Committee Concerning People with Disabilities

COMMITTEE CONCERNING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES MEETING MINUTES City of Middletown 61 Durant Terrace April 5, 2022 6:00 PM 1. Members Present: Marty Knight/Chairperson, Phil Cacciola, Elderrean Paules, Richard Pelletier, August DeFrance, Joseph Bibisi, Molly Carta and Keith Vinci. Absent: Joe Carta 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 March 1, 2022, was made by August DeFrance and seconded by Richard Pelletier. The motion carries. Keith Vinci mentioned that both he and Phil are trying to figure out how they can attend the meeting of the Recreation Renovation Committee. Cathy stated that the upcoming meeting will meet at 5:15pm on Tuesday, April 19th. Departmental Reports:  Elderrean Paules stated that the generator at Monarca Place will be installed in the summer. A discussion ensued.  Richard Pelletier gave an update on 80 Harbor Drive. There is a potential tenant that is very interested. Beman Middle School is having a problem with chairs so the vendor replaced all of them. The lockers are due in shortly. Joe Samolis is leaving City Hall employment. There is a concern that this will be an issue that affects 80 Harbor Drive.  Marty welcomed Molly Carta as she was voted into the Committee last night. She did not have anything to share at this time. A discussion ensued.  Phil Cacciola has decided that he will be available to help with the committee dealing with the track at the high school. There was a discussion regarding the area of accessibility that cannot be accessed at Pat Kidney Field. There was an ordinance in place for the 21st century parks bond stating that bond money could not be used to pay for artificial turf for a variety of reasons. This pertains to football and soccer fields. Molly Carta had questions regarding the automatic openers put on doors at the school. Richard confirmed that these have been installed on the doors. The RFP went out and is due back at the housing authority by April 15th. This will give authorization for the generator to go in at Monarca Place. A discussion ensued.  August DeFrance stated that the March meeting of the boat house had been cancelled. The Irving gas station on South Main Street was the only gas station that would pump gas for you. This station is being torn down and being made into a self-service station. Isn’t this a problem for those seniors that cannot pump their own gas? Molly stated that she cannot pump her own gas. There is a Shell station in Middletown that will pump your gas for you but you have to call in advance. There is also a Cumberland Farms in Cromwell that will pump your gas for you if you call in advance. A discussion ensued.  Keith Vinci asked if deaf people are coming back to the center. Cathy answered that they have not really come back since covid. A discussion ensued.  Joseph Bibisi stated that the warming shelter will close at the end of the month. A discussion ensued.   Cathy stated that she wanted to thank Keith for the sign language song for Unified Theatre. She explained that the Recreation staff will be moving out to the new building soon and that there are 2 people that will move downstairs in the office area who are currently upstairs. Old Business:  Cathy let Molly know that there is an issue with access to handicapped parking at Pat Kidney field. There is an arm that is in the down position that restricts access to those parking stalls. Molly explained that there are a couple different access issues in that area. There are gates that latch in the walking area to get to the bleachers. If you are in a wheel chair, you cannot get through this gate. The bathrooms at the Pat Kidney area have doors that are much too heavy to open if you are in a wheel chair. A discussion ensued. New Business: Miscellaneous:  The senior center is hosting 2 more booster clinics. They are both in April.  Phil asked about having high school age children be on our committee again. Cathy said that she will reach out to Justin Carbinella. Adjournment: A motion of adjournment was made by Phil Cacciola and was seconded by Richard Pelletier. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:43 pm. Respectfully submitted, Laura Bruni Runte