DRAFT
MINUTES
Mansfield Advisory Committee
on Persons with Disabilities
Regular Meeting - Tuesday June 23, 2009
2:30 PM - Conference Room B - Audrey P. Beck Building
I. Recording Attendance
PRESENT: K. Grunwald (staff), Fred Goetz (guest), C. Colon-Semenza, J. Blanshard, J. Tanner, K.A. Easley (staff)
REGRETS: W. Gibbs (Chair), J. Sidney
II. Approval of Minutes: The minutes for the May 26, 2009 meeting were approved with the following correction: Please note that in Section III.a., the statement “How can this information be used to demonstrate the potential impact of this committee…” should be phrased as a question.
a. Assignment of responsibilities as the ADA Grievance Committee: K. Grunwald explained that the Town Council’s Committee on Committees has appointed this committee to function as the ADA Grievance Committee. C. Colon-Semenza questioned whether or not this would represent a conflict of interest for some of the members. Several questions were raised about how this group would function in that capacity, what the grievance procedure would be, and how complaint resolution would be dealt with. Is this the appropriate committee to be addressing these complaints? J. Blanshard feels that this committee would have better perspective on the needs of people with disabilities than others, and should assume this role. K. Grunwald provided examples of the types of complaints that people might make. He will bring a formal grievance procedure to our next meeting for review.
b. Freedom of Information Act Training: K. Grunwald announced training that will be held on September 25 for members of advisory committees.
c. “Know Your Towns Fair”: September 12: Fred Goetz expressed an interest in providing information on scooter/wheelchair safety. There was some discussion about whether or not to do a wheelchair simultation exercise, which had been discussed and rejected last year. J. Tanner volunteered to assist in running this exercise. J. Blanshard agreed to contact J. Sidney to get her input about this. K.A. Easley suggested getting two wheelchairs and making it a competitive event, with specific tasks required. J. Tanner will take the lead on this. The group will solicit gift cards/certificates from local merchants as prizes.
d. “Other”: Fred Goetz raised the following concerns: traffic moves too fast on South Eagleville and Maple Road. K. Grunwald will notify Sgt. Kodzis to see if they can increase enforcement in those areas. The question was raised about the use of cameras for traffic enforcement. Mr. Goetz also raised concerns about the lip of the driveway entering the Wrights Way/Housing Authority property. The lights on the path from Juniper Hill to the Senior Center are not working. He thinks that Juniper Hill is responsible for maintaining the path. The sidewalk on 195 needs repairs. There were additional questions about who is responsible for maintaining the sidewalks along Rts. 195 and 275. K. Grunwald will contact public works in an attempt to get answers to these questions.
a. Accessible Parking Fines/Signs: K. Grunwald reported that the Traffic Authority will be recommending to the Town Council that fines for violations be consistent with the state statute (currently $150 for the first offense).
b. Publicity efforts: J. Blanshard will meet with J. Tanner to work on their article. This will include recruitment efforts for new membership. K.A. Easley mentioned that she met with a resident who had a question about services available to assist people with disabilities to network with each other around providing assistance. One suggestion was to add this to the committee’s web page to request this type of assistance. The Disability Advocacy Coalition is another group that may be able to help with this. K.A. Easley suggested having one member of this committee serve as a liaison to that group. She feels that this would result in a more inclusive outcome for this group. J. Blanshard will contact Lisa Sorrenberger about this.
c. Status of other accessibility issues previously identified: K. Grunwald reported that Maria Capriola has requested budget material to complete a program amendment for Small Cities funding to modify another changing room in the Community Center.
Respectfully submitted,
Kevin Grunwald