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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDisMinutes_2012_10_19Brookings Committee for People who have Disabilities October 19, 2012 A meeting of the Brookings Committee for People who have Disabilities was held at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 19, 2012 in the Brookings City & County Government Center with the following members present: Jessie Kuechenmeister, Lonnie Bayer, Nancy Hartenhoff-Crooks, Alan Davis, Geoffrey Graff, Kathy Heylens, Sylvia Lozada, Matt Simet and Jeff Vostad. Dona Kornbaum and Dave Miller were absent. Shari Thornes was present. Kuechenmeister called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. The agenda was adopted. A motion was made by Hartenhoff-Crooks, seconded by Vostad, to approve the June and July minutes. All present voted yes; motion carried. Next meeting(s): Friday, November 16th @ 9:00 a.m. and Friday, December 21st @ 2:00 p.m. New Business Outdoor Learning Center. Thornes and the Committee reviewed conceptual plans for the Outdoor Learning Center project. Thornes noted that even though it’s located at the city owned Nature Park, the building is Title III (private) and there are no Title II (city) programs currently planned in the facility. The review was mandated by an agreement the organization made with the city. They are required to comply with the city’s ADA review process and policies, including the required installation of a family restroom and auto doors. Comments: The following arrangement of the toilet stall door meets the standards; however, it’s a bit less convenient than the style illustrated in the standards because it will be more difficult to latch or unlatch the stall door in the arrangement below. Recommend moving toilet to the right and the door to the left. Concerns were noted on the roll-in showers. There needs to be a 30 by 60 clear floor space just outside of the shower and a turning space within the shower room. While a shower bench isn’t required, it’s highly recommended. Positive comments on proposed sidewalk design because the running and cross slopes are less than the maximum allowed; therefore, have a tolerance built in. There were concerns with the family restroom being located in the vestibule. Thornes said the location is due to the organization’s agreement with the city to provide a family restroom accessible to the nature park. The semi-final construction plans will be ready before the November 16th meeting. The Committee agreed to hold a special meeting to review the plans. Date to be determined. Request from Summer Arts Festival Committee. The Arts Festival Committee has asked if the Committee would take over staffing and coordinating the Arts Festival Parking. The parking committee doesn’t want to do it anymore. There was consensus that the committee would be happy to provide training and information materials, but managing event parking was not an appropriate Committee activity. Report on ADA Training in Sioux Falls. Vostad, Simet and Kuechenmeister attended 2010 Standards training in Sioux Falls provided by Rob Gilkerson from the ADA Center. They said Rob did an excellent job and the event was very well attended including several from Brookings. SD Network Request for Conference Call . Shelly Pfaff, Director of the South Dakota Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, contacted Thornes asking for a conference call to talk about how we, as network members, can work together and communicate with one another to ensure that our efforts are most effective, that we are not duplicating or competing with the efforts of others, and we all have our fingers on the pulse of what is being said and done about the ADA in South Dakota. There was consensus for the full Committee to participate in the conference call. Thornes will try to schedule during the November 16th meeting. The request for a call was in response to the following message that was sent to Pfaff and the ADA Leadership Network after receiving late notice about a statewide Coalition/Center sponsored training. Colette, Shelly & Maggie, I truly appreciate everything you guys do and understand this training is statewide; however, I feel that we’ve missed a partnering opportunity. DBTAC’s goal is to disseminate information and training to the largest possible audience and Brookings is the perfect position to do this. We have the ability in our new Brookings City & County Government Center to record & broadcast presentations via web live stream, social media, our channel and rebroadcast. A member of my staff actually runs the control room & cameras. The State Historic Preservation Office & I are utilizing this technology in September to record another statewide workshop for use as a future training tool. Rob’s presentation could have been recorded and shared had Brookings been a stop on the tour. We are disappointed that DBTAC would participate in a statewide activity and not reach out to its network members. Even if Brookings wasn’t on the travel circuit, being involved and notified much sooner would have been extremely beneficial. We could have held dates and scheduled accordingly. The Sioux Falls stop is the same day as the big “Plain Green” Sustainability Conference, which a number of Brookings people are attending. The day before is the City’s big volunteer reception hosted by the Mayor. The Brookings Committee for People who have Disabilities is the most active volunteer city board in the state and maybe the region. In future, please know that we are a viable setting for these types of activities and would be very interested in sponsoring and even coordinating an such an event. On the subject of training, the Committee & I have been very concerned with the recent misinformation provided to cities on the 2010 Standards, particularly on recreation. The Committee would be very interested in sponsoring 2010 Standards Training at the SDML October Conference and other state conferences. They have discussed the idea of partnering on a statewide effort to bring in a team from DBTAC, Access Board & DOJ to speak to Mayors, City Managers, School Superintendents and Park/Recreation Superintendents. Please let us know if this is something you’d like to discuss with the group in further detail. ADA Network Request for Input. The ADA Center asked for input the following questions: “Is anyone aware of current accessibility trends/issues happening right now surrounding facility access in SD? If so, would you mind sharing that with me? We are doing some media outreach and would like to be sure we are up to date on the facility access issues and needs in your state.” Responses from the committee and other statewide comments: • Parking problems - not enough spaces, wrong signage, wrong height, wrong type of sign, spacing issues • Curb cuts are done wrong or are greatly deteriorated • Path of travel blocked by cars and other objects • Narrow aisles in retail stores • Incorrect interior signage • Bathroom problems – reach ranges for coat hooks, paper towel, toilet paper, soap, and other dispensers • Lack of tables for persons who use wheelchairs in bars and restaurants • Tall counter tops in stores at points of sales • Where to acquire the parking permits/forms – who to contact, etc. • Myth that something is ADA certified Brookings High School Pool. Thornes is working with the Brookings School District on a review of their pool and a plan to bring it into compliance. Under the new ADA Standards, swimming pools over 300 linear feet will require 2 means of access. The primary access must be a sloped entry or lift and the secondary access can be a transfer wall, transfer system or stairs. The pool lift must provide footrests and able to be operated unassisted. Wading pools must have a sloped entry. No pool in Brookings currently meets the Standards. ADA Leadership Network Agreement Renewal. The City of Brookings and the Committee are members in the Rocky Mountain ADA Leadership Network. It’s a six-state region of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming designed to improve implementation, awareness and understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The network agreement is on an annual basis expiring October 31st. A motion was made by Bayer, seconded by Heylens, to approve signing the renewal agreement with the Center. All present voted yes; motion carried. Project & Issue Updates: Final Report on Combined Able Award Event. Approximately 120 people attended the 2012 ABLE Awards which was held in conjunction with the Butler Human Rights Award and the Mayor’s Awards for Historic Preservation at the Brookings High School Cafeteria on Thursday, September 27, 2012 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., with the program beginning at 5:30 p.m. Venue: • The Brookings High School Bobcat Commons was a beautiful venue. The set up of tables was complete by 3:30 p.m. the day of the event with the exception of adding 3 more tables. By 4:45 p.m., linens, drinks and food were ready. • The Historic Preservation Commission, Human Rights Committee and Brookings Committee for People who have Disabilities board members wore nametags and greeted guests at the door. • 6 easels were borrowed from the Swiftel Center to display the posters behind the food buffet. • Brookings High School provided a computer and projector to display the PDF’s of the posters from a jump drive. There was difficulty projecting the posters to a visible size without displaying the toolbar menus. Laurie worked on this using Foxit Reader, but did not have a complete solution by the time the reception began. Next year, need to find a solution for this ahead of time. Food • Aramark had a display of food set up in front as you walked into the Bobcat Commons along 3 tables end on end. The buffet was double-sided. At the last minute, removed 1 cake and added an Aramark staff member to cut and serve the cake. Also rearranged the drink station to the south side rather than the north side of Bobcat Commons. • At the end of the reception had almost 2 full white sheet cakes left over and a full cheese tray with crackers. One cake was given to the Brookings High School, the other was brought back to City Hall. Music: The band, Murph and Friends, set up on the south end of Bobcat Commons. The music was beautiful and appreciated by the attendees. The band took a break during the program, then resumed playing afterwards. Most people had left by 6:45 p.m., so the band was dismissed at that time. Comments & Misc. • We received many welcome comments about the combined event. Board members and attendees found it a good mix for the reception and provided an opportunity to learn about each committee. It was an amazingly beautiful late September evening, so we may have lost attendees due to the weather. • The posters were returned to the award winners after the event. PDF copies were also emailed to the award winners. • The Committee liked the music, but close attention needs to be paid to acoustics at any venue selected. • The Committee liked the combined event and would like it to continue. NDEAM Event on Oct 10th with John Robinson . Heylens, Lozada, Simet and Kuechenmeister attended the luncheon and said the speaker was very good. Public Education regarding Resolution for Snow Removal on Sidewalks. The Committee discussed a public education strategy on the new snow removal requirements. Ideas included university and city website & government channels 3 and 9, social media, public service announcements, Sioux Falls television, local newspapers including the Collegian and local radio. The city should issue a statement each time defining exactly when the 48 hours after snowfall expires. Possible partners in providing assistance included Teen Challenge, My Neighbor program, SDSU Student Association and Wesleyan Church Men’s Group. Hartenhoff-Crooks will coordinate with Vostad on PR materials. Governors Awards. Recognition of local nominees has traditionally been done in October with nominations submitted to the state in December. However, the state’s nomination deadline has moved to February with a spring/summer award ceremony. There was consensus to change the recognition of local nominees from October to February. Final Report On 2012 ADA Anniversary Celebration Event. Several hundred were in attendance at the July 29th event at Pioneer Park. Mayor Reed spoke about the ADA Anniversary and the Committee. There was consensus to host the event again next year and to invite City Council members to participate. Local Accessibility Concerns. • Italian Gardens has not removed the barrier in the path of travel. Thornes will contact the new owners. • 9 Bar has installed the new entrance threshold. • Bayer will follow-up on the movie theater issue. City ADA Coordinator’s Report • McCrory Gardens Thornes reported on the following concerns that were noted during a compliance review: one parking space is too narrow, incorrect bathroom signage located, interior doors exceeding 5 lbs, displacement in concrete on sidewalk outside family restroom, family restroom exterior door locked during daytime and a poorly located curb ramp on 22nd Avenue. The Committee noted that the Center should be reminded to keep the ramps and path of travel into the garden clear from obstruction. • 6th Street DOT Comments. The following formal comment was sent to the SDDOT regarding the 6th Street project. The Brookings Committee for People who have Disabilities and I are submitting the following formal comments on the proposed 6th Street project from 22nd Avenue east to 34th Avenue. We are reiterating the December 9, 2011 concerns along with a clarification request. 1. Directional curb ramps, not diagonal, be installed at all crosswalk intersections. 2. Audible Pedestrian Signals (APS) for all traffic lights be utilized. Note that an island is NOT in the design, so APS would be highly desirable. 3. Request clarification/confirmation that the northeast corner of Rotary Park (SW corner of 22nd Ave & 6th Street intersection) will be redesigned and the diagonal curb ramp will be removed and directional installed at that time. The Committee and I only agreed to the diagonal on that corner now because it currently connects to another diagonal. But we were assured that the corner would be completely redesigned. Thank you again for hosting the SDDOT open house on the proposed 6th Street project. It was very informative. • ADA Quiz Books. New quiz books were distributed to the members. Review of the books was suggested as a group activity. o Hospital Lot. The Brookings Hospital parking lot was getting restriped and Thornes was asked to review the project. The striping company representative argued with Thornes on space locations and quantity. They had already striped the west lot and Thornes found the access aisles were incorrect. The 2009 plans called for 4 access parking spaces with at least one compliant van space in the south parking adjacent to ER; however, the company didn’t want to do that many. Thornes noted this is a very large firm from Sioux Falls that does most of the striping in the Sioux Falls area. She was very concerned with the level of misinformation. It is not up to striping companies to decide accessible space locations or number of spaces. That is up to the owners. This is a possible future public education activity for the committee. • Brookings High School / curb ramps. The School District contacted Thornes to review curb ramps that were installed at the high school. The ramps were incorrect and had to be redone. • Medary Avenue curb ramps. A section of Medary Avenue was redone this summer including curb ramps, but a number were done incorrectly and had to be redone. • ADA For Hospitality Industry – Jan 15th – Pierre. The Rocky Mountain ADA Center is hosting an ADA training for the hospitality industry in Pierre on January 15th. The Committee asked if a stop in Brookings would be a possibility. • Hillcrest Restroom. Thornes was contacted by Les Rowland, architect for DesignArc, to say they had been given permission to proceed with the renovation of the next set of restrooms (for K and 1st grade) within Hillcrest Elementary. They are having a discussion as to whether a changing table will be required within the ADA stall; similar to what we provided within the 2nd and 3rd grade restrooms. He asked if anyone remembered the reason for this. The Committee said it was because there wasn’t another accessible bathroom in the school or a family restroom and a young child needing care from an attendant had no privacy. Placing the changing table in the ADA stall was the best solution available at the time. • Law Enforcement Center. The accessible parking spaces on the west are being relocated from next to the building to the parking lot. The reason is the slope is too steep and the city manager won’t authorize regrading the slope. The spaces can only be moved farther away if the move provides greater access. It was discovered that the payment drawer inside the Center was not accessible on the employee side. The architects were told by the manufacturer that the drawer was ADA certified. It is being replaced. • Swiftel Center Concession Stand. The Center is remodeling their concession stand. Because it will only be used by Swiftel Center employees and no public use, only the approach, entry and exit path are required to be accessible. Correspondence/Announcements/ Calendar ∗ Oct. 22-23 ADA Coordinators Training, Kansas City, MO ∗ Dec 6th Mayor’s Holiday Party, McCrory Gardens Visitor Center, 5-7 pm Meeting adjourned at 11:00 a.m. Submitted by Shari Thornes