Committee Concerning People with Disabilities

COMMITTEE CONCERNING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES MEETING MINUTES City of Middletown 61 Durant Terrace – Recreation/Community Service Building January 8, 2019 6:00 PM 1. Members Present: Marty Knight/Chairperson, Joe Carta (via phone), Phil Cacciola, Dr. Helen Evrard, Elderrean Paules, Richard Pelletier and Keith Vinci. Absent: Joe Bibisi and August DeFrance 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 December 4, 2018, was made by Dr. Helen Evrard and seconded by Joe Carta. The motion carries. Departmental Reports:  Elderrean Paules stated that they had a great Christmas party. The heat in the building went out and they do not yet have heat. They are working on this issue. A discussion ensued.  Richard Pelletier stated that they have just hired a certification firm for the middle school project. They will be responsible for making sure things go along smoothly. A discussion ensued.  Joe Carta stated that he did not have anything to report.  De. Helen Evrard stated that she has nothing to report.  Phil Cacciola stated that he hoped that everything was in place for the upcoming winter storms. A discussion ensued.  Keith Vinci stated that there is an organization that is trying to make all interpreters qualification to standard nationally. There is a group called “We the Deaf People” that are from NY state that want to take over anything that has to do with deafness. There will be a meeting of the sign language interpreters training at the library. A discussion ensued.  Cathy Lechowicz stated that she did not have anything to report. She went to the movies and there was a row of people that were hearing impaired and the movie was seen with closed captioning. A discussion ensued about having the Mayor’s office reach out to Comcast so that they can request closed caption during the Common Council meetings and any public meetings that are televised.  Marty Knight stated that in the past, the ADA Coordinator, that was part of this committee, used to share a report pertaining to all things ADA with the Committee Concerning People w Disabilities. Cathy stated that she receives a report monthly pertaining to all things ADA from Laura and that she will share this report to the Committee Concerning People with Disabilities going forward. On January 25th at the Inn at Middletown the Lion’s Club will be celebrating their 90th anniversary as a club in Middletown. The Middletown club is the second oldest club in the district. A discussion ensued. Old Business New Business: Miscellaneous: Adjournment: A motion of adjournment was made by Richard Pelletier and was seconded by Dr. Helen Evrard . The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:42 pm. Respectfully submitted, Laura Bruni Runte