Committee Concerning People with Disabilities

COMMITTEE CONCERNING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES MEETING MINUTES City of Middletown 61 Durant Terrace – Recreation/Community Service Building September 11, 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: 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 June 5, 2018, was made by Joe Bibisi and seconded by Richard Pelletier. There was a correction noted that Elderrean Paules was listed as both here and absent. The motion carries. Departmental Reports:  Elderrean Paules stated that there are 2 empty apartments available at Monarca Place. There were 2 residents that passed away recently. A discussion ensued.  Richard Pelletier stated that they are in the process of selecting a construction manager at risk. This is a contractor who will be responsible for all the sub- contractors. They are choosing from a list of 4 individuals. This list was greater but is now down to 4. After the next meeting, it will be down to 2. A discussion ensued.  August DeFrance stated that they just had a Boat House meeting. They are waiting for more plans to come in from the last meeting. This is going to be a very long process. A discussion ensued.  Joseph Bibisi stated that the Columbus House is going to run the warming center this winter. Their proposal was accepted by the Mayor. All of the churches will be part of the warming center sites. They are opening the warming center the day after Thanksgiving. A discussion ensued.  Joe Carta stated that he had some issues with the voting. He votes at Woodrow Wilson Middle School. They had zero accommodations at the polling site. The computer was not available when he went to vote at Woodrow Wilson. He went to vote at 2pm and there was no accommodation available for him. He was able to vote because he brought his sister with him who helped him cast his vote. A discussion ensued. Joe also brought up an issue with the Sprint building on Washington Street across from Palmer field. The issue is that the sidewalk is not accessible. Cathy will reach out to Public Works to address this issue. A discussion ensued.  Dr. Helen Evrard stated that she is working closely with the library on the job career center. They are extremely underutilized. This is a program that is to help people find work and it needs to be advertised so that people will know about the program. A discussion ensued.  Keith Vinci stated that it might be a good idea to send out information to everyone stating that this committee is available and encourages everyone to ensure that equal access is afforded to all people in town with disabilities. There has been an issue with some City offices with their handling of people with disabilities. Cathy stated that the City has the ability to send email to all city workers. She will take the lead and compose an email stating that this committee exists and  that there are resources available to better serve individuals with disabilities if needed. A discussion ensued.  Cathy Lechowicz stated that she had nothing to report. Old Business New Business: Miscellaneous:  Ellie stated that she had her interview (recertification) with Dial-A-Ride back in August. Her appointment was to be at noon and the bus was supposed to come pick her up and bring her to the interview. She went downstairs to wait for the bus just after 11am. The bus did not show up until 12:50pm. They stated that they were running behind however no one called Ellie to tell her that in advance. Ellie brought this up to Lisa during her redetermination. Lisa stated that they cannot come more than an hour before or after the time that you want to be picked up. Cathy suggested that they invite Lisa to attend the next CCPD meeting. A discussion ensued. Adjournment: A motion of adjournment was made by Elderrean Paules and was seconded by Keith Vinci. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:02 pm. Respectfully submitted, Laura Bruni Runte