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, October 13, 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 10:08 am. Present 7 - Chairperson Dr. Jenelle Pitt, Vice Chair Kyra Schleef, Board Member Frances Reyes Acosta, Board Member (ex officio) Carlos Duarte, Board Member Heather Flores, Board Member Tiffany Potter, and Board Member Mary Beth Randall Excused 1 - Board Member Ken Elvington 2. Approval of Minutes On motion of Board Member Reyes Acosta, seconded by Board Member Randall, that the above be approved. The motion carried by the following vote: 2-A. ID#15-912 Approval of the Disability Advisory Commission Minutes from September 8, 2015 On motion of Board Member Reyes Acosta, seconded by Board Member Randall, that the above Action Item be approved. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 1 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final October 13, 2015 Commission Aye: 6 - Chairperson Pitt, Vice Chair Schleef, Board Member Reyes Acosta, Board Member Flores, Board Member Potter and Board Member Randall Excused: 1 - Board Member Elvington 3. Member Reports and Comments Member Flores shared that October 24 will be the Step up for Downs Syndrome 1/5 mile fundraiser event. December 17 will be the community Winter Formal, sponsored by The Arc, EPU, CVRC, CUSD, and Trader Joe's. October 29 will be the RICV Self Advocacy conference. Member Reyes Acosta stated that the Universally Accessible Park at Polk/Gettysberg is slated to open in November. Information about the Grand opening will be sent to members. Member Pitt shared that she is the recipient of the National Rehabilitation Association's Sylvia Walker award. She also reported that on November 6 and 7 there will be a free Cesar Chavez Social Justice Conference at CSU Fresno. Member Potter shared ths she has launched the Compassionate Vendor Program, which will provide training to businesses and service providers then list those entities on a web database to assist individuals in identifying businesses that are disability-friendly. Clovis Transit employees will soon be trained and certified through CVP. 4. Secretary's Report There will be no meeting in November; the next meeting is scheduled for December 8. Secretary Mulhall reported that she has developed and is providing training for staff including; mandatory ADA Basics, New Employee Orientation, Accessible Documents, Public Accommodations (for supervisors), and training for facilities maintenance. In September the City partnered with ADA Helper and the Chamber of Commerce to provide training for businesses on ADA compliance. October 15 at 10:15am is the Great California Shake Out; all are City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 2 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final October 13, 2015 Commission encouraged to register and participate. The proclamation of Disbaility Awareness month and the DAC Awards will take place on October 22 at 8:30am at the beginning of the council meeting. Commissioners are encouraged to attend. 5. Unscheduled Communication / Public Comments Tommy Tahami spoke on behalf of the RICV Disability Advocacy Team, indicationg that they will have a fundraising event at Hometown Buffett in November. Tahami aslo discussed his desire to sell a portion of his property to the city if they would like to widen the road and his concerns that he needs to replace his roof but does not have funding to do so. He is interested in obtaining zero interest loans for home improvements. 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 6-A. ID#15-911 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 opened the discussion for futher public comments on the Draft ADA Transition plan for the ROW; no commissioners had additional comments on the item. The floor was open for public comment on this item. Edward LaComb asked if this plan also includes private property, such as speedbumps in parking lots that obstruct the path of travel. Mulhall responded that this does not address private property, however when the city receives plans for parking lots they review and check them for accessibility. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 3 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final October 13, 2015 Commission 6-B. ID#15-913 Review of Draft Effective Communication Policy Mulhall presented an overview of the Draft Effective Communication policy and opened the floor for comments from the commission. Member Flores indicated a spelling error. Vice Chair Schleef stated that it is important to include the option for requests for captioning at public events and meetings. Member Reyes Acosta indicated that some cultures may prefer and be more comfortable with having the option of using their minor child form translation. Member Duarte echoed the need for sensitivity toward cultural preferences. Mulhall will review and verify the ADA requirements related to minor children as interpreters at the request of the parents and make any adjustments. Member Reyes Acosta indicated that cultural competency considerations are also important. Mulhall will review and see where this policy can make reference to the Title VI policy. Chair Pitt asked for the timelines for approval of the policy. Mulhall indicated that once this draft is finalized, it will need to go to the Communication Director, then to all of the Department Directors for review and comment. From there the policy would be reviewed by the Labor Management Task Force, who would decide whether or not to recommend this for approval by City Manager. The process will take several months. The commission requested that Mulhall look into the issues indicated and bring a revised draft before the commission in December. the floor was opened for public comment; no member of the public qished to address the commission on this item. On motion of Board Member Reyes Acosta, seconded by Board Member Randall, that the above Action Item be continued. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Chairperson Pitt, Vice Chair Schleef, Board Member Reyes Acosta, Board Member Flores, Board Member Potter and Board Member Randall Absent: 1 - Board Member Elvington City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 4 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final October 13, 2015 Commission 7. Subcommittee Reports 7-A. Outreach Subcommittee Appointed to this subcommittee are Chair Pitt, Member Flores, and Member Reyes Acosta. Member Reyes Acosta requested that the subcommittee schedule a meeting; subcommittee members will discuss potential dates and schedule a meeting in the near future. Member Reyes Acosta requested to be added as someone able to do posts on the DAC Facebook page; Mulhall indicated that she will set this up. 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. The subcommittee met at 8am on October 13. Member Duarte and Handy Ride staff member Paul Kwiatkowski provided an update regarding the recent APTA conference. Duarte noted that Handy Ride has 8 new replacement busses, bringing the total number of buses to around 50. The Fixed route has 34 new busses with about 120 total within the fleet. There were concerns shared regarding the connectivity between Handy Ride and Clovis Round Up. The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was out to bid but all projects came in over budget, so they will be adjusting the project and putting it back out for bid again soon. FAX is anticipating in the future to be able to assess the fixed routes for potential realignment and adjustment to frequencies. Member Reyes Acosta asked if FAX has any simple "one line" points that can be used for promoting public transportation. Duarte will check into this and get back to her. Member Flores asked if FAX was planning anything for the shelters. Duarte indicated that facilities maintenance is coordinating an amenities plan. Flores suggested that they consider engaging other partners for art and community involvement. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 5 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final October 13, 2015 Commission Kwiatkowski shared that Member Duarte was selected as employee of the quarter for FAX. The floor was opened for comments by members of the public. Tommy Tahami stated that he would like for FAX to consider offering day passes for the fixed route and wants to know when they will review the fares. Duarte will connect Tahami with the FAX Fares Committee so he can make that suggestion to them. Adjournment As there was no further business of the commission, the meeting was adjourned at 11:44am. 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