Committee Concerning People with Disabilities

COMMITTEE CONCERNING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES MEETING MINUTES City of Middletown 61 Durant Terrace October 4, 2022 6:00 PM 1. Members Present: Marty Knight/Chairperson, Phil Cacciola, Elderrean Paules, Richard Pelletier, and Keith Vinci. Absent: Molly Carta, August DeFrance, Joe Bibisi Staff Present: Catherine Lechowicz – Director of Recreation and Community Services General Public: none 2. Meeting Called to Order: Called to order at 6:04pm. 3. Public Hearing: none 4. Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the meeting minutes of May 3, 2022, was made by Keith Vince and seconded by Elderrean Paules. The motion carries. Departmental Reports:  Elderrean Paules stated that Monarca Place received a new furnace and a hot water tank a few weeks ago. Phil Cacciola stated that the new generator is a $450,000 project. He is hopeful that the project will be completed by the spring. Phil also stated that they will be adding 8 more apartments to Marino Manor for seniors. Elderrean stated that there is an available 2 bedroom apartment at Monarca Place. Also, the social room is available for tenant use now. A discussion ensued.  Keith Vinci stated that there is a new professor at Wesleyan University who is a deaf gentleman. He is from Portugal and isn’t very familiar with American Sign Language. He does not associate with very many other deaf people so his sign language is different than American Sign Language. Keith stated that he is doing ok with a combination of 3 different types of sign language (Portugal, Spain and American). He also stated that he may be doing a show for Unified Theatre. There are some issues with the Board of Education and finding a place for rehearsal. It may be held at Beman School. A discussion ensued.  Phil Cacciola stated that it would be nice to have some young kids on the committee. It is suggested that Justin Carbinella of Youth Services be contacted to try to get some high school children to sit on our committee. In addition, we have an election coming up and we also need to get ready for the winter (reach out to the Public Works Dept.) and make sure that the sidewalks and curb cut outs are always clear of snow. A discussion ensued.  Richard Pelletier stated that the Beman School committee still exists but will only be contacted if there is an issue with the school. Richard is also on a committee regarding the replacement of the roofs of 2 of the schools. The contractor stated that it is very hard to keep help and that is why they are so far behind. The track and field will also be replaced. There has not been a decision as to whether it will be replaced with turf or grass. The paper stated that the cost would be between $750,000 and a million dollars. A discussion ensued.  Cathy Lechowicz stated that there have been scooters and bikes all around town. She spoke to the City to make sure that they are aware that there is an accessibility issue with these scooters and bikes being left on sidewalks. There is a person that has been hired by the company to make sure that the sidewalks are clear. This is a pilot program that the City started to help the City be more environmentally friendly, allow for different modes of transportation around town and assist with parking issues downtown. A discussion ensued. Cathy is meeting with the Dean of Academic  Advancement at Wesleyan who supports students with disabilities on campus. She oversees the committee that was discussed at last month’s meeting and has 2 blind students at Wesleyan and they have asked for an audible crosswalk at Church Street and High Street so that they can cross the street independently. Cathy has already reached out to the City to make this request. Cathy also reached out to the Board of Education about Pat Kidney field as well as the owners of the apartment building regarding the flow of traffic in that area. The gates are open during the weekends so that people can access that parking area. There was an ADA issue regarding the entrance of a walking trail that has tree roots growing through it at Wesleyan Hills. It was determined that this is private property and she has to call the property management company. Also, Joe Carta resigned from the Committee Concerning People with Disabilities. Marty stated that he watched the common council meeting and heard from the Mayor that there will be a new building committee for the Veterans pool project. Unfortunately, there was no one from the CCPD that was on the committee. Cathy explained why that was. There will be a feasibility committee for the Russell Library. They will determine whether or not this project will be a renovation or a reconstruction. A discussion ensued. Cathy reached out to the Registrar of Voter’s office because of the accessibility issue during voting at MacDonough School. Richard Pelletier stated that there was no designated handicapped parking spaces behind the school and there was no signage to assist people with getting into the school. A discussion ensued.  Marty stated that a friend of the committee and previous committee member passed away. Her name is Julie Hurlbert. A discussion ensued. Old Business: New Business: Miscellaneous:  Elderrean stated that October 15th is Blind American’s Equality Day. It used to be Cane Safety Day but has since changed. Also, we have a famous Lion in the club who has been a member for 50 years. Marty Knight has been a member of the Lion’s club for 50 years. Adjournment: A motion of adjournment was made by Phil Cacciola and was seconded by Elderrean Paules. The meeting adjourned at 7:02 pm. Respectfully submitted, Laura Bruni Runte