ADA Committee

Montpelier ADA Committee January 8, 2013 Subject to review and approval Attendance: Kim Brittenham, Chair Tom McArdle, DPW Kevin Casey, Planning & Development Meeting called to order by Kim Brittenham, Chair Review & Approve Meeting Minutes from Dec. 4, 2012 There was not a quorum to approve the minutes from December 4, 2012. It was decided to email the minutes to the committee for discussion and approval. Committee Priorities for 2013 Kim explained what the intent of identifying priorities is and asked that we begin to think about what we’d like to include. This item was postponed until the City Manager / ADA coordinator is able to join us. Updates from Committee Members Kevin said the planning grant for the old St. Mike’s building was approved to resolve the ADA issues. The building still needs to be purchased. An elevator needs to be installed, Kevin estimates the cost at $ 350,000 to $ 400,000. Tom said DPW is proposing to purchase a GPS receiver to undertake a sidewalk inventory, conduct topographical evaluations of the sidewalks to determine if ramps are needed or sufficient and to generally conduct condition assessments. This will be done to assist the staff with cost estimating, budgeting, and prioritization and they will be able to add this information to the assessment plan. Purchasing the equipment is on the City Council’s agenda for tomorrow night. A recommendation from the ADA committee to support this purchase is needed. Kim gave her support. A discussion about how information is disseminated on the sidewalk improvements and snow removal. Kevin said that the city’s website has that information, it’s a matter of knowing where to find it. Franklin Shiner has been invited to the next meeting (March) to show how a screen reader works on the city’s website. Nick in the IT dept may not have all the answers needed to provide secure documents in a manner that is accessible and is looking for further direction. Tom will invite Nick to this meeting also An email was received from a citizen regarding accessibility to Shaw’s. A person without a car needs to traverse the parking lot through the travel lanes or go over the RR tracks to reach the front door. Tom thinks there’s nothing city gov’t can do unless there’s a change made that passes through the permitting process. Cannot compel improvements to existing configurations. Kevin asked if the owner of the property can be contacted and be asked to address a change. Tom questioned the city’s responsibility because it’s an existing condition but the committee could certainly involve itself if it chose to. The raised concern can be passed along to the owner by the committee chair. Kevin will check on the contact and let Kim know. The next meeting will be February 5, 2013. Respectfully submitted, Tami Furry Recording Secretary