HomeMy WebLinkAboutM1999_07_15Mayor's Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities July 15, 1999
A meeting of the Mayor's Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities was held on Thursday,
July 15, 1999 at 9:00 a.m. in Brookings City Hall. Members present: Jennifer Kampmann, Dave
Bertelson, Kurt Cogswell, Lynda Muller, Nancy Hartenhoff, Kay Cutler and Emily Bennett.
Members absent: Kristi Bloom, Marla Muxen, Allen Muller, David Hoyt and Aimee Baltezore.
1. Chairperson Hartenhoff called the meeting to order.
2. Agenda. (Bertelson/Cutler) M/S/P to approve the agenda.
3. Minutes. (Muller/Cutler) M/S/P to approve the June 10, 1999 minutes,
4. Announcements.
• Courage Camp, a day camp located in Brookings, is in need of volunteers from August
2.13. Contact Sue Parrott at 692.8798 if interested.
• A letter of resignation was received from Aimee Baltezore.
5. Next Meetine. Thursday, September 9, 1999 at 9:00 a.m. (No meeting in August).
6. Wheelchair Clinic Wrap-up Report. Kampmann, Cogswell, Baltezore and Hartenhoff
volunteered at the event.
The following is a written report from Baltezore: "The Wheelchair Clinic was held on
Saturday, June 26 in the parking lot of First National Bank Eastbranch. It was a beautiful day, we
couldn't have asked for better South Dakota sunshine to help dry off the 77 wheelchairs that came
through the clinic! It was a great success due to many dedicated people who volunteered their time to
come and help on Saturday. Papa John's donated pizzas for lunch, Central Business donated the use
of a tent for shade, and Tru -Sere donated wonderful door prizes for volunteers. A wheelchair obstacle
course was set for the day by Dan Robbins and the Agri-bility Project team. That gave a person a
great chance to experience some examples of obstacles an individual in a wheelchair faces. Overall
the day was a great success. This committee was great to serve on, they really had a team of
motivated, enthusiastic individuals. It was fun to get to know them a bit through this project. One
thing to note would be that the Brookings Community was the highest money raiser, statewide, for the
Easter Seals Program....".
Obtaining McKennen's Obstacle Coarse for the homeshow was suggested.
Advocacy Outreach Subcommittee Report,
Cogswell submitted the following letter and report for action by the committee:
Dear Brookings Summer Arts Festival Committee Members:
I'm writing to report on the results of the public -me wheelchair service you provided at this year's festival. I would consider
it to have been a successful experiment. Specifically:
I. We rented eight chairs from RCS Home Medical in Madison for a total cost (rental, delivery, pickup, and tax; copy
of invoice enclosed) of $95.46. The chairs were in excellent condition.
2. Thirty people (give or take a couple) used the chairs during the two days of the festival. They were uniformly
extremely grateful for the service.
Mayor's Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities July 15, 1999
3. At least that many more people commented that they would have brought a disabled friend or relative had they
known the chairs would be available. If you provide this service again next year, I would expect usage to increase
based on word-of-mouth alone.
4. When they saw the chairs, dozens of people made comments along the lines of, "What a nice idea." I think you got a
nice public relations boost for your efforts, as well as making the festival significantly more enjoyable for thirty people.
Should you decide to try this again next year, here are a couple of suggestions for your consideration:
1. Mention the chair's availability in your pre -festival publicity. With your permission, the Mayor's Advisory
Committee for People with Disabilities would do the same.
2. Station three to five chairs at each information booth. The added visibility would increase the likelihood of the chairs
being used. If additional responsibility for the information booth workers is a concern, I can tell you that there is
really very little time and effort associated with running the service. In the spirit of putting my money where my
mouth is, I would be glad to help man the booths at next year's festival.
Whatever your decision on next year, I'd like to thank you for your effort at this year's festival, with a special thanks to
Dave Huebner who went out of his way to accommodate us. I'll be sending you a report on general festival accessibility
issues next week after I discuss its contents at the Advisory Committee meeting this Thursday. Finally, let me congratulate
your Meteorology Subcommittee for the outstanding job they did on the weather!
Hartenhoff and Cogswell also conducted an accessibility survey of the Arts Festival. What
they found in preparing for the survey was that there is no good, concise document for
reviewing arts festivals and fairs. They checked into several sources and compiled a
checklist to use. It would be a useful tool for others to use and it could be made available
through the SD Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities and other statewide organizations.
Cogswell drafted a report on the survey and asked members to review and comment on it.
The Committee will take action at the next meeting.
Cogswell informed the committee that he had located a free server with an empty website.
Dunn said there is not currently a city policy on website creation and maintenance.
Cogswell offered to set up a site and maintain it. It would link to the Brookings Chamber
site. (Muller/Kampmann) Motion to authorize Cogswell to create a committee website.
Discussion: Who will maintain the site when Cogswell is not on the committee? All
present voted yes; motion carried.
8. Local Affiliate Training A local affiliate meeting is scheduled in Chamberlain on July 20.
Bennett and Muller volunteered to attend.
9. Discussion and Action on ABLE Award Nominations. The following businesses and
organizations were nominated for the 1999 award: HyVee, Better Homes and Garden,
George S. Mickelson Middle School, and Campus Hair.
Comments: Cogswell was very impressed with the new Middle School. Hartenhoff
noted that the drinking fountain in the teacher's lounge was not accessible. The ramp at
Campus Hair is too steep. Next year the committee should go as a group in June to
Mayor's Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities July 15, 1999
conduct site visits, The committee conducted a voice vote on each nomination and
Middle School was selected 7/0.
The presentation will be made at the July 27`x' City Commission meeting. Dunn will issue
a press release and prepare the plaque. Hartenhoff will conduct the presentation.
10. Discussion regarding October Employment Activities. The month of October is National
Disability Employment Awareness Month. The committee typically conducts a variety of
public education events during the month to include: press releases, speakers on radio
programs, feature articles in the newspaper, accessibility awareness events and soliciting
and nominating businesses and individuals for the Governor's Award. Each member was
provided with an educational kit from the President's Committee on Employment of
People with Disabilities. Working with a contact at Career Advantage was suggested.
11, Brookings Public School Teacher In-service. Hoyt was not present to discuss the issue.
Dunn will contact him.
Offering an accessibility design workshop with building trades students was suggested.
Hartenhoff will contact Fran Schoenfelder about the idea. Joel Niemeyer, Paralyzed
Veterans of America, or Shelly Pfaff, South Dakota Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities,
were both suggested as presenters.
12. ADA Coordinator's Report.
• Daktronics contacted Dunn with a Title III accessibility question. They borrowed a
contractor's workbook.
• Dunn was contacted by the City of Aberdeen with a Title II question
• County Auditor's Office obtained accessible voting booths that were used at June election.
• City Hall has undergone remodeling with new partitions and workspaces. The reception
counter in the Engineering Office now exceeds the ADA recommended height.
(Cutler/Bennett) Motion to send a letter to the city engineer expressing concern
regarding the counter, send a representative to meet with him and invite him to our
next meeting to respond to our concerns. Yes - 6, No -1, Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned
Submitted by Shari Dunn