HomeMy WebLinkAboutDisMinutes_2013_05_23Brookings Committee for People who have Disabilities
May 23, 2013
A meeting of the Brookings Committee for People who have Disabilities was held at 2:00 p.m. on
Friday, May 23, 2013 in the Brookings City & County Government Center with the following
members present: Matt Simet, Lonnie Bayer, Jessie Kuechenmeister (arrived @ 2:50 pm), Dave
Miller, Alan Davis, Geoffrey Graff and Nadine Gjerde. Sylvia Lozada, Nancy Hartenhoff-Crooks,
Jeff Vostad and Kathy Heylens were absent. Shari Thornes was present.
Miller called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. The agenda was adopted. The March minutes
were approved. Next meeting – June 27 or 28 @ 2:00 p.m. pending DOODLE response. The
group discussed switching to Thursdays during the summer to accommodate weekend travel.
NEW BUSINESS
National ADA Symposium Report. Kuechenmeister and Miller attended the National ADA
Symposium in San Antonio, May 13-15, 2013.
Miller attended a number of sessions, but provided the highlights on the most notable:
• Accessible Temporary Events – This session covered the requirements pertaining to a special
event like the Brookings Summer Arts Festival.
o Tents are considered a “building.”
o The ADA Coordinator is responsible for making the event accessible since its on city
property and liable if it’s not.
o The majority of booths/stands must be accessible with accessible counter heights.
o Seating must be provided in grassy areas where booths are located to allow those
with mobility problems the ability to occasionally sit and rest.
o Signage is not required to be accessible if the event is 7 days or less in duration.
o Accessible parking, including van and access aisles, is required.
• Public Right-of-Way
o The cross slope on a curb ramp and sidewalk can’t exceed 2%. Presenters now
require 1 ½ %, which allows for error.
• Emergency Response & Preparedness
o FEMA has raised the bar on requirements.
o Since Katrina, there is a lot of Federal grant money available to assist communities in
updating their plans.
o Each state is required to have an ADA Incident Manager. Who is South Dakota’s?
o IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System)
o The recent ice storm and power outages in Sioux Falls raises the question about how
prepared is Brookings to evacuate people with disabilities in our community. Do we
know who needs assistance in the community? A local volunteer registry was
discussed years ago.
o Action steps:
Subcommittee: Lonnie (chair), Dave, Matt, Alan
Staff will obtain the current Brookings Emergency Plan
Subcommittee will review the plan
Invite Bob Hill, Brookings County Emergency Management Director, to a
meeting
• Playground Accessibility
o The new Standards are very complicated.
o Nothing is cut and dried. Every situation is unique and must be evaluated on an
individual basis.
o Park officials are finding the high-back accessible swing and platform “wheelchair”
swing are used more than any other play equipment.
Kuechenmeister shared highlights from the conference:
• Accessible Seating
o The speaker is a consultant that reviews stadiums and color codes each price
point.
o Under the new rules, three companion seats must be provided for every
accessible seat.
o Action Items:
The Committee asked about the ticketing and accessible seating policy for
the Swiftel Center.
Thornes will invite Scott Smith or Tom Richter to a meeting
• Service Animals: This was a controversial topic in every session.
All presentations are available online at trushare.com (password - SATattendee).
The date and location for next year’s symposium has not been finalized. Miller encouraged other
members to become certified and attend this conference.
Durable Medical Equipment Drive. The 2013 Durable Medical Equipment Drive was scheduled for
July 21-27. Subcommittee: Miller (Chair), Vostad (Miller will contact to confirm), Bayer, Simet,
and Graff. Advertising will include announcements at the band concerts, radio programs, Public
Service Announcement, feature article and a Town & Country Shopper advertisement. Phone
numbers to be listed in advertising: Miller and Bayer, Vostad. Miller has made storage
arrangements with Mills Property Management. The group will also contact Penny Hauffe at the
ReStore and Karl’s Appliance.
ADA Anniversary Ice Cream Social & Presentation – July 28th. Tabled until June when Heylens
could be present.
Service Animal Requirements. The Committee reviewed the new Standards pertaining to service
animals effective March 15, 2011. Only dogs are recognized as service animals under titles II and III
of the ADA. A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a
person with a disability. Generally, title II and title III entities must permit service animals to
accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public are allowed to go.
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for
people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind,
alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a
seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person
with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.
Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide
must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or
emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff
may ask two questions:
(1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and
(2) What work or task has the dog been trained to perform.
Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special
identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability
to perform the work or task.
Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people
using service animals. When a person who is allergic to dog dander and a person who uses a service
animal must spend time in the same room or facility, for example, in a school classroom or at a
homeless shelter, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to different
locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.
A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless
the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or the dog is
not housebroken. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff
must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the
animal’s presence.
Thornes is working with the Swiftel Center on updating their policy and will bring it back to the
committee for review.
ABLE Award Nomination Schedule. Teen Challenge and the new Brookview Nursing Home were
suggested as possible nominees. Selection will be made at the June meeting. The combined
award event is tentatively planned for September.
PROJECT & ISSUE UPDATES:
Public Education Subcommittee Report. This item was tabled. Subcommittee: Lozada (chair),
Kuechenmeister and Bayer.
Statewide Conference Call Report. Lozada, Hartenhoff-Crooks and Gjerde participated in the
May 16th call. Gjerde reported that a member resource list is being developed and members
will indicate their areas of interest and expertise. Other topics of the call included service
animals, hotel pool lifts, promoting the fall Diversity Conference, and information sharing. The
next call is June 20th at 9:00 a.m. Attendees of the ADA Symposium will be asked to provide a
report.
City ADA Coordinator’s Report
• 6th Street Curb Ramps (Bypass to Main). Thornes and the City Engineer spoke with a DOT
Engineer on May 8th to discuss why 45 degree curb ramps were planned instead of the 90
degree design. The DOT representative said he had reviewed the entire area and the state
would have had to purchase additional right-of-way. There were also concerns with a storm
sewer basin and avoiding buildings on corners. He could have done some corners, but not all
and thought consistency was more important.
• Arts Festival Parking. A map of the proposed parking plan was provided to the Committee.
Access to accessible parking has to be altered this year due to road construction. Thornes is
also communicating with city and state officials about the temporary path of travel in the
construction zone, including across 6th Street to the north.
• Nature Park Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge plans appear to be compliant. Railings aren’t
required, but must be compliant if provided. There wasn’t sufficient detail on rails. Banner
will provide specs sheets when available. The transition from hard surface to the bridge needs
to be monitored during installation.
• Arrowhead Park. Miller and Thornes will tour Lyons Park to view the engineered wood fiber
playground surface material.
• Train the Trainer Workshop. Gjerde, Lozada, Hartenhoff-Crooks and Kuechenmeister are
planning to attend the workshop in Sioux Falls on June 10 & 11.
Other Business:
• Bayer reported that he’s contacted the 9Bar owners regarding the entrance threshold.
• Davis announced a Mental Health Forum at the Public Library later that day.
• Correspondence/Announcements/ Calendar
∗ May 13-15 National ADA Symposium, San Antonio
∗ June 10-11 Train the Trainer Workshop
∗ July 21-27 Durable Medical Equipment Drive
∗ July 28th Ice Cream Social, Pioneer Park
∗ Sept ____ ABLE Awards
June agenda items - ADA Anniversary Event, ABLE Award, Emergency Procedures
Meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.
Submitted by Shari Thornes