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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Committee For Persons With Disabilities - 02/03/2021COMMITTEE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES Summary of Minutes for Meeting on February 3, 2021 Via WebEx CHAIRPERSON COMMITTEE MEMBERS ADMINSTRATRIVE STAFF Richard Balli (ARP, ENG) Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo (CVI, PSA) Tracey Lawson – Human Resources VICE CHAIRPERSON Melanie Gomez (PSA) Lisa Oliver – Parks and Recreation Anthony Navarrette (CVI, ENG) Huxley Smith (ENG) Mai Bernal – Engineering Services SECRETARY Vanessa Nisbet (ARP, PSA) Michael Dice – Development Serv. Mary Bustos (ARP) Christina Buttler (CVI) Alex Gonzalez - CCPD Vacant 1. Call to order @ 3:03pm 2. Moment of Reflection – Conducted 3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flags of the United States and Texas (waived due to WebEx) 4. Roll Call: a. Roll Call: i. Committee Members Present – Richard Balli, Anthony Navarrette, Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo, Melanie Gomez, Vanessa Nisbet, Christina Butler ii. Committee Members Absent – Mary Bustos, Huxley Smith iii. Staff Members Present – Tracey Lawson (Human Resources); Michael Dice (Development Services); Mai Bernal (Engineering Services); Lisa Oliver (Parks and Recreation) iv. Staff Members Absent – Alex Gonzalez (CCPD Parking Control) b. Requests and approvals for Excused Absences – Christina Butler excused for January 6th meeting Motion – Anthony Navarrette Second – Melanie Gomez Action – Motion Passed 5. Minutes – Minutes approved with correction to Sylvia Guzman’s last name from Gomez. Motion – Anthony Navarrette Second – Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo Action – Motion Passed 6. Public Comments – None 7. Presentation (Limited to 10 minutes) a. Vaccinations for Persons with Disabilities – Corpus Christi Fire Department Chief Robert Rocha Chief Rocha thanked Lisa Oliver for her support and assistance with an aggressive plan to vaccinate homebound individuals in the community through the City’s Meals on Wheels and Senior Companion Programs as well as the new drive through vaccination clinic at the various Senior Centers. As of 8:00am on February 3rd, the Fire department had vaccinated 568 seniors in the community through these programs, an additional 113 residents at Cimmaron Estates Senior residential center and had 550 doses still available. The Fire department has 6 teams of Firefighters working in all areas of the City to vaccinate homebound residents daily until supply is depleted. Phone number to schedule vaccinations for homebound and disabled citizens is 1-888-728-0018. This hotline is only available when there are vaccines available for distribution. Recommendation was made to subscribe to the City’s News Release email subscription for notification when vaccination hotline and availability is open (https://news.cctexas.com/alerts). One of the biggest challenges though this process is the ability to get a sufficient supply of the vaccine. b. Driscoll Hospital Toy Drive – Sarah Centeno originally scheduled for presentation Andrea Czartoryski who is a volunteer coordinator at Driscoll Children’s Hospital spoke about one of their service areas called the Toy Cart program. The program is operated by a volunteer auxiliary for the hospital where toys are distributed every day of the year to each patient that comes into the hospital for a day surgery, who is admitted to the hospital or has a birthday while in the hospital’s care. This program supplies 20-30 other local and regional clinics with a “treasure chest” of toys for patients’ year round. The majority of donations are received during the holiday season however the highest need for donations is in the summer months. Anthony Navarrete requested best practices of other organization’s best practices in organizing a successful toy drive. Andrea provided some examples and shared a wish list that was distributed to the committee prior to the meeting. Monetary donations are also accepted for the program. 8. Staff Reports for the period: a. Human Resources – Tracey Lawson reported 2 citizen requests who need assistance with setting out their trash and recycle receptacles each week. Provided their contact information to the Solid Waste department, specifically Michelle Chatman, who handles this service for the department. Received a citizen call who was inquiring about a neighbor who has a motorized wheelchair and has a ramp to his home, however the neighbor does not have a sidewalk or curb in front of his home. Provided his information to the Street/Public Works department who is looking into the concern. b. Development Services Dept. – Michael Dice provided follow up to a question from last month’s meeting where Mr. Navarrette inquired about the impact of the accessible ramp permit fee waiver. The grant fee waiver program was passed in the ordinance in 2020. The department began the community outreach plan in March 2020 including engagement of various social media outlets and City communication channels however the COVID pandemic caused a halt to holding community input meetings. The department continues to work with their designated Public Information Officer on the program to make ensure the information is made public to those that need permits and the fees are waived under the ordinance. Anthony Navarrete asked if there was a term limit to the waiver. Mr. Dice will research and follow up at the next meeting. c. Engineering Services – Mai Bernal provided an update on the engineering project for the Six Points Improvement Plan and provided the plan design which will include 18 ADA ramps in total upon completion. d. Parks and Recreation Dept. – Lisa Oliver provided an update on the development of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan which will begin holding stakeholder meetings. She requested a representative from the committee serve as a representative on the Bill Witt stakeholder group and the Outside Recreation and Parks stakeholder group to provide feedback on future use and improvements for the park areas. Anthony Navarrette agreed to participate on the Bill Witt project and Christina Butler agreed to participate on the Outdoor Recreation and Parks project. Motion – Melanie Gomez Second – Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo Action – Motion Passed e. CCPD Parking Control – No updates; Alex Gonzalez not present. 9. Subcommittee Reports: a. Engineering Subcommittee (ENG) – No updates b. Public Service Announcement Subcommittee (PSA) – No updates; Melanie Gomez inquired if a flash drive was received by HR regarding a PSA on an accessible parking plan. Tracey Lawson will follow up. c. Accessible Recreation Playgrounds Subcommittee (ARP) – No updates d. Community Volunteer Involvement Subcommittee (CVI) – Dr. Zoccolillo confirmed with Vanessa Nisbet that The Rise School of Corpus Christi will proceed with the “Rise and Shine 5k” on 2/20/2021. The event has been scaled back significantly this year due to COVID. There will not be any vendors this year and volunteers and racers will be the only attendees the day of the event. Additional discussions and planning regarding the Driscoll Toy Drive will be sent out to the group. 10. Chairperson’s Report: a. Round Table Discussion – Mr. Balli had nothing to report as this was his last meeting to serve as Chairperson due to his term expiring. He shared that it has been an honor and a pleasure to serve on the committee over the years. i. Discuss Expiring Terms: Anthony Navarrette recommended re-appointment of Dr. Zoccolillo and Vanessa Nisbet Motion – Anthony Navarrette Second – Melanie Gomez Action – Motion Passed ii. Review applications to fill vacancies – Tracey Lawson will follow up with the City Secretary’s Office on the re- appointment of Dr. Zoccolillo and Ms. Nisbet at the February 16th Council meeting and there are currently 10 new applications for the committee to review for the other vacancies. iii. Review Committee Calendar for 2021 – Anthony Navarrette shared the Committee Calendar dates for 2021. Motion – Anthony Navarrette Second – Christina Butler Action – Motion Passed iv. Discuss submission of Annual Chairperson’s Report – Mr. Balli discussed accomplishments prior to the pandemic such as sidewalk improvements and ADA ramps. Anthony Navarrette explained the format of the annual report and asked committee members to email any additional feedback or recommendations to include in the report to Mr. Balli. Dr. Zoccolillo recommended participation in the Rise event from last year be included in the report. v. Discuss pending Chairperson vacancy – Mr. Balli recommended Anthony Navarrette as the new Chairperson for the Committee. Mr. Navarrette accepted the nomination and asked that all other committee members think about their recommendations and/or interest in the Vice-Chair and Secretary positions for next month’s meeting. Anthony Navarrette nominated Melanie Gomez as Secretary and she accepted. Mr. Balli nominated Dr. Zoccolillo and he will consider the nomination. 11. Identify Items to be placed on next Agenda: a. Nominations and voting on Officer positions including Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Secretary b. Recommendations of appointments for new members 12. Motion to Adjourn @ 4:43pm Motion – Vanessa Nisbet Second – Melanie Gomez Action – Motion Passed