Committee Concerning People with Disabilities

COMMITTEE CONCERNING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES MEETING MINUTES City of Middletown 61 Durant Terrace November 5, 2024 6:00 PM 1. Members Present: Marty Knight/Chairperson, Keith Vinci, Phil Cacciola, Richard Pelletier, Emily McCoy Absent: Laurie McFadden, Molly Carta and Joe Bibisi Staff Present: Catherine Lechowicz – Director of Recreation and Community Services General Public: none 2. Meeting Called to Order: Called to order at 6:01pm. 3. Public Hearing: none 4. Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the meeting minutes of October 1, 2024, was made by Phil Cacciola and seconded by Keith Vinci. The motion carries. Departmental Reports:  Phil Cacciola asked Cathy Lechowicz if there has been any progress in the accessibility issue at Pat Kidney Field. Cathy stated that there is 1 handicapped spot that is accessible to the field. There are 2 handicapped spots at the Recreation Center. Phil stated that starting on January 1st there will be a consolidation of postal services. The front desk will remain open for certain services. There is still the issue with making the front door of the post office accessible. We need to request power doors and push buttons to open the doors. A letter should be sent to the post office to request the accommodation. A discussion ensued. Friday night, at the Elks Club, they had 50 new citizens from 30 different countries and registered 40 new voters. They also had the post office there who helped with 20 passports. Phil Cacciola mentioned that it was important to get kids involved in the naturalization process so he went to the Board of Education and spoke to Jen Cannata and Marco Gaylord. They both wanted to come to the see the process and they were both very impressed. They are hopeful to get Middletown High School students involved and if not then they will get students from Mercy and Xavier. A discussion ensued.  Keith Vinci stated that it was the 4th anniversary of the Connecticut Association of the Deaf. They are going through the process for having a new Chairperson for the Bureau of the Hearing Impaired. A discussion ensued.  Richard Pelletier that he went to a meeting for the various school committees. There was an issue with pooling on the field. The State of Connecticut is giving grant funding for air conditioning in various elementary schools. Unfortunately, the towns have to come up with enough money to get the (I CANNOT MAKE OUT WHAT RICHARD IS SAYING). Since we are also doing several school roof projects, they have put this grant funding in with the 3 schools that are having roofing replacement. A discussion ensued.  Emily McCoy stated that they are putting together a massive needs assessment with the state healthcare agencies. The data for all of the services that the Department of Developmental Services provides is showing that there are service gaps and wait lists for services. A discussion ensued.  Cathy Lechowicz stated that there was nothing significant to report. The Recreation Center is acting as a polling site due to the work being done at the Fire Department. Laura is helping a Middletown veteran (who is deaf) with setting up and receiving services from the VA. A discussion ensued.  Marty discussed the 2025 meeting dates for the Committee Concerning People with Disabilities. Keith Vinci made a motion to accept the 2025 meeting dates as presented and Phil Cacciola seconded. The motion carried Old Business: New Business: Miscellaneous:  Keith Vinci discussed the holiday on Main Street. He asked Cathy what the Committee could do to help with the Holidays on Main Street Program during December.  Cathy Lechowicz stated that the newest type of hearing aid is the apple air pods. You would need to download an app to your smart phone and the air pods work just as well as hearing aids. They are a much more affordable alternative to hearing aids. Adjournment: A motion of adjournment was made by Keith Vinci and was seconded by Phil Cacciola. The motion carries. The meeting adjourned at 6:28pm. Respectfully submitted, Laura Bruni Runte