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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Committee For Persons With Disabilities - 04/04/2001 MINUTES - QUORUM MEETING COMMITTEE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES April 4, 2001 Commissioners - Present Commissioners - Absent Vice Chair: Mr. Jon S. Harwood Chairperson: Ms. Crystal Lyons Ms. Sandra Cabazos Ms. Frances Garza Ms. Linda Fallwell-Stover Mr. Roberto M. Flores Ms. Toni Padilla Mr. Eloy Soza Mr. Glen Ray Tomo CITY STAFF: (ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT) Building Official: Park & Recreation Director: Mr. Art Sosa Mr. Tony Cisneros Human Relations Administrator: Legal Advisor: Mr. L. David Ramos, Interim Director Mr. Joseph Harney - Absent Human Relations Management Assistant: Human Resources Sr. Analyst: Ms. June Shultz Ms. Marge Reue - Absent ATTENDANCE - Roll Call — Absences: Crystal Lyons (In Austin, TX as Legislative Meeting) (Pending Implementation of Attendance Policy) Absences' Review: When applicable, absences will be voted upon to determine if it will be an excused absence. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Minutes of March 7, 2001. Corrections made on the spelling of names prior to meeting. Motion made to approve as corrected by Mr. Tomo, seconded by Ms. Fallwell-Stover. A vote was taken and the minutes were approved. SCANNED CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: Postponed until later in the meeting. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Postponed. (Committees pending formation.) NEW BUSINESS: a. Draft Memorandum — regarding Ordinances pertaining to ADA issues and Department information request. Requested suggestions or changes the Committee would like to include before submitting to Deputy City Manager for review and release. (Requested Committee's input by next Friday — April 13th.) b. Formation of Sub-Committees — General discussion, however postponed until priorities are established. (Ms. Shultz went to get Chair's Report.) (Committee members reviewed issues / concerns that were discussed at the initial meeting.) Discussion about a draft listing of issues. c. HB 1912 —Chair's Report addresses this: Chair's Report — Mrs. Lyons is in Austin, TX for HB 1912 — Public Hearing. She would like the Committee to issue a resolution of support to the City Council. She will provide a report and continue with her efforts to obtain support of the Bill. David Ramos, Susan Cable and she have been working on accessibility issues related to the City's Website. Regarding sub-committees, if the Committee chooses to select areas and members today, be sure to recognize the time and commitment needed for sub-committee meetings. If you choose to table it at this time, David can arrange for a facilitator to help us prioritize. As we listen to various Departments, we can focus on more pressing issues. Regarding Old Business — the one-day Texas Accessibility Academy Training was wonderful. If you did not attend, then she highly recommends it in the future. David Ramos will provide an update on the Convention Center Expansion and Arena Project. Our Committee would greatly benefit by having a member attend the Oversight Committee Meetings with David Ramos. That member could represent us and keep us informed on a monthly basis. Please consider and volunteer. 2 Some Committee members asked about future Texas Accessibility Academy Training. City staff will follow up with Marge Rene to find out when the next training opportunity will occur. There was discussion about the Arena and Convention Center expansion Project — Mr. Tomo, Ms. Fallwell-Stover (as an alternate) and Mr. Harwood expressed an interest in assisting with the Oversight Committee. They would like additional information. David Ramos will provide them with information regarding meeting dates, times and locations. Moving out of Agenda Order to allow for Presentations: Captain Wayne Tisdale, CCPD — Traffic Division: He was tasked to respond to concerns regarding parking issues. He brought information on what the Police Department is doing regarding illegal parking or illegal standing in handicapped parking. Sworn Officers and civilians parking Control attendants are authorized to enforce Texas Code Privileged Parking. Besides the Police Officers, the Fire Department, Airport Police and Agencies as designated by the City Council can also enforce those rules. 3 types of violations looked at —illegally parked vehicles who are displaying a disabled placard, that are not disabled personnel parking in those areas; if vehicle is parked there — standing; illegal use of plate or placard. Further clarification about offenses. 1,200 Citations issued in past year— 2/16/00 — 2/16/01 for first violations. The other violations are reported violations — handled differently, 13 cases were filed for the second violation. 3 cases filed for unauthorized use of the plate or placard. Discussion on privileged parking and handicapped parking signage — only requirement was internationally recognized signage that is posted 60 inches (public and private parking). Extensive research went into reaching this understanding for enforcement. How is this communicated to officers? Police Officers put it out through their e-mail and through internal staff. Recent Attorney General opinion on private parking enforcement. Texas Transportation Code refers to Section 681, to federal standards, refers back to State and Architectural Barriers Act — which is where the standards are defined. There are also standards for number of reserved spaces based upon total number of spaces available and striping requirements. 3 Ms. Fallwell-Stover raised a question about number of citations issued for previous year's figures compared to what Captain Tisdale provided — was there an increase. David Ramos indicated that he recalled a prior meeting, where statistics were discussed, but he didn't believe the numbers were as high as that provided today by Captain Tisdale. There was discussion about prioritizing officer's response upon critical nature of other calls that may be pending. The officers do try to enforce these violations, but sometimes there may be problems, because the designated parking is not properly posted. Captain Tisdale and another officer have a special interest in these violations. This is a quality of life issue that we try to address. Violations can be reported to dispatch. If no one calls in, we won't know that there is a problem. Recently they had a problem at a Wal-Mart — where they made a point to monitor the situation for a while. Encouraged members to discuss the concerns at neighborhood meetings. Captain Tisdale will provide copies of the report for the members. Captain Tisdale discussed some examples of how violations are handled when going to court. Mr. Harwood raised a question about other types of access for persons with disabilities, when a legal issue arises. The Police Department does have TDD equipment and access to Interpreters, if a need were to arise in response to a call. There was further discussion about signage language — such as fine portion. A two part sign that has a portion that can be modified regarding fines is acceptable. However, our ordinance doesn't stipulate indication of fines on the signage. There was discussion about fines and increases for repeated offenses. Question raised by Mr. Flores about having to pay for handicapped parking. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. What is the State law? Captain Tisdale indicated that there is a State law that states a public entity cannot charge for handicapped parking. If you have the State placard, plate or out-of-state license or placard — you should not be charged. A question was raised — like the City's Convention Center? Captain Tisdale indicated that you should not be charged for parking in that facility if you have the placard or plate. Ms. Shultz indicated she has been charged at the Convention Center, when she had the placard. Captain Tisdale said that this is illegal. Mr. Flores indicated that he has 4 in some instances paid and in others — he hasn't. He said he wouldn't argue about it, but wanted to know the law. Captain Tisdale said if it is in the public venue, then you should not have to pay. A question was raised if there is a difference if it is in a garage area. Captain Tisdale didn't know the technicalities on this. This may be something that needs to be addressed. (Example — the garage parking is where the accessible ground level elevator is located.) Is this a private enterprise or a public sponsored event? This is something the Committee can look into. This is also an area where police officers and parking control attendants have been instructed to not ticket persons who have the placard or plate at metered parking. They are exempt from paid meter parking. Mr. John Birch — Legal Department: To discuss the Transition Plan. When the ADA became law, all public entities were asked to prepare a Transition Plan. One of the things not done in the actual Transition Plan was the identification of funding as to how we were to fund those particular places that aren't accessible. A lot of the monies used for accommodation modifications were from CDBG funding. The Mayor and City Council have asked that a new Transition Plan be developed to identify monies for necessary modifications. Mr. Ramos wanted to share information on this, and see the direction the Committee wanted to take with assisting with the Transition Plan. Unfortunately, the City is not in a position to provide much funding at this time, but we need to identify the needs and projections. Basically, the law requires that we must have a written Transition Plan. One of the requirements is to list the physical barriers in a public entity facility, accessibility to programs and services. We do have a Transition Plan and it addresses physical barriers, programs and activities and how those should be addressed. We had designated ADA coordinators in each Department. Charged with responsibility to do walk-through and identify compliance deficiencies. All Departments did this — CDBG funding was used, grants, special incentive funds, etc. were used to make necessary modifications. There were some General Fund expenditures, but there had to be budgeted into each Fiscal Year Budget Allocations over several years. We have identified some other barriers. Ms. Fallwell-Stover raised a question — if a time line was established in the Transition Plan for these needed modifications? Mr. Ramos indicated that there is a form that is used for identification of deficiencies and a 5 time line is established for correction, to ensure compliance. Items are prioritized. Schedule for taking the necessary steps is a requirement. If the timeline to correct takes longer than a year, then you need to have interim steps on how to address. Ms. Shultz asked Mr. Sosa if he knows if in the initial Transition Plan, we had identified needs and anticipated expenses in the five and ten-year capital budget for the City's ADA issues? And was it broken out by year, when work was to be done? Mr. Ramos indicated he only recalls issues pertaining to the Street and curb cuts being mentioned in the capital budget. Capital improvements are funds that are approved for specific projects and the only ADA issues addressed were pertaining to Streets and curb cuts. In 1991 — Human Resources initially oversaw the Transition Plan. Cynthia Garcia was the ADA Coordinator. In 1993, David Ramos was hired as the ADA Coordinator. Actually, there were two people designated in Human Resources to address Title I and Title H that was Mr. Ramos and the DRC Coordinator. However, now there is a transition occurring — ADA issues are being moved from Human Resources to Human Relations. David will be the ADA Coordinator. Marge Reue currently is the ADA Coordinator regarding Title I. She will only deal with Title I — the employment process, such as the application process, accommodations, and injuries on the job or off-site. Mr. Ramos' role will be to look at compliance within City facilities and outside facilities. We want the input from the Committee, Legal and Mr. Ramos regarding timelines. Some items we need to do right away. Mr. Sosa indicated that the Mayor has talked about the potential of having the Building Inspections area enforce the accessibility code. It is in our Building Code and the International Building Code that we are about to adopt. It is a policy decision that we have not enforced because of the intervention of 9102 State Architectural Barriers Program. So we have left it untouched from the municipal side. The Mayor's real interested in our picking it up and doing that. Legislation pasted two years ago that said we should withhold building permits pending notifications / certifications that plans were in review. The law didn't have any teeth. This year, they are looking to strengthen it — and require that we do this. We are looking at changing our policies to do this. Mr. 6 Sosa can't go back to old buildings about this, but can ensure that all new buildings comply. Mr. Birch discussed new development and reconstruction requirements, curb cuts and street issues. He asked the Committee to assist with providing input on the Transition Plan. Mr. Ramos discussed the problems with ambiguous interpretations. There have been difficulties regarding curb cuts — final law should be out 2005, requiring all sidewalks to have curb cuts. It is estimated that it will take $40 Million to make all necessary curb cuts in this City. The problem is there isn't sufficient monies for this. We need to look at the document — to make sure it is workable. We also want to be on the same page, and know why we have to do something. The City Manager and Mayor are both very supportive of these changes. Ms. Fallwell-Stover asked about getting a copy of the original Transition Plan. Mr. Ramos explained the size of the document. There was a suggestion to form a committee and to give portions of the document to that sub-committee for review and reports back to the Committee. Discussion about breaking it down to workable sections and to get clarification of what the needs of the City are. Ms. Shultz asked if this would then be one of the priorities of the Committee — to establish a sub-committee to address? Working on the Transition Plan? General discussion — download sections on the Web Page? Mr. Birch indicated that he would be including Park and Recreation, Building Inspections, Human Relations and the Committee and possibly other areas, in the Transition Plan development phase. Mr. Ramos' last meeting discussing physical barriers was held in approximately 1996. Mr. Ramos discussed his work with Park and Recreation to provide accessibility to programs and services and necessary accommodations. Mr. Ramos asked if the Committee wanted to designate a sub-committee to work on this or to have individuals look at a particular Department? Or how would you like to address it? Ms. Fallwell-Stover indicated she didn't think that the Committee was ready to address this yet. They needed more information. Mr. Cisneros suggested providing the Committee members with a copy of the Table of Contents from the initial Transition Plan. This would be two or three pages of a broad overview. Mr. Ramos gave an example of a concern — Solid Waste Services. A customer may call in and say, "I can't carry my trash out to the curb, because I am in a wheelchair". We (the City)provide a backdoor service. Normally, backdoor service is at a higher cost, however if medical documentation is provided, there is no higher cost. There are a lot of people who don't know about this. It is that type of identification that is needed from Departments regarding their services, programs, activities, etc. Ms. Padilla agreed that we need more time and information before we can address this. We would need time to look at potential physical barriers, other than the obvious. Ms. Shultz asked for clarification if the Committee is going to look at this as a sub-committee item or having committee member participation in a City Project. The Committee asked for more time to review this before deciding. Mr. Ramos asked the Committee to provide feedback or input on City Projects where they have knowledge or experience and could provide recommendations for consideration. The Transition Plan issue is tabled until the next meeting. Moved to public comment — Citizen Jack Widder was present to observe the Committee and see what they will be working on. He was interested in learning more about the newly formed committee. Mr. Ramos discussed the schedule, time, date and location of meetings and that the meetings were open to the public. Discussion was made about mailing information to committee members prior to the meeting. Some members don't have e-mail, and some are unable to access attachments through their e-mail. Mr. Cisneros discussed the need for the Committee members to recognize that it will take a little time for the Committee to get things organized and in sync. It will take a little time to get a good work plan in 8 place. It is also important for you to let us know if there is too much information provided. We want you to be involved, there are some issues that need to be addressed right away, but we have to proceed slowly with a work plan. Ms. Shultz requested the Committee members review the Attendance Policy, which is tabled until the next committee meeting to allow for time for member's review. This way everyone is aware that there are attendance requirements. This requirement is in the Orientation Materials for Boards, Committees and Commissions, however, we have formalized it into an actual policy — which is currently in use with the Human Relations Commission. Some questions had come up for clarification and this was a tool to help clarify the requirements. General Discussion: In response to concerns Ms. Lyons had communicated to Mr. Ramos, there was discussion of physical inventory and bathers that committee members may be aware of could be compiled and given to him for review. There are multiple needs for accessibility — mobility, sight impaired, hearing impaired, mental/physical impairments, etc. We need to ensure that we take an all-encompassing look at the needs of the community. An example is voting concerns — how this process is made accessible. Mr. Harwood gave an example of problems he had voting in his district. The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:15 p.m. Cryst! Lyons, Chairp-'rson Date Minutes Approved 9