Committee Concerning People with Disabilities

COMMITTEE CONCERNING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES MEETING MINUTES City of Middletown 61 Durant Terrace May 7, 2024 6:00 PM 1. Members Present: Marty Knight/Chairperson, Joe Bibisi, Laurie McFadden, Phil Cacciola, Keith Vinci, Richard Pelletier Absent: Molly 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: none 4. Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the meeting minutes of April 2, 2024, was made by Joe Bibisi and seconded by Keith Vinci. The motion carries. Departmental Reports:  Laurie McFadden stated that she did contact Roger Beliveau of the Parking Department and she is trying to determine the standards for the handicapped parking spaces. It seems as though the state standards are different than the standards in Middletown. The Middletown standards for the handicapped parking spaces indicates that it should be 12ft by 18ft depth. She is not sure if that includes the cross hatch. Roger stated that most of the spaces are 8.5ft by 9ft wide. Laurie will go out and take measurements to determine the size. A discussion ensued.  Richard Pelletier stated that the multiple school committee doesn’t have anything new to report. The restaurant elevator is in and will be functioning soon. They are doing some finishing touches with the sheetrock but I have been assured that the elevator will be up and running prior to the building opening. The building is absolutely stunning. A discussion ensued.  Joe Bibisi stated that he has nothing to report.  Keith Vinci stated that the bill has been submitted. One house of legislature approved it and now is going to the other house for approval. They took $50,000 away from the original amount of $250,000. This money was for an interpreter and an administrator for the new Department of Deaf and Hearing Impaired. A discussion ensued.  Cathy Lechowicz stated that she talked to Emily McAvoy and she is interested in serving on our committee. Cathy plans on bringing her name forward to the Mayor. She is an individual that has done disability advocacy. There is also one additional vacancy. Howard Weissberg, the Acting Director of Public Works, has someone doing a city wide assessment of all streets and sidewalks. This will be completed by next week. We did have an ADA complaint related to the eclipse viewing at Wesleyan. Wesleyan advertised accessible parking and Russell Library was partnering with them and they stated that accessible parking was in a different lot. Due to the size of this event, they shut down the road to the observatory. The individuals were turned away by Wesleyan Public Safety and were unable to participate in the event. A discussion ensued. Old Business: New Business: Miscellaneous:  Phil Cacciola mentioned that some businesses put tables and chairs out on the sidewalk during the summer months. They should be reminded that there needs to be 48 inch clear space for pedestrians to get by. Richard mentioned that there are some restaurants with tables and chairs on the sidewalk that violate this policy. Cathy stated that she will send out an email reminder to the city side regarding this policy. Cathy also mentioned to Richard that if he sees a violation to please contact her or Laura. A discussion ensued.  Cathy introduced Emily McAvoy to the committee. The members introduced themselves and explained what they report on. A discussion ensued.  Cathy stated that she will ask the Town Clerk about tracking the usage of the computerized voting system. A discussion about voting ensued. Adjournment: A motion of adjournment was made by Joe Bibisi and was seconded by Phil Cacciola. The motion carries. The meeting adjourned at 6:46pm. Respectfully submitted, Laura Bruni Runte