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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Committee For Persons With Disabilities - 02/06/2002 CORRECTED MINUTES - QUORUM MEETING COMMITTEE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES February 6, 2002 Committee Members - Present Committee Members - Absent Chairperson: Ms. Crystal Lyons Ms. Toni Padilla Vice Chair: Mr. Roberto M. Flores Ms. Sandra Cabazos Ms. Linda Fallwell-Stover Ms. Mary J. Saenz Billy R. Sayles 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, Director Mr. Joseph Harney Human Relations Management Assistant: Ms. June Shultz ATTENDANCE - Roll Call —Absences: Toni Padilla. Audience: Engineering and Traffic Engineering Department Staff APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Minutes of January 9, 2002 were reviewed. Motion to approve minutes made by Eloy Soza, and seconded by Sandra Cabazos. Vote taken and the minutes were approved. SCANNED PUBLIC COMMENTS/PRESENTATIONS: Presentation by Joe Trejo, Assistant Director, City Engineer Packery Channel Project — ADA Issues (handout and brief overview of project). The project is estimated at 38.9 million. There are two beaches, 1) Gulf to 361 Bridge, and 2) to the Gulf It is State owned land, there is a lease. They have met with many agencies to coordinate the project. It has been 95% reviewed. Hopefully in late fall they will begin taking bids. There will be annual maintenance. Mr. Ramos asked about ramps and other parking areas. There was discussion on environmental concerns and cement-stabilized sand or alternatives, walkways with ADA slopes and accessibility. Mr. Tomo raised a concern about rocks shifting (jetties). Mr. Trejo indicated that this is being looked at, he discussed cold joint and handrail, maintenance issue. Ms. Lyons mentioned the bait stand and that a lot of wheelchairs have used the area. Regarding Park and Recreation amenities, they haven't started the design phase yet. Ms. Lyons asked how soon the channel and jetty would be accessible. Mr. Trejo said he hoped that it would be an incidental period. Ms. Lyons asked if they were working with someone from TDLR? Ms. Shultz asked about the Jetty handrail — if they also considered the sight impaired? Mr. Trejo indicated that there would be a raised curb and a handrail outside. Ms. Shultz also asked about lighting, security and the hours the area would be open? Mr. Cisneros indicated that the area would be open 24 hours and that there would be no lights. Ms. Lyons stated that she hoped they would include CFPWD early in the planning of the Park and Recreation amenities. There are numerous disability and elderly issues to consider. Mr. Trejo indicated that there is an Architectural Consultant from Galveston who is helping them with the review. Ms. Lyons was concerned about access to the Jetty. Mr. Trejo indicated that he would continue to work toward it, there is a 100% City requirement. CHAIR'S REPORT: Ms. Lyons is a committee member for the Coastal Bend Accessibility Coalition. Someone is coming from Austin to form a formal coalition. 2 (Some of the participants — ACI, MHMR, Goodwill, RTA and smaller groups and individuals.) Today they hosted a candidate forum for the County Judge position. It was non-partisan, with a lot of information to the candidates. It went very well. It was well attended and held at TAMU-CC. They hope to play a bigger role at county level. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Education and Outreach Sub-Committee Report: No report. Ms. Lyons indicated that they are trying to work with Mr. Ramos to finalize the Committee Brochure. They need to change some names and note any changes. It may be ready next month. Ms. Cabazos spoke with David about PSA's and information. Mr. Ramos spoke with Ted Nelson, regarding the PSA project. Mr. Ramos and/or the Committee will work on cable interviews. We can present whatever we would like. Mr. Ramos has four areas he needs to cover for outreach for the Department, but will add in People First Language; could discuss the survey and getting involved with Housing and Community Development regarding impediments to Fair Housing; meetings to inform the public of the ADA Transition Plan. They are ready to go —just need to set up the meeting in the next few days, and Mr. Ramos will let Ms. Cabazos know. Ms. Fallwell- Stover indicated she liked the idea of involving other people. We could get some individuals and have them interviewed. There was discussion about having the information distributed in English and Spanish. Mr. Ramos discussed how the City each month allows each department some time to provide information to the public. There was discussion about a special PSA in the month of October for Disability Awareness Month. Ms. Fallwell- Stover questioned Mr. Ramos about distribution of discrimination information at City Hall to staff members. How do we reach City staff, public utilities Office, one on one contacts, etc.? Mr. Ramos explained that this had been discussed at prior CFPWD meetings. They were starting with five key departments — i.e.: Park and Recreation Department, which he already attended one of their staff meetings. Mr. Flores asked about setting up a required staff training? Mr. Ramos indicated he has already started planning. Mr. Flores asked who has received the training to date? Mr. Ramos indicated that the first four departments and there has been some information handouts with paychecks. He is preparing sensitivity training for Department Heads and Supervisors. Ms. Fallwell-Stover indicated that they understand we don't want to shove information down their throat, but 3 could possibly include this training as an orientation item. Ms. Lyons indicated that this is an old business issue, but it has been addressed here. Legislative Updates Sub-Committee: Ms. Fallwell-Stover indicated that they had met, but there was no information at this time. Steering Sub-Committee: No Meeting has been held, since the last one. The next meeting will be held on February 12th at lunchtime at TAMU-CC. Susan Grant is working on the room and location. We'll e-mail the information. The meeting will be regarding the Accessibility Guide. Please e-mail your input, comments, suggestions to Ms. Lyons. They're going to try holding it at the University one time, to see if it works. (Ms. Lyons gave a brief explanation of what the Accessibility Guide Project is.) OLD BUSINESS: a. Distribution of Annual Reports (CFPWD and CCHRC). Comments were made that they look great. A question was raised if they have gone out yet? Yes, they have been distributed to the Mayor and City Council, City Manager, Deputy City Manager and City Secretary. b. Presentation Follow-Up: HCD Staff re: CDBG Projects — tabled / pending. c. Pending tabled items: 1. People First Language Training: Ms. Lyons made a motion to ask the Human Relations Department to set up a People First Language Training Schedule that would encompass providing training and/or information for new employee orientation, weekly Department Head Staff Meetings, Career Development, Supervisory Training or Leadership Group training. Ms. Fallwell-Stover seconded the motion. General discussion — Ms. Saenz suggested continuous Civil Rights training. Mr. Ramos indicated that he held training sessions — they can be held at any time. Supervisory training includes this type of training on a regular basis. It is part of the overall requirements of supervisors. Marge Rene provides on-going training. It is not mandated. Mr. Cisneros indicated that they have this type of training at least once a year, normally in the winter. They cover it with senior staff, who in turn disseminates the information immediately to other staff members. Mr. Ramos gave an example of People First training given to the Airport. Ms. Shultz mentioned the CCHRC Annual Training Conference held every year. This year it will be held on 4 Friday, June 28a'. Ms. Saenz indicated the reason she asked was that she had concerns. She indicated problems with language used at TAS training. Ms. Fallwell-Stover indicated that this is important at multiple levels. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Lyons mentioned the "Board Book" discussing the process for conducting a meeting — points of order and that it should be used in the future. She shared the information with the Committee. 2. Non-Discrimination Ordinance for persons with disabilities—tabled. 3. Website Issues — after Tuesday, we could look at it. Mr. Ramos is in the process of putting together a webpage for Human Relations. Upcoming events can be posted or issues, etc. We provide information to Susan Cable and she can update the webpage. 4. ADA Transition Plan — Mr. Ramos is getting information, but in some instances he has had to go back to the Departments (i.e.: Utilities — to determine if facilities are public or not); they have a list and plan. He will continue to go back to some, to deal with them on a one on one basis. Park and Recreation — there was no problem; some other departments — some spaces are not used by the public. There would be a need to establish a statement for City employee use, if an accommodation request were to arise, (i.e.: Title I), the accommodation request would come through Human Resources. Departments would have to be clear on what is public and what is not public. They would have to have a process in place. Mr. Ramos will be meeting with the Core Group in the next few weeks. They will be putting together cost information and working with Jim Boggs on areas of non-compliance. Then they will hold a meeting with the City Manager. Afterward, the public meetings will be held to educate the public, because they don't know the area. Mr. Ramos may use some of the Park and Recreation areas (i.e.: Senior Community Centers) and Ted Nelson to share educational information. The use of Senior Community Centers would allow contact throughout the community and we could reach all areas. One thing that has come out is that signage is not ADA compliant. But they change the interpretation regularly. We need to look at Mr. Torno's information for the latest revision. Ms. Lyons had two big concerns. 1) Has Mr. Boggs been through the three day Academy? Mr. Ramos didn't know. Some staff have attended a one or one and a half day training. She was concerned that signage is placed too high, there are accessibility issues and can't the City require Engineering staff to attend the Academy? Mr. Ramos indicated that there is a lot that we need to go 5 back and look at. He will speak with the City Manager on final approval. He wasn't involved in the past—a lot of items are approved by his office and that is a big concern. We need to look at ensuring that a person be certified to make proper decisions. Ms. Lyons expressed a pre-education concern. In providing an overview of what is suppose to be done, it would be hard to get an audience twice — need to cover both at one meeting. There was further general discussion — to include Committee members at the public meetings, the need for public input and that it should be adequately advertised. RTA was suggested as a opportunity to share information with their clients. Mr. Cisneros indicated to just let him know when they wanted to hold the meetings, so he could schedule them. 5. PSA and Cable Program Project — already discussed. NEW BUSINESS: 1. CDBG Funding — spoke briefly with members. A meeting will be scheduled. Final information to be submitted to David prior to February 15, 2002. Discussion on planning further ahead for next year, possibly in September. Develop strategy on making CDBG funds — ADA priorities and issues. Work with the Planning Committee more effectively. Need to send a message to the City Council. There was discussion about looking at how other Cities or States fund or use their program. Austin and Arlington were identified as potential points of contact. Look at list provided, street shown as ADA, information is misleading. How do we prioritize — our input may not be our goals. Traffic Engineering provided their goals, but we need to look at ADA issues. Just look at things as what is really ADA — consider improving the lives of people with disabilities. Questions were raised on how we really know what is really an ADA direct accessibility item? Traffic Engineering can clarify. Other questions — how many times have items been requested? Are some projects attached to other federally funded items. 2. At 5:17 p.m. went into Executive Session pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551.071 regarding Jon Harwood et al v. City of Corpus Christi, No. 00-4149-G, 319th District Court, Nueces County, Texas and Dan Arthur et al v. City of Corpus Christi, No. 00-4661-C, 94th District Court, Nueces County, Texas. Ended Executive Session at 5:30 p.m. ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT: 6 Mr. Ramos gave a report on enforcement — he reviewed Human Relations Office monthly statistics. COMMITTEE CONCERNS/ITEMS FOR NEXT AGENDA: Mr. Flores asked for follow-up on contact with CCISD Superintendent. Mr. Ramos briefly reviewed status. Ms. Cabazos asked about the City's and Citizen's Complaint Process. A motion was made to recommend to the City Council and City Manager a form and procedure to adopt for use in the Complaint Process. Mr. Flores seconded the motion. General discussion ensued. Mr. Ramos discussed the current citizen's complaint and/or accommodation request form that is presently in use. (A copy of the form is in the Annual Report.) There was discussion on accountability, results, historical information, etc. It is important to have a formal process that is adhered to by all departments. It was suggested that we review the present policy and procedure. Mr. Ramos gave an example that he has processed 104 accommodations for Solid Waste Services through the written process. Ms. Lyons raised a concern that this is only used in Human Relations — what about the other departments. It was suggested that we ask the City Manager to provide a presentation on the existing complaint process. The motion is tabled, but should be present on next month's Agenda. Announcement — April 17th there will be a Fair Housing Seminar. Information will be sent to you prior to the event. Adi ournment Mr. Tomo made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by Ms. Cabazos. A vote was taken and passed. The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:53 p.m t Cry.tal Lyons, ' .irperson Date Minutes Approved 7