Commission For Persons With Disabilities

Commission for Persons with Disabilities Remote Special Meeting Minutes September 3, 2020, 4:00 PM Present: Committee Chair Elanah Sherman, Amy Dudek, Kevin Harkins, Cynthia Litton, Mark Marcy, Julie Menders Excused absence: Kevin Saythany Others Present: Brigid Marks Call to Order: Elanah called the meeting to order at 4:03 PM. Determination of Quorum: It was determined a quorum was present (6/7). Approval of Minutes: On a motion from Mark, seconded by Julie, the Minutes were unanimously approved as presented. Citizen Comments: None Communications: None. Old Business Westgate Shopping Center - Update: Ivery said she thought she had seen new accessible spaces at the site. Elanah said she would do a drive-by to confirm. Norwich Census Committee – Report: Elanah said she has resigned from the Committee because she lacks the ‘clientele’ for outreach that all other committee members have. (For example, some members represent the public school system and large social service organizations,) Last year, Elanah forwarded disability-related links to both local and statewide disability rights organizations. Charging Stations Sub-Committee – Report: Julie said she will contact Chris Riley soon for an update on NPU’s participation in the Commission’s charging stations initiative. Disability Awareness Week 2020 – Update: Radio shows: Kevin has contacted Stu Breyer of WICH to request slots on two shows that would cover the topics of voting rights and crimes against people with disabilities. The Norwich Registrars and Sergeant Nick Rankin (NPD) would be the guests. Medical Etiquette: Elanah has arranged a Zoom presentation by Melissa Marshall on medical etiquette and people with disabilities. The presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13 at 1:00 PM and will be hosted by Otis Library. Elanah will contact local medical providers to encourage attendance. Artreach Poetry Presentation: Julie has arranged for Artreach to do a Zoom presentation based on their recent publication of a poetry anthology. Artreach will produce and host. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00 PM. Possible Assistive Technology Presentations: Amy said that DNEC may be able to organize Zoom workshops on 1) the broad range of assistive technology, and 2) accessible Zoom presentations and how to access them on a phone. Kevin remarked that if scheduling live presentations presents a problem, DNEC might want to consider pre-recording the events and launching them during Disability Awareness Week. Elanah suggested doing only one of these events, but other members asked Amy to try and organize both. Amy said she will get back to Elanah soon with final plans. Publicity: Elanah asked members to contact her within the next two weeks with publicity ideas. So as to avoid the appearance of an illegal meeting, these communications should be sent only to Elanah. Funding for Events: Elanah requested a vote to request $1,200 in funding from the Commission’s line item, as follows: $500 for Melissa Marshall’s presentation $200 for Artreach’s presentation $500 for sign language interpretation for the above two presentations On a motion from Mark, seconded by Amy, the motion passed unanimously. Bus Stop on Town Street Near Stop and Shop: * Cyndi reported that it looks like SEAT will request funding from the State to create accessible bus shelters on both sides of the street. This will include installation of sidewalks where needed. Cyndi will remain in contact with Jamie Bohli from SEAT. New Business TurobBridge Communication Technology: The City Manager’s Office offered TurboBridge technology to the Commission for this month’s meeting. Elanah will request it for the October meeting. Adjournment: On a motion from Mark, seconded by Cyndi, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 5:25 PM. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 4:00 PM. * This item was mistakenly left off the agenda. Meeting Minutes taken by Ivery Stakley and revised by Elanah Sherman for submission to the City on September 10, 2020.