Commission on Disability

City of Methuen, Massachusetts Commission on Disability The Searles Building, 41 Pleasant Street, Suite 306 Methuen, Massachusetts 01844 May 2, 2024 Meeting Minutes Location: Quinn Building 90 Hampshire St. Methuen, MA 01844 in Sanborn Hall 1. Call to Order and Attendance: Meeting called to order at 7:04pm. Present Members: Vice chairwoman Ashley Smallwood, Mr. Kevin Hatch, Ms. Sandy Almonte,, Ms. Anne Gachohu, Ms. Deb Blood. Not in attendance: Chairwoman Eileen Lee. Quorum was met. A motion was passed unanimously to accept the meeting agenda. Motion: Mr. Hatch, second: Ms. Blood. Chairwoman Lee arrived and joined the meeting at 7:06pm. 2. Public Participation: none 3. Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting: A motion was passed unanimously to accept the minutes from the March 2024 meeting. Motion: Ms. Blood, second: Mr. Hatch. 4. Treasurer’s Report: The commission has consistently faced obstacles with obtaining information from the city regarding the Commission's account transactions and current account balances. Ms. Smallwood stated that according to Commission records, the account balance on February 1, 2024 was $102,338.05. Commissioner Lee will continue to communicate with the city and develop a plan to improve communication. 5. ADA Coordinator’s Report: Ms. Almonte stated there have been no new See-Click-Fix reports since the last meeting. Ms. Almonte stated the city received a $50,000 grant from the Mass Office on Disability to create a transitional plan for the city. This last occurred in 2015. 6. Update from DPW on accessibility issues in the city: No DPW representatives were available to attend the meeting. Ms. Almonte provided an update based on information sent to her from the DPW to be shared at the meeting. Plans for renovations to the accessible parking spaces at the library are moving forward and are in the final stages of reviewing plans prior to moving forward with the implementation phase. Plans for renovations to the cemetery bathroom renovation are also underway and the city is trying to determine the best way to use the space available. Additionally, changes to the crosswalk on Jackson Street/Ranger Rd. are in the planning process and the project plans have already been shared with the architectural access board. 6. Old Business a) Revisit funding request from Nevins Memorial Library: Chairwoman Lee provided an update stating that she spoke with Ms. McLeod from the Nevins Memorial Library regarding the request. Ms. McLeod stated that there would be no way to ensure that items purchased by the MCOD would only be checked out to Methuen residents due to being members of a coalition. Ms. McLeod said the library will withdraw the request. Chairwoman Lee requested that she send that information to the commission in writing. Ms. Smallwood requested that the Commission move forward with finalizing the request from the library by indicating which items the Commission has agreed to purchase and which items the Commission did not approve of purchasing. Mr. Hatch voiced his agreement with the approach suggested by Ms. Smallwood. A motion was passed unanimously to move forward with finalizing the Commission’s response to the Nevins Memorial Library’s grant request. Motion: Mr. Hatch, second: Chairwoman Lee. 7)New Business a) Discussion of potential new Commission applications: Chairwoman Lee shared that Ms. Debrocke and Ms. Ciofolo’s will be ending their time with the Commission in the near future. The Commission is actively recruiting for new members. The mayor’s office currently has three applicants, one of which has already been interviewed by the city. Mr. Hatch suggested inquiring about how applicants heard about our openings to get an idea about which outreach efforts have been successful. The Commission typically has nine members and can have up to thirteen members. b) Review of power point sheet of Commission to put out to community: The Commission did not have physical copies of the slides to share at the meeting however the content of the slides was discussed. Mr. Hatch suggested having the slides in both English and Spanish and the Commission agreed with this suggestion. Ms. Almonte stated she is willing to translate them into Spanish and suggested the Commission have some posters of the slides printed to hang in the community. Any other Business for the Good and Welfare of the Community including Individuals with a Disability Ms. Smallwood shared that she and Chairwoman Lee recently appeared on MCTV show “working for You” where they discussed the Commission and recruiting new members. Mr. Hatch followed up on a previous Commission discussion regarding the potential for future hybrid meetings. Mr. Hatch shared that according to MCTV the only building in the city that has the capability to adequately have hybrid televised meetings. Ms. Lee stated she spoke with the Mayor about moving the Commission meetings to the Great Hall and the Mayor stated that scheduling meetings in the Great Hall can be difficult due to the number of meetings that take place in that room. Mr. Hatch feels it would be easier to find more members if the Commission meetings were hybrid or virtual due to health and transportation related issues faced by some potential members. Motion passed unanimously to further explore whether hybrid or virtual meetings are possible for future commission meetings. Motion: Mr. Hatch, second: Ms. Gachohu. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn passed unanimously. Motion: Ms. Blood, second: Chairwoman Lee. The meeting was adjourned at 7:44pm.