Meeting Minutes- Approved 1/11/07

Date: Thursday, November 9, 2006

Time: Noon -1: 30p.m.

Place: 1400 Emeline Avenue, Bldg K, Room 206, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

1.0 Call to Order

Chair Stone called the meeting to order at 12:30pm.

2.0 Roll Call

Present: Charles Stone, Joseph Quigg, Doug Patrick, Robert McGaw, Peter Heylin, Aaron Spencer,Jeanette Cosentino, Michael Bush

Excused: Jessie Schecter,

Guest(s): Kim Kinney – County Sheriff Department, John Daugherty – Santa Cruz Metro, David Tirri – community member.

Staff: Andrea Smith, Interim Commission Coordinator

3.0 Announcements

4.0 Minutes

ACTION: The Commission approved the October Meeting minutes.

Msp Patrick/Mcgaw

5.0 Additions/Deletions

6.0 Oral Communications.

Sheriff Deputy Kim Kinney announced that she has been assigned to patrol blue zones in the unincorporated areas. She will be alternating the schedule so violators will be unaware of patrolling times. Commissioners asked technical questions and thanked Kinney for the Sheriff department’s willingness to respond to this problem.

John Daugherty of the Santa Cruz Metro reported on services available to persons with disabilities. His position is responsible for improving access to Metro and Metro Paracruz services. He provides one-on-one support for first-time users for both services working to alleviate any hesitations that may prevent consumers from using Metro services. He distributed brochures and encouraged anyone to call if they have questions.

Commissioner Bush asked how Metro Paracruz is doing since the transition. Daugherty responded that the volume of rides given is much higher than any other service in our County has previously provided. Requirements have been streamlined to reduce cost that may have also reduced services.

Commissioner Cosentino inquired about increased bicycle storage. Daugherty responded that yes indeed that was happening and that the Hwy 17 Express is included in this increase. He also reported that the lead story in Headways (Metro Periodical) is on Increased Bike Capacity. Daugherty also said that Metro is encouraging customers to use bikes that fold up and can be taken on the bus. Several Commissioners responded that these bikes are expensive.

Commissioner Heylin inquired about how eligibility to use Metro Paracruz is established. Daugherty reported that there is a rigorous screening process including a doctor’s note and a one-on-one interview, which occurs in 3-year intervals.

The Commission discussed with Mr. Daugherty what it would take to bring back transportation to the County Fair for persons with disabilities and to increase the minimum requirement of 3/4 mile from a bus line for Metro Paracruz.

7.0 Reports

7.1 Commissioner Reports

Commissioner Heylin reported that he and Commissioners’ Stone and Spencer attended the Abilities Expo. It was informative and interesting featuring many new tools to include access. They attempted to get a representative from County Planning to join them. He also announced that VISTA is sponsoring a Low-Vision Expo on November 18^th at Louden Nelson.

Commissioner Cosentino reported that she is working on the development of another Universal Design Conference for the coming year. She is also conducting a bariatric in-service training to insure that services are provided appropriately and humanely.

Commissioner Spencer reported that he approached the UCSC DRC (Disability Resource Center) to obtain statistics. He also reported that he met with Jennifer Ramirez at CCCIL (Central Coast Center for Independent Living) to discuss his “cohesive disability community” project. CCCIL agreed to partner on this and indicated as a part of this project they would be open to suggestions from the public on their internal reorganization.

Chair Stone reported that Community Bridges CEO, Sam Storey was elected to the Capitola City Council.

He also reported that the Governor is working to fashion his own Universal Health Care Plan for the State and that Kathryn Capesi has resigned as Director of the Department of Rehabilitation.

Vice Chair Quigg reported that he received a call from the City Attorney informing him that residents have filed a suit against the proposed Arana Gulch bike path, which would make a green belt area wheelchair accessible. Commissioners discussed possible responses.

Commissioner Patrick reported that the United Way is sponsoring an initiative to cover in greater depth - psychiatric and age-related disabilities. He requested the following agenda item for January: “Partnering with the United Way Assessment Project”.

7.2 Coordinator report.

There will not be a regular Commission meeting in December.

The draft Annual Report 2006 will be sent via email for Commissioner’s review and revisions no later than December.

8.0 Ongoing Business

8.1 Updates

Inclusive Home Design/Universal Access: Commissioner Patrick reported that he and Commissioner Heylin met with Tom Burns, Director of the Planning Department. The meeting was cordial and useful resulting in a commitment of Planning Department Staff to attend and participate in UDT (Universal Design Taskforce) meetings. In addition, Mr. Burns agreed that availability of Universal Design materials on the carousel in the Planning Department would be beneficial.

Accessible Parking Enforcement: See Deputy Sheriff Kim Kinney’s Report under Oral Communications.

Legislation: AB 2634 Affordable Housing Advocacy teleconference (?).

Disability Awareness/Cultural Competency:

· CAP Update

See Commissioner Patrick’s Report

Terry Brickley Scholarship: No report

8.2 Commission vacancy update

8.3 Emergency Response Protocol for PWD’s

8.4 Creating a stronger and more cohesive disability community in Santa Cruz

9.0 New Business

9.1 Laws regarding bike lane use for motorized scooters and wheelchairs

Next meeting’s agenda:

Meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.

Taskforce meeting immediately followed:

Universal Design Taskforce meeting

Present: Peter Heylin, Doug Patrick, Joseph Quigg, Jeanette Cosentino, Micheal Bush

Summary :

Commissioner Heylin suggested that narrowing the definition of what the Taskforce can accomplish in terms of Universal Design would be more practical. Because Universal Design encompasses so many aspects, Commissioners discussed narrowing the focus to ‘Home Design’. They also discussed increasing representation to include other industry people including architects, civil engineers, and landscape architects.

Suggestions for local industry people included: Jeff Roper, Peter Spellman, Teall Messer, Stephanie Barnes-Castro, Richard Irish, and Mathew Thompson.

Commissioners also discussed showcasing homes that are Universally Designed and suggested an article on Universal Design be submitted to the Sentinel for publication.

Commissioner Patrick said he would bring literature that addresses Universal Design room by room.

He reported that Monterey County has surveyed a user’s profile on housing.

It was agreed to develop an outline before inviting other members to join the Taskforce. The next Taskforce meeting was scheduled for December 14th at the Attic.