Committee Concerning People with Disabilities

COMMITTEE CONCERNING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES MEETING MINUTES City of Middletown 61 Durant Terrace May 4, 2021 6:00 PM 1. Members Present: Marty Knight/Chairperson, Elderrean Paules, August DeFrance (via Webex), Phil Cacciola, Richard Pelletier, Keith Vinci, Joe Carta (via Webex). Absent: Joseph Bibisi, Tateisha Perry Staff Present: Catherine Lechowicz – Director of Recreation and Community Services General Public: none 2. Meeting Called to Order: Called to order at 6:03pm. 3. Public Hearing: 4. Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the meeting minutes of December 1, 2020, was made by Keith Vinci and seconded by Phil Cacciola with one correction. Keith Vinci wanted to visit a place in Wallingford that is for deaf individuals. In the minutes it is stated that he did visit this place. Correction made. The motion carries. Departmental Reports:  Elderrean Paules stated that it has been very quiet at Monarca Place. The Health Department gave out COVID vaccinations at Marino Manor and the residents of Monarca Place were told that they could also get their vaccines there. Phil Cacciola wanted to know if the new tenant was disabled. Ellie stated that she is not. It is a problem that Monarca Place does not have a generator for when the power goes out. This is an issue with the elevator not working. A discussion ensued.  Richard Pelletier stated the school will be 70-75% ready to be opened and they are on schedule. There were 2 rooms that needed extra wiring which held up the sheet rocking. Richard was offered a walk-through of the building and as soon as his stamina is increased he will take that tour. A discussion ensued.  Phil Cacciola stated that as far as accessibility goes he wanted to know the status of the new school. Richard stated that it is fully accessible and that even the catwalk in the theater area is accessible. He also had questions about the Building Committee ordinance language that they are reviewing and wanted to make sure that we do not lose the ability to be on a commission as a representative. A discussion ensued.  Keith Vinci stated that there has been a lot of media coverage on deafness due to a variety of things and recognized that there has been interpreters at all of the Governors briefings. The first Presidential address to joint Congress did have an interpreter at it and that was the first time in history. A discussion ensued.  August DeFrance stated that the Boat house committee has had many meetings. They met with architects and different computer design companies via webex. The committee picked the design model and it has gone to the council. The architects are working on the additional costs to the building due to changes. Richard had a question about the City taking over the lease of the Canoe Club building having an impact on the cost. A discussion ensued about the fact that only the first floor of the building is accessible.  Joe Carta stated that he didn’t have anything to report.   Cathy stated that CCPD member Tateisha Perry is on the school buildings roof committee (2 schools). The project is large enough to have its own building committee. There was no new information from the Municipal Agent in terms of issues about the disabled. If anyone knows of someone who is homebound, they can call the Health Department and get their Covid vaccine in their home. A discussion ensued about outdoor dining and accessibility. Marty brought up Brewbaker’s having their sign too far into the walkway.  Marty Knight stated that since October he has been involved with some health issues pertaining to his kidneys. His kidneys were failing but the recent blood work indicated that his numbers went back up and for now he is doing better. A discussion ensued. Old Business New Business: Miscellaneous:  Phil has yet to meet Tateisha Perry and wanted to let her know that if she needs any help to please reach out to him. He also wanted to comment about how smoothly and efficient our vaccine clinics were here at the Senior Center. A discussion ensued.  Elderrean Paules stated that she wanted to acknowledge that the Senior Center and Amazing Grace Food Pantry partnered together to get food delivered to Monarca Place. The food was delivered here to the Senior Center and then it was sent directly to people at Monarca Place and other locations. A discussion ensued. Adjournment: A motion of adjournment was made by Phil Cacciola and was seconded by Richard Pelletier. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:34 pm. Respectfully submitted, Laura Bruni Runte