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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011_0315_MeetingMinutes_APPROVED Meeting Minutes - Approved as circulated 5/17/11 Mayor's Advisory Committee For Equal Access (MACFEA) Tuesday, March 15, 2011 Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/B 4444 Rice Street, Uhu'e, HI 96766 Members present: Rita Manriquez - State Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board (STBIAB); Linda Nuland-Ames - Director RSVP, COK Elderly Affairs; El Doi - Kaua'i Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC); Roberta Eiben - Consumer; Elena Costales - Consumer, KCIL Volunteer; Laura Burman, Director Hawai'i Red Cross; Sharry Glass - Advocate, Teacher/Trainer; Rhoda Rojas - Hawai'i Center for Independent Living- Kaua'i (HCIL); Ana Valdez (12:05 pm) - Family Advocate; Dawn Cummings - Family Advocate. Staff members also present: Christiana Pilkington - ADA Coordinator; Marc Guyot - Deputy County Attorney; Barbara Davis - Support Clerk; Paula Morikami - Boards & Commissions Administrative Aide. Captioner: Dodie Weiss - Caption First. Members absent or excused: Dr. Lucy Miller- DCAB (Disability and Communication Access Board) Board member; Betty Bell - Kaua'i Federation for the Blind; Kathy English - Hawai'i Disability Rights Center Call to Order Chair El Doi called the meeting to order at 12:00 pm with 9 members present; the 10th member joined shortly thereafter. Approval of Agenda Ms. Eiben moved to approve the agenda as circulated. Ms. Glass seconded the motion. Motion carried 9:0 Approval of January 18, 2011 Minutes Ms. Eiben moved to approve the minutes as circulated. Ms. Nuland-Ames seconded the motion. Motion carried 9:0 Business o Goals and Objectives for 2011/12 Fiscal Year (deferred from meeting on 1/18/11) Ms. Pilkington suggested that the members create goals and objectives for the upcoming fiscal year which starts July 1 , 2011 . Does the committee wish to consider the frequency of the meeting schedule and whether to remain on a bi-monthly meeting basis or return to a monthly schedule; are there any changes that could be made to the meeting format that would make the meetings more efficient; and should they address access barrier removal on a monthly basis? Please bring your suggestions to the May meeting for discussion. o Crosswalk enhancement in Koloa MACFEA- March 15, 2011 Page 1 Ms. Pilkington explained that the County was working on a traffic calming project fronting Koloa Elementary School so that when a person wants to cross the street, they push a button and lights that are embedded into the asphalt of the road will blink warning motorists that someone is in the crosswalk. The problem with that selected crosswalk became apparent when a photograph taken at the blessing showed steps at one end of the road which made that crosswalk inaccessible to people with mobility challenges. When looking at a crosswalk, it should connect to an accessible route and if there is public transportation close by it should also connect to the public transportation. This particular crosswalk in Koloa is also very close to a bus stop which was in the transition plan and was renovated but technically it has not been feasible to bring that area into compliance because of various challenges with the road belonging to the County and the school property belonging to the State. Ms. Pilkington said her recommendation would be to look for a different site for the crosswalk and a different site for the bus stop because the current locations are not areas that can be brought into compliance easily and they do not support individuals with mobility challenges. Action: Ms. Glass moved that MACFEA send a letter to the Mayor informing him of their concern that all crosswalks and bus stops near or at a school and all libraries must be accessible, citing in particular the proposed changes to the crosswalk at Koloa School. Ms. Nuland-Ames seconded the motion. County Attorney Guyot said that the difficulty is when a situation involves both State and County properties such as with Koloa where the road is a county road that connects to a State school in which both the school and the library are run by the DOE (Department of Education). The County can make recommendations to the State because both the County and the State are under federal mandates to be ADA compliant with new projects and repairs and remediation on older projects are encouraged to be ADA compliant within the scope of their being able to. Ms. Pilkington said that the DOE (Department of Education) has their own transition plan and wondered if there were access considerations identified in their self-evaluation and transition plan. She will check to see if there is a schedule to remove some of the access barriers at certain schools. County Attorney Guyot cautioned that if the MACFEA were intending to inform the Mayor by letter, a draft of that letter would need to be an agenda item at the next meeting since it would need approval of the Committee and give the public the opportunity to provide input. ACTION: Ms. Nuland-Ames moved that Ms. Pilkington meet with the Mayor and share the concerns of the Committee (that all crosswalks and bus stops near or at a school and all libraries must be accessible, citing in particular the proposed changes to the crosswalk at Koloa School). Ms. Rojas seconded the motion. MACFEA- March 15, 2011 Page 2 Ms. Morikami advised the Committee that they had two motions on the floor, one to write a letter to the Mayor and the other to meet with the Mayor. The recommendation would be to withdraw the motion and the second on the motion to write the letter and approve the motion to meet with the Mayor. ACTION: Ms. Glass withdrew the first motion to send the letter to the Mayor. Ms. Nuland-Ames withdrew the second on the first motion. The motion carried 10.0 for Ms. Pilkington to meet with the Mayor. o Kamalani Park renovations / Lydgate Beach Park pavilion access Ms. Pilkington said that she had placed a request for three new all-terrain beach chairs and their maintenance in her budget for fiscal year 2011/2012 since the existing beach chairs the County has are over ten years old and in disrepair. Also Parks and Recreation has purchased a lift to provide access to the stage in the large pavilion at Lydgate Park and they are writing a policy regarding its use. Ms. Glass questioned whether there was space in the pavilion for a permanent ramp rather than the lift. Ms. Pilkington thought that in following through on the transition plan, Parks and Recreation was providing program access as an interim solution until the County could bring the area into full compliance. However, some departments feel that the transition plan is the end-all without checking with people with disabilities to see if they can independently access the facility. Action: Ms. Glass moved that when Ms. Pilkington meets with the Mayor she also address the accessibility to the pavilion stage at Lydgate and the MACFEA's recommendation of a permanent fixed ramp rather than a portable lift. Ms. Rojas seconded the motion. Motion carried 10:0 Ms. Pilkington said that Parks and Recreation was budgeting this year for wood chips to use at the Kamalani playground and there are those who insist that wood chips are an accessible surface. To make the wood chips into an accessible surface Ms. Pilkington thought the County would have to invest in a compressor to compress the wood chips and a sealant to put on them which does not seem feasible. Park maintenance staff shared that there is a new surface they are using at some of the other parks which is like turf, it feels grassy but it's not really grass and it is more expensive than wood chips. Action: Ms. Glass moved that when Ms. Pilkington meets with the Mayor she also recommend that the surface of wood chips at Kamalani playground be changed to a surface that is ADA compliant. Ms. Rojas seconded the motion. Motion carried 10:0 Reports o County of Kaua'i ADA Coordinator's report Ms. Pilkington will be attending a communication access conference of O'ahu on Wednesday and then spending Thursday at the Legislature with the Developmental Disabilities Council. MACFEA- March 15, 2011 Page 3 o DCAB report for February, 2011 and March, 2011 Action: Ms. Glass moved to receive the DCAB reports of February and March, 2011 . Ms. Manriquez seconded the motion. Motion carried 10:0 o Members' reports Ms. Rojas: A few weeks ago there were some accessible barriers on Rice Street along the sidewalk and the crosswalk between the bank and the post office. After I contacted the Roads Division they cleaned up the barriers the following day and I sent them an e- mail thanking them for a great job. I have also talked with Jerome Freitas, the Shadow, about how unsafe the crosswalks are on Rice Street leading across from the County Building and hope to report on this at the May meeting. The week of March 24th, HCIL (Hawai'i Center for Independent Living) is holding their last low-seated, strength-training fitness class to help people with disabilities gain their strength and become physically fit. HCIL's self-advocacy group will meet on March 22nd at the LThu'e Parish Hall. Ms. Glass: I would like to place on the May agenda, a request from Friendship House to consider having one of their members seated on the MACFEA committee. (As part of that discussion, MACFEA membership rules will need to be reviewed.) Ms. Nuland-Ames: The County is offering a brief course in Robert's Rules of Order and Parliamentary Procedure on Tuesday, April 5th at KCC from 9:00 a.m. to 11 :30 a.m. and MACFEA members interested in attending should e-mail either Ms. Pilkington or Ms. Nuland-Ames as soon as possible since the class is limited to 25 attendees. Chair Doi: The DD (Developmental Disabilities) Council is sponsoring a Day at the Capitol on March 17 for approximately 26 people. We will be meeting with our legislators in their offices and they will be providing lunch for us. We will also be attending a House and Senate session and take a tour of the Capitol. The next DD Council is on the first Tuesday of April and we will be talking about assistive technology equipment. Ms. Valdez: I have been working with the Parks Department on more appropriately designed playgrounds for children such as swings that match the age group of the children that use that playground equipment and we hope to add swings for older children (and possibly even adults). Kapahi Park has been altered so the swings match better with the equipment and they added more toddler-safe swings. I have also talked with the Parks Department about painting the inside perimeter of the pavilion in a bright orange or yellow so people in wheelchairs or who are visually impaired can see when they are close to the edge and prevent someone from falling off. At Kapa'a Elementary School we are trying to get a ramp covered to protect people from rain and the school has also ordered a chair lift to access stairways. MACFEA- March 15, 2011 Page 4 Ms. Burman: With reference to the recent tsunami, the Red Cross is working on getting financial assistance to Japan. It is not feasible to collect food or blankets because of the logistics and the infrastructure over there as well as with concerns for warehousing and distribution. To donate funds people can log on to redcross.orq and click on the Japanese relief fund efforts. Locally, there were 11 schools and some neighborhood centers that were opened as holding areas and which would have transitioned into full shelters if needed. Ms. Burman asked that the May agenda include an item to receive feedback from the Committee on difficulties they may have encountered in terms of evacuation, transportation and getting to the holding areas and suggestions for improving those areas. It is our goal to be sure we have proper communication on what is happening, proper planning in times of disaster and to ensure proper services are being provided. The Red Cross' annual fundraiser is April 1 , 2, and 3 at Wal-Mart and is called Hats Off. Any organizations that would like to volunteer to assist with this fundraiser should contact the local Red Cross. Ms. Manriquez: March 17 is the Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board meeting. I have also been appointed to the advisory board for HUD and we will be going over their plans for the next 2 years. Action: Ms. Burman moved to adjourn the meeting at 1 :35 pm. Ms. Glass seconded the motion. Motion carried 9:0 Respectfully submitted by: Barbara Davis, Staff Support ( X ) Approved as circulated ( ) Approved as amended MACFEA- March 15, 2011 Page 5