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, December 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 10:10am. Present 5 - Chairperson Dr. Jenelle Pitt, Vice Chair Kyra Schleef, Board Member Frances Reyes Acosta, Board Member (ex officio) Carlos Duarte, and Board Member Ken Elvington Excused 2 - Board Member Heather Flores, and Board Member Tiffany Potter Absent 1 - Board Member Mary Beth Randall 2. Approval of Minutes ID#15-112 Approval of the Disability Advisory Commission Minutes from 2 October 13, 2015 On motion of Vice Chair Schleef, seconded by Board Member Reyes Acosta, that the above Action Item be approved. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 4 - Chairperson Pitt, Vice Chair Schleef, Board Member Reyes Acosta and Board Member Elvington City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 1 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final December 8, 2015 Commission Excused: 2 - Board Member Flores and Board Member Potter Absent: 1 - Board Member Randall 3. Member Reports and Comments Member Reyes Acosta shared that the grand opening of Independence Park was a sucesss. She is continuing to monitor the DAC Facebook page and plans to have posts at least once per week. There was a post requesting mental health services and resources; Secretary Mulhall will respond to the post and will request that NAMI provide a presentation at a future DAC meeting. Member Schleef shared that she has been engaging in advocacy with the Saroyan Theater to update their infrared Assistive Listening System (ALS) to one that is compatible with T-Coils on hearing aids. The General Manager, Bill Overfelt let her know that they have completed the planned acoustic report and it would cost $34,000 to upgrade just the ALS. 4. Secretary's Report Secretary Mulhall reported that the City Housing division is engaging in an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing and the Department of Transportation is moving forward with assessing all of the fixed route stops. In the coming year they may be asked to provide input on both of these items. Mulhall also shared that Citizen Corp is compiling resources for what to do when there is an active shooter and will forward that information to commissioners when it is available. the Department of Homeland Security campaign statesthat people should "Run, Hide, or Fight." 5. Unscheduled Communication / Public Comments Community member Renee Zeno expressed concerns with the Handy Ride services, particularly that it is unable to go directly into Clovis without the rider transferring to the Clovis paratransit System. She indicated that there should be exceptions for people who have to attend doctors appointments. Zeno also expressed a wish for the service area to extend past Polk avenue and that people are not able to get cash change back from the fare boxes. Community member Ed LaComb requested that the DAC hold the subcommittee meetings more regularly than quarterly. He feels that Handy Ride will be more accountable if it is every other month. He has notice that Handy Ride is arriving within but toward the later part of the pick up/drop off City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 2 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final December 8, 2015 Commission window and feels that this is unacceptable. Commissioners indicated they will discuss these concerns during their respective items later on the agenda. 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#15-112 2016 Meeting Schedule 3 On motion of Board Member Reyes Acosta, seconded by Vice Chair Schleef, that the above Action Item be approved as amended, with the March meetings held on March 8 rather than March 9 and the outreach subcommittees at 8:45am - 9:45am instead of 8:30 am - 9:30am. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 4 - Chairperson Pitt, Vice Chair Schleef, Board Member Reyes Acosta and Board Member Elvington Excused: 2 - Board Member Flores and Board Member Potter Absent: 1 - Board Member Randall ID#15-112 Review of Draft Effective Communication Policy 1 Secretary Mulhall presented the updated draft of the Effective Communication policy, indicating the sections that had been changed. She stated that she had also solicited input from the following agencies: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center, Valley Center for the Blind, Resources for Independence Central Valley, and CSU Fresno Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies Department. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 3 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final December 8, 2015 Commission Chair Pitt asked if the policy included information about where employees can go for resources and support with determining appropriate course of action. Mulhall responded that that was covered on page 3, point 7. Member Reyes Acosta asked if this included information specifically for members of the public including who they can contact if they have questions about the policy. Mulhall responded negatively, indicating that this policy is intended for employee use rather than for the public. Mulhall provided a copy of the ADA Notice to Reyes Acosta, and shared that this is published and distributed in a variety of ways so that the public has access to the contact information. Chair Pitt opened the floor for public comment on this item. There was no public comment. 7. Subcommittee Reports 7-A. Outreach Subcommittee Member Reyes Acosta reported that the Outreach Subcommittee had conducted their meeting earlier this same day. The subcommittee will be working on three projects: 1) media marketing resources, 2) Guide for local media in how to respectfully represent disabilities, and 3) a booklet of local disability resources for the public. Reyes Acosta shared that the subcommittee discussed having NAMI present during a regular commission meeting some time in the coming year. Chair Pitt opened the floor for public comments; no members of the public commented on this item. 7-B. Transportation Subcommittee Member Duarte reported that SZS Consulting had been selected to review and inventory all of the 1600+ fixed route buses. They will conduct a kick off meeting for the project in January. Duarte shared that FAX has been going through an upgrade of their Trapeze reservation system since mid-November. They have been struggling with some complications from the upgrade and are aware that this has had some impact on the pick up/drop offs for Handy Ride. Member Elvington asked about the interconnected transportation systems between Fresno and Clovis, expressing concern that Fresno has a route on City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 4 Disability Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final December 8, 2015 Commission Shaw that extends into Clovis but that the Handy Ride services do not follow the route. Member Duarte responded that that section of the route is contracted for and funded by the Clovis transit system, which provides the accompanying paratransit services for riders. Community Member Irene Soto stated that she would like to see Handy Ride going into Clovis again like it used to. Community Member LaComb suggested that the FAX route that is contracted for Clovis should have some kind of identification so that people know it is part of the Clovis Transit system at a certain point. The commission asked that the service areas and interaction between the Clovis and Fresno Transit systems be explained in more detail during the January regular meeting rather than waiting until the February Transportation subcommittee. Adjournment On motion of Member Elvington, seconded by Vice Chair Schleef, the meeting was adjourned at 11:28am. 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 5