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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Committee for Persons with Disabilities - 11/02/2022 1201 Leopard Street City of Corpus Christi Corpus Christi,TX 78401 y� cctexas.com Meeting Minutes - Final v NI'�VYo Y.ry w 14 Committee for Persons with Disabilities Wednesday, November 2,2022 3:00 PM City Hall City Council Chambers The City of Corpus Christi promotes participation regardless of race,color,national origin,sex,age, religion,disability or political belief. Reasonable accommodation is provided upon request and in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. For assistance or to request a reasonable accommodation,contact(361)826-3300 at least 48 hours in advance. Upon request,this information can be available in larger print and/or in electronic format. CHAIRPERSON COMMITTEE MEMBERS ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Dr.Jennifer Scott (ARP1,CVI) Dr.Anthony Zoccolillo(CVI') Nora Vargas—Neighborhood Srvs. VICE CHAIRPERSON Angela Brengman (ARP1, PSA) Lisa Oliver—Parks& Rec. Melanie Gomez(PSA1) Olivia Allan (ARP2, ENG2) Mai Bernal—Engineering Services SECRETARY Imelda Trevino(PSA2) Michael Dice—Development Srvs. Jennifer Gracia (ENG1) Jennifer Mirabel (PSA) Ricardo Rodriguez—CCPD Open A. Call To Order Chairperson Dr. Jennifer Scott called the meeting to order at 3:06 p.m. B. Moment of Reflection Moment of reflection was conducted. C. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States Pledge of Allegiance was conducted. D. Roll Call Chairperson Dr. Jennifer Scott called the roll and verified that a quorum was met to conduct the meeting. Members Present: Dr. Jennifer Scott, Melanie Gomez, Jennifer Gracia, Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo, , Olivia Allan, Members Absent: Angela Brengman, Imelda Trevino, Jennifer Mirabal Staff Present: Jennifer Buxton, Mai Bernal E. Public Comment No public comment. F. Approval of Minutes and Action on Absences 3 Committee for Persons with Disabilities Meeting Minutes November 2,2022 1. 22-1893 Approval of the October 5, 2022 Meeting Minutes Olivia Allan made a motion to approve the Minutes, seconded by Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo. The Minutes were approved as presented. Angela Brengman and Jennifer Mirabel requested an excused absence. Melanie Gomez made a motion to approve the excused absences, seconded by Olivia Allan. The requests were approved. G. Presentations (limited to 10 minutes) Doug Wayland —Access Plus Ramp Ministry Dough Wayland is a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. He explained how St. Mark's decided to be an outreach church when it was first established. Since then, 10% of their operating income has been pledged to outreach projects outside of St. Mark's. Part of that outreach is the Access Plus Ramp Ministry which started in 2001. The ministry was inspired by one of the church members who identified the need for accessible ramps in the community. Mr. Wayland presented some before and after pictures of some projects that have been completed by this ministry. Most of the projects are accessible ramps at residential homes, however they have received some minor modification requests as well. To date, 281 ramp projects have been completed. 45 other minor modifications have been completed as well. The ministry schedules one ramp every month to be completed the third Saturday of the month. There is currently a waiting list with a turnaround of approximately 12-18 months. There is also no cost associated for the resident requesting the ramp. Mr. Wayland provided business cards to the committee. Conor Rice — Undergraduate student at TAMU-CC (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Conor Rice presented the committee with information regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. He is currently an undergraduate student at TAMU-CC studying to be an educator and also works with the National Speech and Debate Association. Mr. Rice is trying to find a better understanding of the role that diversity, equity and inclusion has to play in our education system. His goal is to continue to reach out to superintendents, educators, counselors and retired educators to update policies in the school district to include diversity, equity and inclusion. H. Staff Reports Neighborhood Services —ADA Activity Report Amanda Rodriguez provided the ADA activity report for October. Neighborhood Services received two ADA calls. Both calls were regarding a concern that accessible parking spaces were occupied by vehicles without ADA placards. The locations were at 6113 and 5440 Saratoga Boulevard. Parking Enforcement was unable to issue citations due to the parking spaces not having proper ADA signage. Letters have been sent to the property owners to comply with proper ADA signage. Both issues will continue to be monitored until resolved. Ms. Rodriguez also reported that the School of Science and Technology Bayshore Campus has resolved all ADA parking issues and is now compliant. Development Services Dept. — Department Overview Impacting Persons with Disabilities No update. Engineering Services— Updates on Engineering Project(s) Impacting Persons with Disabilities No update. Parks and Recreation Dept. — Updates on Accessibility Services & Programs, Master Park Planning Efforts No update. CCPD Parking Control —ADA Citation Report The citation report for October was provided in the meeting packet. Citations included 228 disabled parking violations, 10 blocking the architectural design, and 38 blocking the sidewalk. 4 Committee for Persons with Disabilities Meeting Minutes November 2,2022 I. Subcommittee Reports Engineering Subcommittee (ENG)—Activity Updates No update. Public Service Announcement Subcommittee (PSA)—Activity Updates, Social Media Updates, Voting PSA Melanie Gomez shared information with committee members regarding voters with disabilities in Texas. The information includes accommodations that can be made for persons with disabilities interested in voting. Ms. Gomez also reported contacting the County Courthouse to confirm that those accommodations can be made. She also reported that CCRTA provided free rides on October 24th for early voting and will be providing free rides on November 8th on election day. Accessible Recreation Playgrounds Subcommittee (ARP)—Activity Updates No update. Community Volunteer Involvement (CVI)—Activity Updates Dr. Jennifer Scott advised that the CVI report would be discussed during the Chairperson's Report. J. Chairperson's Report Round Table Discussion Discussion of upcoming calendar events — Dr. Jennifer Scott reminded committee members that since this committee is an advisory committee, there is no budget available to us, therefore, the committee will not be able to have business cards available for distribution. If business cards are needed, Neighborhood Services cards can be given out. The brochure will have to go through the City's process and will not include a separate logo or separate information since it is not an advisory committee requirement. The committee can create a tag line or slogan for the committee to include on the back of shirts or the brochure. Dr. Scott advised that the committee must be represented under the City's banner so there is no longer a separate Facebook page for the committee. She also advised that this decision came from the City Secretary's office in response to questions being asked by committee members relative to power and duties. The committee's Facebook page has been deleted. Dr. Scott advised that any informational items that would like to be distributed can be sent to her and she will forward that information to be shared on the City's Facebook page. Any events that the committee would like to attend shall be sent to Dr. Scott so that she can forward to the appropriate parties for approval. The final item discussed was the By-Laws revisions. Dr. Scott is still working on the red line document to be brought to the next meeting. City Survey Project— Receive and Discuss Project Updates Dr. Jennifer Scott advised that the survey project can be removed from the responsibility of the committee since TAMU-CC has agreed to take on the project and present the research study to the committee once it has been finalized. Closed Caption Project— Discussion on Resolution Recommendation to Include Letters of Support Dr. Jennifer Scott asked committee members how they would like to move forward with this project and if a recommendation for a resolution should be considered. Melanie Gomez recommended a PSA in an effort to educate and bring awareness to Closed Captioning. Jennifer Buxton recommended reaching out to City staffs Communications Department for suggestions on how to spread awareness and will provide an update at the next meeting. Committee Workshop—Continue Planning Dr. Jennifer Scott tabled this item to discuss at next month's meeting. Transition Plan — Dr. Jennifer Scott reminded committee members that the concern is that the City's Transition Plan has not been updated. She reported having a discussion with Nora Vargas regarding this and was advised that if there were major changes in ADA law, that the Transition Plan would be updated 5 Committee for Persons with Disabilities Meeting Minutes November 2,2022 at that point. Dr. Scott has received a copy of the ADA Master Plan to review. Jennifer Gracia reiterated her concern with it almost being 10 years since a Transition Plan has been released. Dr. Scott advised that the ADA Master Plan took the place of the Transition Plan. Jennifer Buxton recommended having City staff from Engineering and Public Works provide a presentation regarding how the ADA is being addressed in current projects. Ms. Gracia reiterated her concern with an ADA compliancy issued brought to the committee's attention several months ago. Ms. Buxton advised that City staff will be able to address those concerns when they present however, she believes that the location that Ms. Gracia was referencing has either been made compliant or is in the process. Protected Bike Paths— Dr. Jennifer Scott asked committee members for their interest in writing a resolution to address this subject. Jennifer Gracia asked for a template for writing resolutions and Jennifer Buxton advised that the City Secretary's office does have an example of how resolutions should be written and will share with the committee. CVI Discussion —Objectives for events, elevator pitch for events, how to answer questions, speaking at events, prioritizing events Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo reported that CVI met recently to discuss the purpose of CVI and the evolution of the subcommittee as well. He suggested that the committee come up with a process for adding events to the event calendar, have a mission statement or elevator pitch for the subcommittee, how to answer questions from community, speaking at events and prioritizing events. Jennifer Buxton confirmed that obtaining information from a concerned citizen and forwarding to the staff liaison is within the realm of the committee. Ms. Buxton explained the information on the draft brochure that City staff created. She advised that any changes or recommendations can be given to Nora Vargas for changes to be made. Once finalized, the brochure can be used for distribution. Dr. Zoccolillo asked members to review and send changes or recommendations by November 18th. He also reminded committee members that speaking at events should be decided as a committee and not as individuals but that if members are asked to speak as a function of their role within the community that they do so as private citizens and can mention the committee but cannot indicate representing or speaking on behalf of the committee. Melanie Gomez suggested staying with the current object to educate the community about the committee and its purpose. Regarding the events calendar, she suggested having two lists, one for actual events and one for important months or weeks. Ms. Gomez also suggested that events that have been tabled by the committee in the past should be standing events on the last and any future events be brought to the committee for discussion and approval to table. Dr. Zoccolillo asked for recommendations on prioritizing events and establishing criteria. Dr. Scott asked committee members to review and come up with recommendations to discuss at the next meeting. Subcommittee assignments — Dr. Jennifer Scott asked members to review the subcommittee(s)they are on to discuss further at the next meeting. 22-1894 Vote on T-shirt color and slogan Dr. Jennifer Scott reminded the committee of the two colors that were suggested for the committee. Tie- dye was one and the other was blue. Committee members were unanimous in their decision to go with a blue shirt. Regarding the slogan, Melanie Gomez asked the committee to consider "Accessibility for All" as another slogan. Dr. Jennifer Scott had previously recommended the slogan "Bridging the Gap for Persons with Disabilities." The committee was unanimous in their decision to go with "Bridging the Gap for Persons with Disabilities" as their slogan. Next steps will be to purchase the shirts and get them printed. 22-1895 By-laws revision draft Dr. Jennifer Scott went over revisions that she made to the By-Laws and asked for additional input from committee members. Melanie Gomez suggested a few recommendations and changes as well. Dr. Scott asked committee members to continue to provide recommendations so that it can be discussed and possibly voted on at the next meeting. K. Future Agenda Items Meeting Calendar, Brochure, Calendar of Events and By-Laws discussion and approval, City Staff presentation regarding ADA Transition Plan and Closed Caption Project PSA. Additional requests can be 6 Committee for Persons with Disabilities Meeting Minutes November 2,2022 sent to Dr. Jennifer Scott. L. Adjournment Melanie Gomez made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo. Meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m This meeting may be held via videoconference call pursuant to Texas Government Code § 551.127. If this meeting is held via videoconference call or other remote method of meeting, then a member of this governmental body presiding over this meeting will be physically present at the location of this meeting unless this meeting is held pursuant to Texas Government Code §551.125 due to an emergency or other public necessity pursuant to Texas Government Code§ 551.045. 7