Committee Concerning People with Disabilities

COMMITTEE CONCERNING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES MEETING MINUTES City of Middletown 61 Durant Terrace October 6, 2020 6:00 PM 1. Members Present: Marty Knight/Chairperson, Elderrean Paules, August DeFrance (via Webex), Phil Cacciola, Richard Pelletier, Keith Vinci, Joseph Bibisi, Joe Carta (via phone). Absent: Tateisha Perry 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 September 1, 2020, was made by Richard Pelletier and seconded by Keith Vinci. Joe Bibisi abstains from voting. The motion carries. Departmental Reports:  Elderrean Paules stated that there is 1 opening at Monarca Place. A discussion ensued.  Richard Pelletier stated he was invited to a tour of the new school building but was unable to attend. The building is progressing right along. A discussion ensued.  Joe Bibisi stated that all of the churches have closed the door on the warming center because of Covid-19. They were looking at CRT on Hamlin Street to act as the warming center however the surrounding residents of Traverse Square have filed a petitioned against this. There may not be homeless housing this winter if the petition passes. A discussion ensued. Richard Pelletier made a motion to have the Committee Concerning People with Disabilities write a letter in support of the homeless shelter being at CRT on Hamlin Street. This motion was seconded by Keith Vinci and the motion carries.  August DeFrance stated that he has nothing to report.  Joe Carta did not respond when asked if he had anything to report.  Phil Cacciola stated that he sits on the Housing Authority Commission and advocated for adding a generator to Monarca Place due to the nature of the individuals who live there and how difficult it is for them to move in any type of natural disaster. A discussion ensued.  Keith Vinci stated that there is a new place in Meriden that is completely for hearing impaired citizens. He is going to look into more information about it. A discussion ensued.  Cathy stated that she sent a letter to the registrar’s office regarding the challenge that Ellie faced when she went to vote. One of the Registrars responded that it will be addressed prior to the upcoming election. This committee does not have much documentation pertaining to it. The City has been searching for information pertaining to CCPD. Phil brought in a copy of a resolution pertaining to this committee. Every other committee or commission in the city is done by ordinance. Our committee is done by resolution not by ordinance. The resolution it states that the committee shall consist of 7 members who shall serve in 5 year terms. The membership should consist of at least 2 members that have disabilities and that the other members should advocate for those with disabilities. Cathy stated that she wants this to be fixed. She sent the information to the legal department as well as the council clerk. A discussion ensued. Joe Bibisi made a motion  to have the Committee Concerning People with Disabilities have an official ordinance and not just a resolution. This motion was seconded by Elderrean Paules. A discussion ensued. Marty Knight made a motion to add to the resolution that there be 9 members to the Committee Concerning People with Disabilities instead of 5 members. The motion was seconded by Richard Pelletier. The motion carries. A discussion ensued. There was no new information from the Municipal Agent in terms of issues about the disabled.  Marty Knight stated that he listened to the council meeting last night and that there was mention of a building committee related to the shooting range and that no one from CCPD has been asked to serve on that committee. A discussion ensued. Old Business New Business: Miscellaneous:  Next month meeting date falls on Election Day. Marty proposes consideration about cancelling the November meeting. Richard Pelletier has made a motion to cancel the November meeting. This was seconded by Elderrean Paules and the motion carries. Adjournment: A motion of adjournment was made by Phil Cacciola and was seconded by Richard Pelletier. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:37 pm. Respectfully submitted, Laura Bruni Runte