Minutes –Approved 2/12/09
Date: Thursday,
January 8, 2009
Time: 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: 1060
Emeline, Solarium, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
1.0 Call to Order
Commissioner Heylin called the meeting to order at
12:40 p.m.
2.0 Roll Call
Present: Peter Heylin, Robert McGaw, Doug
Patrick, Jeanette Cosentino, Paul Ticknor, Aaron Spencer
Absent: Joseph Quigg
Absent Excused: Charles Stone, Michael Bush
Staff: Mary Thuerwachter,
Commission Coordinator
Guests: Foster Anderson, Shared
Adventures; Jennifer Ramirez, Central Coast Center for Independent Living
(CCCIL); John Daugherty, Metro
3.0 Minutes
Minutes of the November meeting and a meeting summary for
the December meeting were approved. Msp PT/BM
4.0 Oral Communication
John Daugherty of the Metro said
he does training on accessibility issues for bus operators. He will circulated a training handout. He is also interested in applying for the
current vacancy on the COD.
5.0
Community Presentations
Jennifer
Ramirez from CCCIL spoke about a letter sent to the Commission that discussed
the challenges faced by her organization and satisfaction surveys from its
clients, which were generally positive.
She was pleased with her discussion with Commissioner Patrick regarding
the recent COD survey of organizations serving persons with disabilities. She will be the liaison between CCCIL and
COD and attend COD meetings regularly.
There has been a large turnover in CCCIL staff and problems in
recruiting for the Traumatic Brain Injury position. Currently, the Salinas TBI person is coming to Santa Cruz to
provide services.
Foster
Anderson of Shared Adventures said they are currently celebrating their 15th
year and their 17th Day at the Beach. They have also started a Garden Project to grow herbs, tomatoes
and vegetables on a 40 sq ft lot near the lighthouse on Bay. They are looking at developing a Central
Resource and Networking Drop In Center where there could be meetings, classes,
Wii games and other activities. Shared
Adventures has been operating out of Anderson’s home. He recently put in a proposal for $25,000 for Hope Services and
an additional proposal to the Santa Cruz Community Foundation for a
building. They have a mailing list of
900 people for Shared Adventures events.
Follow-up
Items
Twin
Lakes Beach RV Parking – The Commission wrote a letter in support of an appeal against the ban
on RV parking at Twin Lakes Beach. The
hearing before the Coastal Commission was set for January 7 in Oceanside in
Southern California. Commissioner Heylin
contacted Supervisor Coonerty’s office to see if the hearing could be continued
until the Coastal Commission met in Northern California. The Supervisor will make this request. Staff will confirm that it has been
postponed. Commissioner Heylin will contact
the Attorney General for an opinion on citations on placarded RVs if the RV ban
is passed. It is unclear if placarded
vehicles would be exempt. Msp BM/PT
Annual Report – Commissioner Patrick received
input on the draft annual report and cover letter.
·
The cover letter will be substantially reduced in length and
will direct the reader to highlighted sections in the body of the report.
·
From this point forward, Patrick will e-mail edits to
Commissioners for review and comment via e-mail. Absence of response will be construed as approval.
·
Agency survey responses and a cover letter will be attached
to the annual report. When completed,
this too will be circulated to Commissioners for comment. Msp AS/PT
Blog
– An
independent blog is currently being explored.
Commissioners Ticknor and Stone were encouraged to proceed with the
development of a blog for county residents with disabilities. The blog will not be Commission sponsored
due to County policy considerations. It
would seem appropriate for the Commission to list the blog, among others, on
its webpage with the standard notation that it is offered as a potential
resource and is not endorsed by the County of Santa Cruz
UCSC
–
Discussion deferred until next meeting.
Website
Accessibility – Commissioner Tichnor and staff met with representatives of the
Informational Services Department for the County about the problems with the
County’s website. They received the
Commission’s letter and had already been looking at this problem. They are looking at the San Mateo County
website as a model for accessibility.
They expect to have a working
main website redesign within 6 months.
Porter
Library –
It is a private historical building.
The library is interested in making the building more accessible. They prefer the modifications be made to the
front entrance. The Kiwanis has
indicated a willingness to help with the project.
Collaboration - Commissioner Patrick is
authorized to network with organizations serving county residents with
disabilities in the development of a collaborative presentation to the Board of
Supervisors. The presentation will
focus on the impact of anticipated funding reduction on people with
disabilities. He will report status at
the February meeting. Msp AS/PT
Public Education - Commissioners Heylin and Stone
will continue to explore resources to the location and/or development of short
public service programs regarding disability topics to be placed in local
electronic media. Mary Thuerwachter
recommended Bruce Bratton as a resource.
Election of Officers - Elections were held and Peter
Heylin was elected Chair, and Paul Ticknor Vice Chair by acclamation.
Absences - The Commission discussed a
concern that the number of Commissioners that were unable to attend meetings on
a regular basis makes it uncertain that there will be quorums. Time will be allocated for a discussion of
this topic at the February meeting.
Staff will research the appropriate County Code requirements. The minutes will reflect excused and
unexcused absences. In order to be
excused, the Commissioner will have to notify the Chair or staff before the
meeting.
Commission Membership – There was a concern that
there was no Watsonville representation.
This item will be added to next month’s agenda.
EDTAC – Commissioner Patrick wants to identify major
locations that have accessibility challenges.
Commissioners will provide him with locations where there are serious
problems. The next EDTAC meeting is next Thursday at 10 a.m.
Meeting
adjourned 2:05 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Thuerwachter
Commission
Coordinator