Minutes

Winthrop Commission On Disabilities · from the Town's website · 2 pages · 77 KB
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Winthrop Commission on Disability
MINUTES 
Meeting Date: October 8, 2025 
Commission Members In Attendance: 
John Morgan
Kathleen Kane
Susan Smith
Nancy Tufo
Karla Murphy 
GUEST: Meredith Hurley
1. Roll call 
2. Approved minutes from September meeting 
3. Meredith Hurley, Health Department 
 We continued our discussion about the SafetyNet program 
 Meredith connected to the Emergency Manager and Health Officer from Chelsea
and Revere, plus Steve Stafford, the fire chief in Revere 
 Safety Net gives a more regional approach; currently, they cover 12 residents in
Chelsea, 11 of whom are children 
 Matt Rodes, Director of the Senior Center, would also like to be involved 
 Winthrop police would take the initiative and pinpoint which vehicles would be
better; Chief Goodwin is on board 
 We should stick with the same system as the surrounding towns so we form a
network 
 There is a Regional Dispatch System that covers Revere, Winthrop, and Chelsea 
 It would be installed in 1 fire unit, two for police, and one other 
 We would purchase 12 bracelets — Chelsea did the same 
 The cost for Chelsea was $20,000 for transponders and bracelets 
 It runs on radio vs GPS 
 The range is 1 mile max, ¼ mile min 
 It is locked on the individual 
 There might be FEMA money, or perhaps the Winthrop Foundation can match it 
 Question about using 22G funds and including other agencies; contact Jeff Dougan 
 Chief Goodwin and Chief Calandra are on board 
 Train all staff sergeants 
 In the last three months, two adults and three children were located in Chelsea
using the system 
 Who will train the family?

 Who will need this the most? Meredith will talk to Chelsea to see how they
determined eligibility and priority 
 Outreach could be through the schools, Housing Authority, Senior Center 
 Police would do the training 
 Questions around annual costs, minimum amount we can order (6 or 12?) 
 Members present agreed that we could fund the initiative but also try to get other
grants and funding 
 Come up with more details at WCOD Nov. 12 meeting 
4. Recruitment of New Members 
 John will speak to Jim Letterie about assigning someone to our commission since
Denise is no longer a member 
 Put in an article in TM ’ s blog about our search for new members 
5. Resource Guide 
 Commission members should review sections of the guide to update them 
6. Speaker Series 
 January 2026: ADA Accommodations by Kathleen and Jon 
 February or March 2026: Staying in Your Home by BCIL 
7. Goals for 2025-2026 
 Hold the 2 nd Accessible Adventure event next August 
 Work with Dept of Health and Police to establish a registry 
 Project Lifesaver 
 Speaker Series 
 Resource Guide 
 Handicapped Parking applications (do we get a copy of decisions?) 
NEXT MEETING: November 12 at 6 p.m. 
Respectfully submitted,
Karla Murphy