ADA Committee

Montpelier ADA Committee June 4, 2013 Subject to review and approval Attendance: Kim Brittenham, Tom McArdle, Thom Wood, Pat Caruth, Marty Roberts, Chris Lumbra, Kevin Casey, Jessie Baker, & Arne McMullen. Introductions and Welcome Review ADA Complaint Process – Asiana House There is a grievance form on the website and a copy of the form is in the City Manager’s office. A complaint may be made via the form or a phone call and it then comes to the ADA Committee. The Asiana House had the kitchen moved upstairs. The bathrooms are ADA compliant but they’re downstairs. The building used to be a bank, so some of the walls are three feet thick. When the building was renovated, there were no major changes done other than putting in a bar. Daniel Albert from Westford filed a complaint that his wife uses a cane and cannot go down stairs without suffering pain. He sent the complaint letter to the owner, the committee, John Hollar, and the Justice Department. He asked that he be notified when the bathroom is accessible. Jessie mentioned that the next step should be to request a meeting with the complainant and the owners to resolve the issue. Since the City Manager was cc’d, it’s in her purview to send a letter. She will send the letter to set up a meeting with everyone included in the letter. There was talk of putting a lift in the courtyard, but they don’t own it so that’s not able to happen. The square footage is around 1,800 feet, the Feds say anything under 3,000 square feet is exempt from adding vertical access. Vermont state rules require vertical access (lift or elevator) if over 1,000 square feet. The property is an ADA Title 3 entity. A property can be exempt if it’s structurally infeasible or disproportionately expensive (more than 20% of their budget) in order to make it compliant. The owner has been asked to provide a breakdown on the amount spent on renovations and the percentage of that for compliance. The new tenants did not go to the access variance board. The guess is that there was nothing structurally changed. If they have a variance that exempts them from the Federal law, then if a complaint is filed with the Department of Justice, there are no ramifications. Bradford Public Library will be hosting a training on ADA compliance on July 16. Review Potential New ADA Committee Appointments City Council representation on the committee. The time that the committee meets makes it difficult for City Council members to attend, they’re counting on being updated. A quarterly meeting could be scheduled in the evening so a representative could attend and then update the other members. There are council appointments done annually, Tom asked Jessie if the ADA committee was one of the appointments. Jessie will ask the City Council again about the quarterly meetings to see if that sparks some interest. Paul Audy has shown some interest but Kim thinks he couldn’t make this meeting. Members will talk to community members and if someone is interested, they can be appointed by City Council. Progress Check-In on 2013 Committee Priorities There are three categories: Increasing ADA commitment and involvement Montpelier Alive! participation and engagement – there is a push for Canadian tourism, ADA information might be included in the marketing material. Finalize Montpelier’s updated ADA transition plan – it’s still being reviewed by legal counsel. Updates from Committee Members City job descriptions are being reviewed for ADA compliance. The intern will review the state of the sidewalks before going back to school in August. The clerk’s office counter will need to be reviewed to make sure it’s ADA compliant as part of the Capital needs assessment. Tom will check with Todd Law to find out an update. There has been challenges with the graduation ramp and sight infringement with the hand rails. There is a temporary ramp that can be used that is much cheaper and doesn’t have as much hardware as a permanent one is required to have. A meeting with Kevin Casey and Community Development Office and a family on seeking grant for home repairs then a packet was put together for them. The family may be applying to VCIL for money for home access modifications. There is work on getting an aquatic wheelchair for the pool for this season and plans to add handrails for next season to provide accessible route into the pool The IT guy has been unable to meet with Franklin Shiner but he reviewed the minutes and thought the screen reader was possible. He agreed with all of Franklin’s recommendations. He will then meet with staff to train them on creating accessible documents. In the past VCIL has had celebrations on the State House lawn, but has not last year and the celebration with performance by Tom Sullivan will be at Main Street Landing in Burlington the evening of July 26th. Review and Approve Meeting Minutes from May 7, 2013 The minutes were approved as presented. Confirm Next Meeting Date – July 2nd is the First Tuesday of the Month The next meeting date was confirmed to be July 2. Any agenda items should be sent to Kim. Respectfully submitted, Tami Furry Recording Secretary