Commissioner Roster & Term of Office 
                                                     
Christian L. Mageli, Chair
6-1-2000 to 4-8-2003

M. Catherine McAdam, Vice-Chair, then Chair
6-1-2000 to 5-14-2003
5-15-2003 to 6-30-2003

Claudia Damian, Access Committee Chair
 6-1-2002 to 6-30-2005

Kim Bretton Hetrick, Commissioner, then Vice-Chair
6-1-2000 to 6-30-2003
5-15-2003 to 6-30-2003

Jane Thomas
6-1-2002 to 6-30-2005

Gary B. Filiak
6-1-2001 to 6-30-2004

Mary Hodak
6-1-2001 to 6-30-2004

Dr. Cheryl Kreger, Education Committee Co-Chair 
6-1-2001 to 6-30-2004

Dale Swanson, Public Relations Committee Chair
6-1-2002 to 6-30-2005

Nancy Bower
4-1-2003 to 6-30-2006

Mona Ramouni, Alternate commisioner
4-1-2003 to 6-30-2004

Sonya Tishler, Alternate commissioner
5-1-2003 to 6-30-2004

City Staff:

Susan Fitzmaurice, ADA Coordinator and
Liaison to the Commission on Disability Concerns                          Hired July 2002

Kurt A. Giberson, Director, Dearborn, DPW.

Robert Leinen, Deputy Director, DPW


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Events:

Town Hall Meeting:
Our main event was our Town Hall meeting April 11, 2003. We thank Mayor Michael Guido for opening this event recognizing the value of our work and the need to reach out to our community. The 55 people who attended assisted in identifying areas of concern to be further addressed by the commission.

We discussed outreach strategies, barriers to leisure and recreation, mobility and travel, independent living, employment opportunities, emergency preparedness, and voting access. Each topic is being further discussed in committees to implement action plans and or clarify information. A full report will be published in early fall.

Dearborn Disability Awareness Day:

Plans continue for our first Dearborn Disability Awareness Day October 22, 2003. We are soliciting nominations for seven awards to promote individual, educational, business and advocacy efforts for our city.

Our keynote speakers are Doc Andrews of WOMC Radio and Robin Jones of the Great Lakes ADA & IT Technical Center. A variety of workshops addressing issues for seniors, employers, independent living, and recreation have been organized.

Commissioner Dale Swanson and the Public Relations Committee will be flooding the airways and your mailboxes with upcoming news. Support of the Performing Arts Center Staff has been essential and include Angela Henley, Banquet Supervisor; Emma Jean Woodyard, Cultural Arts Coordinator; and Tim Briody, Executive Director – Dearborn Community Arts Council.

Homecoming:
We will again have a booth at home coming to meet and greet citizens in a relaxed, warm, accessible environment. Commissioner Gary Filiak is again helping facilitate this process. Mary Laundroche, Director of Public Information, has also been of support in assuring that our citizens with disabilities who had accomodation needs were addressed.

Conference Attendence:
Commissioner Jane Nelson Thomas took a course called, “How to get Publicity for your Organization” in Oklahoma City through the Great Lakes ADA & IT Center and the National Centers for Independent Living (NCIL).

Our ADA Coordinator Fitzmaurice took an on-line course on accessible web site design from the University of Illinois and will attend a NCIL ADA technical conference in July.

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Transition Funds and ADA Compliance:
As noted in our last report, using the city's facility study, Commissioners Dale Swanson and Claudia Damian, along with ADA Coordinator Susan Fitzmaurice prioritized accessibility needs for immediate work. Following approval by the full commission in September 2002, the following has been achieved, or is in progress to date:

City Departments:
Tabletop TTY/Uniphones purchased for city departments that have frequent communication with the public. Uniphones are unique in that they allow voice, TTY, VCO, & HCO calls in a unit that is user friendly to people who rarely use a TTY.

A person from each department was trained by Commissioner Claudia Damian, with welcomed support from Bob Ziolkowski, Training Coordinator of Human Resources. Paul Klink of MIS was an essential ingredient to getting the training accomplished, and getting these new phones installed and working.

DPW:
All entrances now have level access near designated parking for people with disabilities. An accessible unisex restroom was created in one building, and another restroom was modified to become an accessible men's restroom in another. Low level drinking fountains were installed in the vicinity of the accessible restrooms. Kevin O'Brien, DPW Backflow Prevention Coordinator is thanked for his role in making these changes possible in the most economical way possible.

Ford Centennial Library:
Public TTY installed to be maintained by SBC Ameritech. Assistive listening system installed in auditorium at the initiative of Tara Gnau, Administrative Librarian. The auditorium is also being modified for five wheelchair seat spaces, a ramp to the stage and to the audio-visual room.

Snow Library:
Entry doors will be mechanized. One of the restrooms will be converted to an accessible unisex restroom. A low level drinking fountain will be installed. Work will begin this fall.

Bryant Library:
Ground floor unisex restroom put into accessible entry way with a new wall and door installed to separate ground floor department from free access by library patrons needing accessible entrance.

Work will begin sometime next year. Bryant is a historical building and it involved some complex problem solving to find an accessible solution. Much thanks is due to Anita Toews who persevered until a solution was found.

City Hall:
A public TTY was installed near Council Chambers and will be maintained by SBC. A new attractive telephone surround was installed with thanks to Youl Isho of SBC.

The City Council Chamber has had assistive listening system installed.

Plans for an accessible restroom on every floor have been approved after a very lengthy process. Much thanks is owed to Anita Toews of Architects Design Group for her patience and perseverance.

Ford Performing Arts Center:
A public TTY was installed that will be maintained by Paul Klink, Communication Manager, MIS

Two wheelchair accessible pieces of fitness equipment were purchased with thanks to Denise Toepfer and Rick Osborn for asking us to help make the final choice.

Peg Watson & Virginia Blow agreed to offer recreation flyers to Seniors in alternative format.

Courthouses:
A public TTY was installed that will be maintained by Paul Klink, Communications Manager, MIS.

Three courtrooms have permanently installed assistive listening systems. The 4th courtroom has the electric wiring installed to use a portable system on an as needed basis. Thanks are due to James Mueller of Sound Planning for helping us design a usable, accessible, and affordable assistive listening system. Doyne Jackson and Julie Pucci were instrumental in giving us access to the courthouse after hours to install the listening systems.

Accessible website:
The commission approved the development of an accessible, 508 compliant web site with the support of Doug Feldkamp of MIS. It was designed by John Britsios of Webnauts.net with much help from Susan Fitzmaurice, our ADA Coordinator. She will continue to maintain the web page with Commissioner Kim B. Hetrick.

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Issues and Projects:

Recreation:
There are ongoing efforts to continue to make our recreation programs even more accessible. We have been pleased with feedback from Dearborn citizens who speak out regarding the value and importance of accessible programs. New exercise equipment was purchased and plans to upgrade the shower benches to increase accessibility are in place at the Ford Performing Arts Center (PAC). Braille signage is now being investigated.

It is clear that more people are making use of the PAC and their feedback has helped continue to improve our recreation programs. The staff, led by director Greg Orner, clearly embraces this process beyond the logistics of the law. Denise Toepfer, Assistant Recreation Supervisor and Rick Osborn, Assistant Recreation Director have been especially supportive.

TTY:
911 calls continue to be monitored by Commissioner Claudia Damian, and have improved to over 90% accuracy.

Four public phones with TTY capacity were installed at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, the 19th District Court, Henry Ford Centennial Library, and City Hall. Two of these phones will be maintained by Dearborn's MIS Department, directed by Doug Feldkamp, and two by SBC Ameritech.

Seventeen desktop TTYS were installed in departments who have a primary task of communicating with the public. Melinda Sensabaugh was extremely helpful in following through on the nitty gritty technical details.

Voting Accessibility:
We continue to communicate with the City Clerk's office through Deputy Clerk, Lola Isiminger, who attended our January 2003 commission meeting for an update.

Commissioners Claudia Damian, Kim B. Hetrick, and Cathy McAdam, as well as Susan Fitzmaurice, our ADA Coordinator attended several meetings in Lansing to contribute to discussions to implementing the HAVA (Help America Vote Act.) and continue to inform our City Clerk's office of developments. The advisory committee was pleased with our participation and public commentary.

Library Access:
The library staff was given a tour of accessible computer stations at the Wayne County Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped by Commissioner McAdam and has an increased awareness of the importance of making programs accessible.

Tara Gnau, administrative librarian and her staff formally adopted the RED notebook and are using it to increase library access for those who are deaf and hard of hearing.

The centennial auditorium is undergoing renovations and will be wheelchair usable. The extent of these renovations is due in part to the support of Tara Gnau, and Pat Coady, City librarian. Assistive listening` devices are now in place, as is a public TTY.

Visitability:
Visitability is the idea & the process of constructing homes, apartments, and other dwellings so that the residents can visit or be visited by friends, family, and others, regardless of whether they can sprint up a flight of stairs, reach over a 32 inch high counter to turn on a light, grasp a slippery metal knob to open a door, or carry a big, old bag of groceries over the threshold and into the kitchen, without any help.

Although we are stalled by the fact that we cannot overwrite state codes, we continue to pursue other avenues to address this issue with the support of Dave Norwood, Director of Building and Safety; Laurie Sabon, Deputy Corporation Counselor; and Kurt Giberson, Director of Public Works. The task force led by Vice-chair Hetrick remains committed to the reality of this concept.

Vice-chair Kim Hetrick and Commissioner Dale Swanson were invited to address the State Commission on Disability Concerns on Visitability and efforts being made in other states to accommodate unified state building codes while promoting Visitability. Vice-chair Hetrick's explanation of the methods being used in Pennsylvania, among other similar venues, was met with enthusiasm and an invitation to continue working with the State Commission in this area.

State/ Federal Concerns:
We as a local commission remain dedicated to addressing state and federal issues as noted in our voting access report to Lansing, visitability work, and attendance at the state's presentation of "The Disability Agenda”.

Chair Christian Mageli's leadership helped us blend local state and national issues to effectively address Dearborn's needs.

Web Page:
We completed development of an accessible web page at www.dearborn-disabilities. org. This is one avenue for providing accessible information, educational material, and resources. It also helps in our credibility in producing a venue for other disability groups and organizations. Doug Feldkamp, MIS Director, was of great support in helping us transition from a page on the city web site to our own independent site

Media:
We were pleased to be part of the Mayor's Forum and the Kiwanis cable programs to help promote our activities. Commissioners Dale Swanson and Cathy McAdam were pleased to be part of the Mayor's Forum. Commissioner McAdam and ADA Coordinator Fitzmaurice also participated in the Kiwanis cable programs to help promote Commission activities.

Our link to the city web page, articles in the back fence, promotion of events through use of our water bills, and the enthusiasm of the Department of Public Information under Mary Laundroche, with Randy Coble's assistance, has been invaluable.

Education:
Thanks in great part to the persistence and organizational skills of Commissioner Mary Hodak, we continue to participate at health fairs, and senior events. Without the volunteer assistance from AAUW-Dearborn and the General Federation of Women’s clubs our continued presence at these events might not be possible.

We also presented to a high school class at Dearborn public schools, spoke at City Orientations, and participated in a Chamber of Commerce Expo.

Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Kreger has helped announce our events school wide and gives us immediate access for redress of concerns in the school system.

Employment:
We were asked to intercede to promote computer access at the local Michigan works office and were able, with Council President John B. O'Reilly's assistance, to move this process forward.

We supported Vice-chair Cathy McAdam in organizing job shadowing with our schools and local business for National Disability Mentoring Day.

We published articles of interest to small businesses in the Chamber of Commerce newsletters. Vice-chair Cathy McAdam was also asked to serve on a committee with the Chamber of Commerce to advise on computer access, and participate in their mock interview program.
Valerie Murphy-Goodrich, Director of Human Resources, continues to be supportive of our efforts in addressing employment concerns.

By-Laws
One change was made in the Commission by-laws. Before finalizing changes in our by-laws and moving up the election schedule, we consulted with City Attorney Bob Hedges. The change we agreed to clarified the term length for alternate commissioners. The by-law as changed reads:

Article III, Section A, Paragraph 2
The commission shall have nine members and two alternates. The nine members shall be appointed by the mayor for a term of three years. The alternates shall
be appointed for one year and have no vote unless serving to replace an absent member. The first appointments to the commission shall be three commissioners
each for one-year, two-year and three-year terms. Subsequent appointments shall be for three years.

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Advocacy for Dearborn Citizens
Individual needs continue to be addressed with referrals and consultations in such areas as parking concerns, assistance with garbage pick-up, access to community service, and referrals for appropriate equipment. We provided information on gas station access, and consultation to seniors clarifying rights and benefits. In late June we wrote a letter of concern regarding access to graduation programs and will be following up with these concerns.

Town Hall Meeting:
Our Town Hall Meeting was designed to be a time where Dearborn citizens could express their concerns so that we might advocate more effectively on their behalf.

Public Meetings:
We continue to have public meetings on the third Thursday of most months in Studio A at the Performing Arts Center. Beginning this next year we will have some meetings on Thursday evenings. Angela Henley, Banquet Supervisor Banquet Supervisor and Don Bean, Technical Director, have been essential help in making these meetings accessible. Commissioners, Public Members of Committees, and Staff

Chair resignation: On April 8, 2003, Chairman Christian Mageli offered his resignation stating health concerns. The mayor asked that he stay on as a Commissioner Emeritus to continue to advise the commission. The commission is very grateful to Christian for his dedication to the commission for these past three years.

Jad Jadallah and Ryan McGraw both ended their terms as Commissioners. Both will be missed as they move on to new commitments in their lives and are thanked for their participation as commissioners.

Thanks are extended to Ray Roberson, Kevin Mitchell, and HeatherGiberson for their continued participation as public members in our commission committees.

Election of Chair and Vice-Chair:
On May 15 2003, Commissioner McAdam was elected Chair, Commissioner Hetrick Vice-Chair, and Commissioner Swanson was appointed to the Executive Council.

New Commissioners:
We welcome Nancy Bower who brings a strong mental health background, and an awareness of chronic illness;
Mona Ramouni, who notes that having a disability and being Arab American is challenging and inspires her to give back to her community; and,
Sonya Tishler, who brings the perspective of families living with adult developmentally, disabled children and advocating for their needs.
Read their biographies along with all of the other commissioners at http://www.dearborn-disabilities.org/commissioner.html

American's with Disability Act (ADA) Coordinator:
The ADA Coordinator acts as a liaison between the city and the commission. The support of our ADA Coordinator, Susan Fitzmaurice, has been essential in moving forward with our work. She identified ADA designated contacts for every department. She has assisted with the logistics of organizing a growing volume of information, coordinating and implementing construction projects, addressing and referring individual needs, and pro-actively advocating for ADA compliance.

She has been part of our media contacts most notable as a consultant in a recent Detroit News article which is attached. Of course, her efforts in maintaining our web page are also greatly appreciated.

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Ongoing Concerns
ADA compliance:
We will continue to recommend construction projects as part of our Transition Plan, take action on issues discussed at our Town Hall meeting, and address concerns regarding access to school programs.

Emergency preparedness:
Our Commission signed the Project Impact agreement in 2002 and we continue to advocate for full inclusion in emergency planning. We will be working with Lt. Jeffrey Mrowka, City of Dearborn Community Preparedness Coordinator, and Mark Snelson from Wayne County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, following contacts made at the June, 2003 Wayne County Emergency Preparedness Public Forum in Dearborn.

Voting:
We have strongly advocated for accessible voting through the Help America Vote Act, and will continue to address these issues with the City Clerk as new equipment is acquired.

Communication:
We are aware of the need to provide materials for access through alternative formats, including Braille, large print, and electronic formats, and to provide sign language interpretation or closed captioning. We will be prioritizing materials needed in alternate formats, provide accessible information via library computer stations and web pages, and determine signage and captioning needs in order to begin this process.

Transportation:
Transportation for recreation programs and senior services continue to be a concern for full accessibility. We plan to continue our work in addressing these issues in coordination with Peg Watson, Senior Citizen Coordinator, and Virginia Blow, Recreation Associate.

Summary:
In September 2003, we will have a training/strategic planning session to help prioritize ongoing concerns, address our increasing complex roles and identify short and long-term goals. Our city is well ahead of many in complying with the ADA, yet, we still have much to do. We do this work for ourselves and for others who will face the limitations of aging, the concerns of care giving, and the realities of disability or chronic illness.

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Special Thanks
Mayor Michael A Guido and Kurt Giberson, Director of Public Works, must be especially thanked for their vision, guidance and continued support of the Commission and it's mission.

Our Mayor, with the support of the Executive Assistant Beverly Abbas-Hurley and Mayoral Staff have continued to stand behind his promise to support the full intent of the American's with Disabilities Act, not just the letter of the law.

The ADA Coordinator position is funded through the Department of Public Works and so the continuing support of the DPW is crucial to the smooth operation of the Commission. Kurt Giberson, Director and Bob Leinen, Deputy Director can be counted on for support, counsel, and information as the Commission continues to get involved in more and more projects.

Without Paula Hamilton-Stokes, Administrative Specialist, and Linda O'Connor, Department Associate the tasks of the ADA Coordinator and the Commission would be impossible to accomplish.

Thanks is extended to Valerie Murphy-Goodrich, Director of Human Resources, Celinaa Lawlor, Administrative Specialist and the entire Human Resources staff for their continuing support of the commission.

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If you require a copy of this document in an alternative format, please contact Susan Fitzmaurice at (313) 943-2789,
TTY (313) 943-2835, FAX (313) 943-2067, or
by email sfitzmaurice@ci.dearborn.mi.us