Committee Concerning People with Disabilities

COMMITTEE CONCERNING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES MEETING MINUTES City of Middletown 61 Durant Terrace – Recreation/Community Service Building June 5, 2018 6:00 PM 1. Members Present: Marty Knight/Chairperson, August DeFrance, Joe Carta (via phone), Richard Pelletier, Elderrean Paules, Joseph Bibisi, Dr. Helen Evrard and Keith Vinci. Absent: Elderrean Paules, August DeFrance, Phil Cacciola. Staff Present: Catherine Lechowicz – Director of Recreation and Community Services General Public: none 2. Meeting Called to Order: Called to order at 6:01pm. 3. Public Hearing: 4. Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the meeting minutes of May 1, 2018, was made by Dr. Helen Evrard and seconded by Keith Vinci. Joseph Bibisi abstained. The motion carries. Departmental Reports:  Dr. Helen Evrard stated that she had nothing to report.  Richard Pelletier stated that they did have a meeting for the middle school and at this meeting they put out a RFP for a construction manager at risk. This is a contractor who will be responsible for all the sub- contractors. This project will be both state funded and partially federally funded. The state bonding was approved. A discussion ensued.  Joseph Bibisi stated that St. Vincent De Paul is not going to run the warming center. There are 2 parties that are interested in doing this. The 2 parties are the Connection and the Columbus House. There is a meeting on June 15th for them to make a proposal. The Connection is going to assist the Columbus House in any way possible. A discussion ensued.  Joe Carta stated that he had some business near Palmer field. It is a building across from Palmer field that houses Sprint. There is a sidewalk that is not accessible. There is also no railing. A discussion ensued.  Keith Vinci stated that the State has recognized that the accessing for interpreting services is costing a great deal of money. They had an RFP out and the people that responded made the RFP very limited in what they offered for the interpreters. There is a group that is working to make it more accessible and cost effective for interpreters across the state. A discussion ensued.  Cathy Lechowicz stated that based on what Ellie said last month about the Middlesex Area Transit she reached out to Lisa Seymour of MATT. People with disabilities had concerns that their needs were not being met. Cathy spoke with Lisa and was told that part of the problem is that records were not being kept from the previous staff indicating whether or not someone had a disability. A discussion ensued.  Marty Knight stated that he believed that an email went out from Lisa Santangelo regarding voter registration. There is a primary that will be held over the summer. Cathy stated that she will check her emails to see if she received an email from Registrar Lisa Santangelo. A discussion ensued. Old Business New Business: Miscellaneous: Adjournment: A motion of adjournment was made by Keith Vinci and was seconded by Richard Pelletier. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:42 pm. Respectfully submitted, Laura Bruni Runte