Minutes
Winthrop Commission On Disabilities · from the Town's website · 2 pages · 89 KB
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Winthrop Commission on Disability MINUTES Meeting Date: January 8, 2025 Commission Members In Attendance: John Morgan Andrew Carr Kathleen Kane Karla Murphy Nancy Tufo Hannah Belcher Denise Quist Public: Karin Chavis (Citizen Finance Committee) GUEST SPEAKER: Jeff Dougan, Asst. Director for Community Services, Massachusetts Office on Disability 1. Roll call 2. Approval of Minutes: December minutes approved 3. Jeff Dougan a. Jeff has spent 24 years with MOD b. Role of ADA Coordinator: can access info from ADA Title II Action Guide for State and Local Governments https://www.adaactionguide.org/index.php/ All members of this commission are encouraged to scan through this valuable website The ADA Coordinator should provide public notice of a grievance procedure, conduct a Self- Evaluation, and Develop a Transition Plan for the town Most ADA Coordinators are employed elsewhere but have time to devote to their duties; with us, the Town Manager serving as an ADA Coordinator may present a conflict of interest in certain circumstances; a little problem with it, it ’ s tacked on to a job; there is an ADA Certification Program The ADA Coordinator must be knowledgeable of ADA, from small examples of making a PDF accessible to the public to meeting with department directors to ensure any new programming that is created is accessible Section 508 Standards: Information & Technology Accessibility; There are specific IT mandates to make websites accessible; Statewide IT Accessibility Services Contract to help update the website Civil rights obligation: make sure meetings are accessible Julia O ’ Leary from MOD is the liaison with ADA Coordinators c. MOD is looking for mentor commissions and Jeff suggested that we can serve as a mentor d. Self-Evaluation Plan For the Self Evaluation (which is mandatory), grant money is available to update the plan The Self-Evaluation is a comprehensive review of all programs, activities, and services. Winthrop has not updated the Self-Evaluation (except for the one last year that reviewed only the library) since 1993 The Self-Evaluation can be conducted by an outside consultant in collaboration with the ADA Coordinator; Karla had spoken with the Director of the Institute for Human-Centered Design and they could do this; we would have to apply for a Planning Grant through MOD e. Sudbury has an outreach page on website to recruit new members for their COD; Winthrop currently has 9 members so we are fully staffed f. MEMA: A "MEMA population vulnerability assessment" refers to an analysis conducted by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to identify areas and populations within the state that are most susceptible to the impacts of natural disasters or climate change; see https://www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-emergency-management-agency; this info could be helpful for grant proposals g. The Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) are guidelines that ensure pedestrian facilities are accessible to people with disabilities. These guidelines apply to new and altered pedestrian facilities, including sidewalks, crosswalks, and transit stops. h. Beginner CAM Training: some of our members will be attending i. Jeff and Ralph DiCicco (MOD) can do site visits on municipal projects j. Other suggestions: hold call-in hours for commissions at MOD; Internal Procedure Guidelines; work with Housing k. Jeff congratulated us on the MOD Grant for the library ($225,000) but reported that we would not be eligible for the Planning Grant through MOD that is designed to provide a self-evaluation (mandated) for Winthrops services, programs, and buildings IF WINTHROP VOTES AGAINST 3A; because we would be non-compliant, our access to grants through MOD would be severely limited l. Jeff will send email with resources (this info was forwarded to WCOD after the meeting) 4. MOD Grant WCOD would like to stay involved throughout the process in an advisory role Denise will let the Planning Board know that we would like to be involved 5. ADA Anniversary Event Begin planning at the February meeting Wine and cheese---select venue — library? Reach out to Greg to coordinate the event with the completion of library building projects 6. Speaker Series Karla will design flyers for the two presentations offered through BCIL March: Transitioning to Adulthood (evening); Susan is currently coordinating with Matt Crombie (principal of WHS) April: Staying in Your Home (afternoon — 1 p.m.); at the Senior Center; Karla is coordinating with Matt Rodes (Dir of Senior Center) 7. February Meeting Guest Speaker: Meredith Hurley, Director of Public Health and Clinical Services for the Town of Winthrop Some of the topics: police training and interventions; devices or technology to assist in ensuring public safety (electronic bracelets?); info on CLEAR team and crisis intervention; how can WCOD help? 8. Letter to Town Council: a motion was made and seconded to send a letter to TC informing members of the impact on grants specific to ADA compliance; Karla will write a letter and circulate it to commission members before sending it; the vote was unanimous in issuing a letter informing TC of grant limitations NEXT MEETING: February 12, 2025 Respectfully submitted, Karla Murphy