ADA Committee

Montpelier ADA Committee October 6, 2015 Subject to review and approval Attendance: Franklin Shiner, Tom McArdle, Kevin Casey, Chris Lumbra, Thom Wood, Arne McMullen Introductions and Welcome Meeting called to order by Tom McArdle, staff. Approval of the agenda Approved unanimously Kim Brittenham is no longer on the committee. Consideration of the election of a new committee Chairperson was deferred by consensus until the next meeting in January. Tom noted that the Chair should be a member of the public whom the Council appointed as committee member and should not be a staff person. Public input Franklin was recently appointed to the committee by the City Council. He was only member of public present. A general discussion ensued: There was mention about the ADA accessibility awards and the new Down Home restaurant on Main Street was mentioned as nominee. Chris noted they achieved the accessibility standards and it would be appropriate to publicly recognize their accomplishments. There was discussion about the status of the committee priorities and each was discussed. All are essentially on-going but no updates or changes will be made until new Chair on board. One of the priorities regards the Transition Plan. Tom noted no success finding an individual to complete it. Donna Casey has ended her temporary position with the City and has accepted a permanent so is no longer able to consider. It was concluded that funds should be requested to hire a consultant (para-legal with ADA expertise). On a related note, it was mentioned that the ADA coordinator should attend the committee meetings and the city has not yet assigned department staff to be responsible for ADA compliance. Training for staff has been mentioned in the past but no action yet. It was also noted that we don’t really have a property manager position which would probably be appropriate moving forward considering various facilities to address energy matters, the new transit center and the recreation department building needs, etc and would be the appropriate representative for ADA related facility needs. Updates from Committee Members Chris provided an update about 39 & 40 Barre St project completion for the Downstreet Housing properties which underwent significant renovations over the summer. There is one accessible unit in each building. The project received a $550,000 CDBG grant awarded by the city. Thom described the new accessible entry sidewalk @ MHS eliminating the steps. They also completed new lever operated door handles for all the class rooms. He went on to describe the installation of Braille readable way finding signs for the MHS facility as well as locatable addresses established for each classroom as an emergency service improvement. Arne mentioned the Recreation Dept transition with the city including the building where people are now beginning to take notice of the accessibility needs which was discussed at the recent community budget forums. Review and Approve Meeting Minutes from July 7, 2015 Arne noted he was present and his name is incorrect. There was a motion and a second to approve the minutes as amended. The motion passed unanimously. Confirm Next Meeting Date – January 5th is the First Tuesday of the Month Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made & seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Tom Mcardle