Commission For Persons With Disabilities

Commission for Persons with Disabilities Special Meeting December 13, 2018, 6:00 PM Room 319, Norwich City Hall Minutes ● Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM. ● Attendance Present: Kevin Harkins, Victor Harley, Lottie Scott, Elanah Sherman and Kevin Saythany Absent: Laurieann Messore and Cynthia Litton Others present: Brigid Marks, Norwich ADA Coordinator ● Determination of Quorum: It was determined that a quorum was present (4/6). ● Approval of September 6, 2018 Minutes: On a motion from Kevin, the Minutes were approved as presented. Lottie seconded. The motion passed unanimously. ● Citizen Comments: None. ● Communications: None ● Old Business 1) Commission Vacancies: Elanah stated there are still two vacancies and she is thinking of approaching local churches to fill the spots. Kevin Saythany agreed and stated it is good to recruit face to face as serving on commissions takes dedication. Lottie Scott said she would reach out to the Executive Director of The Arc. Elanah stated she would reach out to other non-profits and Kevin Hawkins said he would speak to the Clergy Association. 2) Disability Awareness Week: Elanah went into detail on the positives and negatives of Disability Awareness Week. Elanah stated some of the events that didn’t have a great turnout public wise were the resource fair and the municipal round table. Elanah suggested downsizing the resource fair for next year and moving the venue of the municipal round table as while it wasn’t highly attended it was a great event. Elanah said the ADA workshop was very well attended and suggested next year hosting a workshop for businesses on how the ADA structural requirements cross with building codes. Kevin Hawkins said while he was not in attendance he heard that the concert was not well attended at all. Elanah agreed stating the library has had problems in the past with getting an attendance in the evenings and suggested  partnering with the Chestnut Street Playhouse or NAC in the future. Lottie Scott responded that Elanah's points were positive and suggested promoting at Rotary Club meetings as well to help boost attendance. 3) Charging Stations: Elanah reported she did some research on charging stations for motorized wheelchairs and found that other municipalities do offer these and as the City currently offers charging stations for electric vehicles she’d like to do more research to bring back to the next meeting. 4) By-laws Update. Elanah read aloud the draft bylaw changes she developed with the City Clerk regarding phone attendance to get everyone’s feedback. Discussion ensued. The Commission revised the Article III, Membership Bylaws as follows: “In the event of illness or other personal emergency or crisis, a member may attend meetings by phone. Requests should be directed to the Chair. See Appendix for policy details. Appendix 1) No more than two members at any one meeting may attend the meeting by phone. 2) A member who wishes to attend by phone should notify the Chair at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting (or as soon as possible in the event of an emergency). 3) The Chair should arrange for a phone with the City Clerk at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting (or as soon as possible in the event of an emergency). 4) A member may attend a maximum of three meetings per year by phone. 5) If visual information is presented during a meeting, the information must be described to the caller in order for the caller to cast an informed vote on related information. 6) No calling-in to executive sessions will be permitted. 7) Caller must identify self at beginning of call and request permission to speak before commenting during the meeting. 8) Caller must be in a quiet location so as not to introduce distracting noise into the meeting. 9) Minutes must identify who is attending by phone. 10) In the event of phone malfunction, the caller’s absence will be excused. Kevin Hawkins put forth a motion to accept the Bylaws as amended. Kevin Saythany seconded. The motion passed unanimously. ● New Business 1) Elanah reported regarding the REV UP Voting Initiative that she felt the Norwich Commission for Persons with Disabilities likely got more results than other organizations and she found that other groups were paid for their efforts where the Commission was not. Elanah stated she contacted REV UP and was told that was simply the way they decided to handle things. Elanah suggested at the next regular meeting that the Commission discusses how they want to react to this information. 2) New member Kevin Saythany had introduced himself earlier in the meeting but stated he was happy to be in attendance. 3) Lottie Scott made a motion to accept the 2019 Meeting Schedule. Elanah seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 4) Elanah distributed copies of the End of the Year Report to members. Elanah reported she had to give the City a financial report as well and discovered the Commission was set to be awarded $3,000 which was more than required. Elanah asked the City to fund just $1,800 instead. Discussion ensued and the members agreed with her decision. 5) Elanah distributed copies of the revised Commission for Persons with Disabilities brochure to members in attendance. She stated the outdated copy is available on the City website and asked members to compare the two so they are ready to discuss at the next meeting. 6) Elanah asked members if they would be interested in incorporating ADA training in the February meeting and open the meeting up for viewing by city employees. Lottie agreed and suggested inviting the City Council members as well. Kevin Hawkins suggested hosting the training in March to give more notice. The other members agreed. 7) Elanah suggested bringing a Public Works employee to the January meeting to discuss the Howard Brown Park issues mentioned at the October meeting including immense cracks in the pavement and smoke inhalation issues during food events. Lottie agreed and said it would help the city develop resolutions before complaints arise. Elanah then suggested the February meeting as there was less on the agenda than January. Kevin Hawkins agreed. Elanah stated she would ask Cynthia Litton to arrange. Brigid Marks stated she would bring a DOT survey she received from SECOGG with questions relating to ADA to the February meeting. ● Miscellaneous: Kevin Hawkins reported that the City of New London is working to consolidate several municipal buildings into one which will affect the Southeastern Connecticut Community Center for the Blind which serves more than 100 disabled people in this area. Kevin stated efforts are in place to find a new location where rent is not required and asked members to let him know if they hear of any available 2200-2500 sq. ft. properties available that are located on the SEAT bus line. Kevin Hawkins added he is planning to speak with Mayor Nystrom about possibilities in Norwich. ● Adjournment: On a motion from Elanah, seconded by Kevin Hawkins, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:08 PM. The next meeting will be at 6 PM on Thursday, January 3, 2019 at Norwich City Hall in Room 319. Meeting Minutes written by Katherine Rose on December 18, 2018.