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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Committee For Persons With Disabilities - 07/06/2005 S v CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI-COMMITTEE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILRIES Summary Minutes for the Meeting of July 6, 2005 I. The Chairperson called the meeting to order at 3:35 PM A. Roll call: Present Committee Members: Linda Faliwell-Stover, Robert Flores, Brian Watson, Mary Saenz, Eloy Soza, Post Roll Call Arrivals: Toni Padilla, David Walker Present Staff Members: Ms. Wanese Butler, Ms. April Moffett, Joseph Hamey, Naomi Ramirez for Alonzo Garza Public: Abel Alonzo and Patty Harris B. Excused Absences: Mr. Soza: MOTION: Brian Watson moved to excuse Eloy Soza's June absence with a second from Robert Flores. The motion passed. II. Approval of Minutes: Meeting of July 6. 2005 Motion: There was a motion to accept the minutes as written by Toni Padilla with a second by Eloy Soza. The motion passed. III. Presentation and Public Comments: Public Comments: Abel Alonzo made comments in reference to the seating arrangements at the Whataburger Field. Mr. Alonzo specifically made reference to family members accompanying and utilizing seating next to the assessable seating at the Whataburger Field. Presentation: Accessible Parking Violations-Chief Ken Bung, CCPD and Judge Tamen, Municipal Courts Chief Bung commented that there is sufficient number of accessible parking spaces available at Whataburger Field. Chief Bung commented that the VIP parking lot has also been made available to accommodate additional accessible parking when needed. The Human Relations Department will be paying for four additional police hours to ensure that those who are parking in accessible parking space have the appropriate placard on their vehicle and to curtail placard abuse. The police department has instructed their meter readers to also monitor the uptown and downtown areas. Chief Bung and SCANNED CFPWD Summery Minutes of Meeting on 07/06/2005 i rd Judge Tamez discussed the statistical report through June 17, 2005 of citations issued. [3:40 PM Ms. Naomi Ramirez for Alonzo Garza] They as also stated that the place of most concern is in the bigger parking lots. The minimum fine is $290.00. This amount includes court costs. They mentioned that if a person abuses a placard, it is taken away from that person and sent to Austin, Texas. [3:45 PM Ms. Toni Padilla] Chief Bung and Judge Tamez both agreed that this Committee could help by assisting in educating and training the public. The presentation ended after addressing a few questions from the Committee. [3:54 PM Chief Bung and Judge Tamez left] Title I ADA by Ruthie Caraway of the Human Resources Department Ms. Caraway provided an overview of the process to update City job descriptions. [David Walker arrived] The Human Resources department is in the process of setting up system parameters for updating the city's job descriptions. Ms. Caraway will provide a task schedule for this Committee; however, them are over 3,000 task know right now with city employees. Ms. Caraway also mentioned although the Human Resources department is not able to track all the different types of accommodations, since each department can make accommodations for people without going through the Human Resources department. Ms. Caraway further mentioned that if an employee requests an accommodation, the Human Resources department can trace it but Human Resources cannot force an employee to acknowledge if they have a disability. The departments have been given the leeway to accommodate a person's situation and schedule. The MIS Department will be working with the Human Resources Department on updating the computer system parameters and mapping for updating job description data. As the Human Resources Department completes each job task, they will be sharing the information with this Committee. One third of this project should be completed by October 2005. Because this Committee wants to make sure jobs are written in a way to include disabilities, Linda Faliwell-Stover stated that Mary Saenz and Toni Padilla have agreed to work the Human Resources Department on this project. For next month's meeting, this Committee is requesting a time line for this project from the Human Resources Department; the number of self- identified employees with disabilities; and the number of employees' reasonable accommodations. [4:21 PM Ms. Caraway left] CFPWD Summary Minutes of Meeting on 07/06/2005 2 1119 Engineering Report Leon Bazar, Director of the Human Relations Department provided overview of the report received from Engineering Services (handout). He over reviewed the projects project status and related funding. Mr. Bazar also briefed the Committee on the five projects that were declared ineligible for CDBG funding. It was suggested that a request be submitted for the transfer of funds for items that are eligible/applicable. The request will be submitted to and reviewed by the Neighborhood Development Services, which handles CDBG for the City. The Planning Commission will receive the request after the Neighborhood Developments Services' review is completed. Mr. Bazar will be submitting a letter, in reference to the ADA compliance, seeking consideration for those projects with partial eligibility under CDBG, including Leopard Street. Curb cuts are the only things eligible for this request. There was some discussion among Committee members. Linda Fallwell-Stover asked David Walker to assist the Engineering Department on these projects in relation to ADA compliance. She stated that she and Mr. Bazar will be working with him as well. Ms. Faliwell-Stover, Mr. Walker and Mr. Bazar will assist the Engineering Department as a subcommittee to: 1. Review projects 2. Prioritize projects 3. Report/Update the Committee Additionally, the Committee would like: 1. Legal clarification on why sidewalks are ineligible for CDBG funding. 2. Engineering's commitment on a time frequency on updates to the Committee regarding projects, especially those that the Committee has assisted the City in prioritizing projects. IV. Chairperson's Report: (Discussion, with possible action) • National Council on Disability- Lex Freedman (Houston, TX) has written a paper featuring articles from people with disabilities. In those articles people talk about what they are experiencing. • Sprit of the ADA awards is on 7/25/05 • Aaron McCullough will be here at the end of the month • City Proclamation on ADA Anniversary on 7/26/05 V. Sub-Committee Reports:(Discussion, with possible action): None VI. Staff Reports / Comments (Discussion, with possible action): A. Non-Discrimination Ordinance: None(presentation) CFPWD Summary Minutes of Meeting on 07/06/2005 3 B. ADA Title I Employment Comprehensive: None (presentation) C. Other Items: 1. Follow-up on Curb Ramp Sub-committee will consist of Mr. Walker, Ms. Fallwell-Stover and Mr. Bazar. 2. Park and Recreation Outreach • There has been good publicity regarding closed captioning of films shown at the Cole Park Amphitheater. The Human Relations Department will be purchasing a projector in assisting accessibility of this Parks & Recreation program. • The closed caption equipment will be tested and installed at the end of this month. The equipment will be tested August 23, 2005. 2. Accessible Polling Places In the city's polling facilities, most concerns were parking and parking designation, clearing the access paths. The non-city facilities will be looked at next. 3. July Inclusion/Education Awareness Events (Handout) Aaron McCullough will be here for four days for training on education and awareness. He reviewed the training agenda with the Committee. It was suggested that this Committee be present for the reading of the Proclamation. [5:10 PM Ms. Ramirez left] Mr. Bazar also gave the status on the following... • Mr. Bazar gave the status and accomplishments of the Human Relations Department. • He also confirmed that the vacant position in the Human Relations Department will not be filled. • Regarding the new restaurant at Heritage Park, a walk thru was done of the restaurant. The Committee suggested that a free standing restroom be built near the restaurant. • A citizen has submitted a total of 56 complaints to the city. Leon Bazar and Wanese Butler met with the citizen and discovered more issues at the sites mentioned by the citizen. Next, Mr. Bazar and Ms. Butler will be meeting with the Code Enforcement Department regarding those issues. • Mr. Bazar shared some of the information he obtained when he attended the EEOC Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. [5:36 PM Leon Bazar left] VII. Old Business: CFPWD Summary Minutes of Meeting on 07/06/2005 4 VIII. New Business: IX. Committee Concerns / Request for Agenda Items: • Mr. Flores is requesting a copy of the seating manifest for the American Bank Center(ABC). Ms. Fallwell-Stover also recommended that the school district also be notified about the seating issue, such as at school graduations. The Committee is requesting staff to contact ABC regarding: 1. Information regarding contracts to ensure accessible seating on all levels consistently at all events, as part of the contract provisions. 2. Updating locations of accessible seating and encouraging retractable seats. 3. Updating Website to indicate where the accessible seating via seating manifests. 4. ABC's timeline in accomplishing the information on accessibility on the website for the public's use. [5:37 PM Mary Saenz left] • Mr. Watson mentioned some concerns regarding new Veterans returning from Iraq. [5:45 PM David Walker left] X. Announcements: Eloy Soza mentioned that Health and Human Services will sponsor a training program on 7/21/05 in the City Council Chambers for providers serving people with disabilities. Xl. Adjournment: MOTION: Eloy Soza moved for the meeting to be adjourned with a Second by Toni Padilla. The Motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 5:48 PM. CFPWD Summary Minutes of Meeting on 07/06/2005 5