represent the DAC at a booth. She and Mulhall will connect to discuss details. Mulhall reported that she is currently working on an updated Communication Access policy which will hopefully be brought before the DAC for review at the next meeting. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 2 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 8, 2015 Commission The DAC Award ceremony and proclamation of Disability Awareness month will be held on 10/22/15 this year; members are encouraged to attend. 5. Unscheduled Communication / Public Comments Tommy Tahami spoke regarding his interest in attending a variety of cultural events throughout the city, including Octoberfest, The Armenian Festival of Grapes, and the Iranian Festival. Tahami discussed his desire to sell a portion of his property to the city if they would like to widen the road and concerns that he needs to replace his roof but does not have funding to do so. This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons desiring to address the DAC on any matter not on this agenda (presentation are limited to 3 minutes per person). The DAC is generally legally prohibited from taking any action on informationpresented in unscheduled communication until subsequent meetings. 6. Action Items ID#15-795 Selection of the Chair and Vice Chair for Fiscal Year 2016 Member Reyes Acosta nominated Chair Pitt to continue as chair for Fiscal Year 2016; Member Flores seconded. Motion passed. Ayes - Potter, Reyes Acosta, Schleef, Elvington, Flores, Randall. Abstain - Duarte, Pitt. Member Reyes Acosta nominated Member Schleef as the Vice Chair for Fiscal Year 2016; Member Randall seconded. Motion Passed. Ayes - Pitt, Potter, Reyes Acosta, Elvington, Flores, Randall. Abstain - Duarte, Schleef. ID#15-798 Selection of the 2015 Achievement Award Recipients Member Reyes Acosta moved to select PARCS as the recipient of the City of Fresno Award. Member Schleef seconded. Motion passed unanimously. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 3 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 8, 2015 Commission Member Elvington moved to select Housing and Supportive Services as the recipient of the Organization Award. Member Randall seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Member Reyes Acosta moved to select Lt. Martinez as the recipient of the Individual Award. Member Randa Seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Recipients will be contacted by Secretary Mulhall and honored during the council meeting on October 22. ID#15-702 Review of Draft Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan for the Public Right of Way (ROW); 2015 Updates and revisions to the ADA Transition Plan for Curb Ramps, Sidewalks, and Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) Mulhall presented an overview of the draft ADA Transition plan for the Right of Way (ROW). commissioners asked for additional time to review the plan and for the item to be discussed again at the next DAC meeting. This item will be continued to the next meeting. Member Duarte noted that the sidewalk connection to bus stops and public transportation is a critical component for people with disabilities. Member Flores asked for clarification on the schedule for implementation of curb ramps. Mulhall stated that they estimate that 550-600 curb ramps can be built per year. Member Randall expressed support for addressing gaps within the existing sidewalks. Member Elvington indicated that there is uneven sidewalk next to the State building and asked if this is the kind of thing that the City would respond to address. Mulhall responded that regardless of the cause of lifts if the City is made aware they will respond to patch as needed. Member Duarte asked about the general cost of an APS retrofit; Mulhall responded that it can range from $6,000 up to $50,000 depending on the existing traffic signal and the need for concrete or curb ramp repair. Member Elvington noted that when there is low or intermitten traffic that there is actually a greater need for APS than when there is a high traffic City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 4 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 8, 2015 Commission intersection where the traffic surge can be easily heard. He further noted that the median island noses are an issue for crossing as well. Mulhall responded that when streets are repaved they remove or reduce the median noses that obstruct crosswalks. Member Schleef asked if the APS include vibro-tactile components that are usable by individuals who are deaf-blind. Mulhall indicated that in the past they did not, however current requirements for APS within the CA Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) call for vibro-tactile APS units and that the Access Board Draft Pedestrian Rights of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) also defer to the MUTCD requirements. Member Randall asked about a past project she witnessed where traffic signal that was replaced that was not retrofitted with APS. Mulhall was unsure about the specifics for that project but indicated that there may be times when there is work being conducted on a signal, such as adding cameras, where APS retrofit would be outside the scope of the project. Members of the public who commented on this item: Tommy Tahami stated that in front of his property would be a good place for the City to buy ROW and construct sidewalk. 7. Subcommittee Reports 7-A. Outreach Subcommittee Appointed to this subcommittee are Chair Pitt, Member Flores, and Member Reyes Acosta. No Action taken. 7-B. Transportation Subcommittee Appointed to this subcommittee are Members Duarte, Members Reyes Acosta, FAX Assistant Director Jim Schaad, FAX Operations Manager Elizabeth Watlington, Handy Ride Operations Manager Noella Rios, Community Member Bill Hyatt and Community Member Edward LaComb. No action taken. Adjournment City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 5 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 8, 2015 Commission On motion of Board Member Randall, seconded by Board Member Schleef, the meeting was adjoured at 11:32am. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Chairperson Pitt, Board Member Potter, Board Member Reyes Acosta, Board Member Elvington, Board Member Flores, Board Member Randall and Vice Chair Schleef The meeting room is physically accessible. Services of an interpreter and additional accommodations such as assitive listening devices can be made available. Requests for accommodations should be made one week prior to the scheduled meeting. Please contact Shannon M. Mulhall at 559-621-8716 (voice) 559-621-8721 (TTY) or shannon.mulhall@fresno.gov City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 6