Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010 0119 Minutes Open_APPROVED COUNTY OF KAUAI MACFEA Meeting Minutes REGULAR SESSION Approved as circulated 2116/10 Board/Committee: Mayor's Advisory Committee for Equal Meeting Date January 19, 2010 Access (MACFEA) Location Mo'ikeha Meeting Room 2A & B Time: 12:05 pm Adjourned: 1 :39 pm Members Rita Manriquez — State Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board (STBIAB); Rhoda Rojas — Hawai'i Center for Present Independent Living-Kaua'i (HCIL); El Doi — Kaua'i Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC); Lynn Putisan — Kaua'i Federation for the Blind; Elena Costales — Consumer, KCIL Volunteer; Linda Nuland-Ames — ADA Consultant; Kathy English — Hawai'i Disability Rights Center; Rev. Richard Chun, Senior Representative; Dr. Lucy Miller - DCAB (Disability and Communication Access Board) member; Sharry Glass - Advocate, Teacher/Trainer; Dawn Cummings — Family Advocate Members Julia Hall —American Red Cross Excused COK Staff Christiana Pilkington —ADA Coordinator; Barbara Davis — Staff Secretary; Marc Guyot — Deputy County Attorney Captioner None ASL Interpreter Susan Bruhl Guest(s) SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order The meeting was called to order at 12:05 pm by Chair Costales with a quorum present. MACFEA members introduced themselves and Ms. Cummings was welcomed as the most recent appointee of the Mayor and a new member of MACFEA. Approval of Ms. Doi moved to approve the agenda as Agenda circulated. Dr. Miller seconded the motion. Motion carried 10:0 Approval of o Minutes of November 17, 2009 Rev. Chun moved to approve the minutes Minutes as circulated. Ms. Manriquez seconded the motion. Motion carried 10:0 Old Business o Update on Rice Street Crosswalks Video Ms. Pilkington previewed the video to the MACFEA members and narrated the activity shown in the video. Prior to adding dialogue and captioning to the video, Ms. Pilkington asked for comments from the membership who felt MACFEE Open Session January 19, 2010 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION it was important not to edit out Alex Yray's dog Udena since it showed how nervous she was with the traffic situation. Even though many of the crosswalks along Rice Street are poorly designed and not user friendly, they do meet the minimum requirements per the ADA Access Guidelines. Ms. Pilkington indicated her hope to use this completed video as a training tool for the Planning Department and other County Departments to show why those crosswalks are not really accessible since the people who work on the design processes are not necessarily pedestrians and do not understand the problems with accessibility. It was pointed out that part of Hardy Street and Kuhi'o Highway are in the State's transition plan. Ms. Rojas again asked that the completed video be shown to the County Council and noted that Ms. Bev Brody is looking for testimonials regarding safety on the streets. o Update on Program Policy and Practices Transition Plan projects Ms. Pilkington said that a lot of the transition plan projects are in the Department of Justice (DOJ) settlement projects which were extended until May. Ms. Glass asked if there was some ongoing list or way that would allow Department Heads to assess their own areas. Ms. Pilkington said it was hard to ask Department Heads to comply with all of the laws out there since every situation is different and unique but they do try to keep Department Heads apprised of various laws as it affects them. o Committee Member to sit on COK Emergency Plan, Annex N Ms. Pilkington noted that this committee has not yet resumed but it would be beneficial to have a member from MACFEA on the committee. Ms. Cummings said that Leadership Kaua'i sent out surveys to find where the needs are for persons with disabilities in need of sheltering but there has not been much participation. Chair Costales exited the meeting at 1 :00 pm. Vice Chair Rojas resumed the meeting as Acting Chair. In addition to National and State plans, the County is coming up with their plan which is specific to the State with the level of care at certain centers. The Department of Health has identified teams for care and triage. Ms. Manriquez stated that she would be working in triage for the Red Cross until FEMA steps in. Ms. Manriquez volunteered to sit on the Annex N committee which would be a great MACFEE Open Session January 19, 2010 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION tool for her Red Cross work. New Business o Rules and Regulations for Service Animals and Assistance Dogs Ms. Pilkington felt that MACFEA should stay out of this issue as Kaua'i does not and should not certify animals so there is no reason to put certification on dog licenses. Ms. Glass questioned if this would create an unnecessary liability for the County since they cannot ask for certification per ADA laws and wanted to know if there were State statutes regulating this. Attorney Guyot said they need to address the disjoint between Hawai'i Revised Statutes and ADA on dog licensing. Rev. Chun said it was not important how we felt about the liability involved and suggested coordinating with other island ADA's and then notifying the Mayor of the committee's recommendation. Ms. Glass moved to send a letter to the Mayor suggesting he advocate a change in State law so the County does not have to put certification on dog licenses. Ms. Doi seconded the motion. Motion carried 10:0 Reports o DCAB's report for December 2009 and January 2010 On file in member's packets o Members' reports Dr. Lucy— DCAB has updated their emergency electronic newsletter and noted that MACFEA members can be added to the notification list. Ms. Putisan - No confirmed date yet but the Kaua'i Federation for the Blind is looking at doing another training for the use of the red and white cane, probably around October. Ms. Doi - The next Kaua'i Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) committee meeting is on February 2 at 12:30 pm, Department of Health and we will be looking at ideas of transitions for the grant process. MACFEE Open Session January 19, 2010 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Ms. Nuland-Ames — said there are transition programs with the DIRE (Disability Rights Education) but they are not functioning and while they are present in the schools you can't force it into the homes. We are working on creating an integration program versus a traditional one. Ms. Manriquez — Her term expired on January 27 with the State Traumatic Brain Injury but the PBRRTC (Pacific Basin Rehabilitation Research and Training Center) wants her to stay on their Board and she will continue working with the peer mentor training program. (Dr. Lucy exited the meeting at 1 :38 pm) Ms. English — Her office is very active right now with the Legislature starting up and working on grants. Ms. Rojas — The next Kaua'i Center for Independent Living Self-Advocacy group meeting is January 26th but they have not scheduled a speaker yet. Adjournment Ms. Glass moved to adjourn at 1 :39 pm. Ms. Nuland-Ames seconded the motion. Motion carried 9:0 Respectfully Submitted by: Barbara Davis, Secretary Date: ( ) Approved as is. ( ) Approved with amendments. See minutes of meeting.