Dearborn Commission on Disability Concerns

Ford Performing Arts Center, Studio A
Public Meeting Minutes
May 20, 2003

Call to Order: 2:04 PM

Commissioners & Staff Present:
Cathy McAdam
Kim B. Hetrick
Dale Swanson
Claudia Damian
Jane Thomas
Mona Ramouni
Mary Hodak
Gary Filiak
Sonya Tishler
Christian Mageli ( arrived 2:15)
Kurt Giberson, DPW Director (left at 2:15)
Susan Fitzmaurice, ADA Coordinator

Absent:
Cheryl Kreger
Nancy Bower

Guests:
Kevin Mitchell
Herb Adams (public)

Call to order: 2:04 PM
Agenda. Claudia: I approve the agenda. Seconded: Kim. Unanimous
Minutes. Dale: I approve minutes as amended. Seconded: Claudia Unanimous. ( To attach original letter to minutes.)

ADA Report (Susan Fitzmaurice)
Susan discussed the need to receive handouts by Monday or Tuesday of the week we have a meeting and that it would be helpful to date them. The web page is up - it is not yet error free. Assistive listening has been installed. Public TTYS & desktop TTY lines have been installed by MIS. Library and City Hall renovations continue to move forward. (See attachment A for complete report.

After asking for input, a decision was made to order 500 lanyards, 1500 pens, and magnets for homecoming and DAD.

Susan presented info about a conference on ADA specifications she wanted to attend and it was agreed she would go at commission expense.

Motion. Kim: I move the commission support Susan to attend the CIL conference in July. Seconded: Dale. Unanimous.

Commissioner Mageli Emeritus Address (Christian Mageli)
Christian spoke of the history of the Disability Commission, the ADA Coordinator position, and his role in it. He explains his reason to resign as " The biggest downfall of the disability community is infighting - one group against the other. I stepped down to try and avoid exactly this kind of thing. Instead I was part of the infight. " He also thanked the commissioners present who served during his chairmanship. (Attached is a copy of the letter in full.)

Christian also spoke of his involvement with Greenfield Village and their desire to build a fully accessible house on the grounds. He also discussed his desire to work as a representative to the building commission on behalf of the Disability Commission.

Christian was thanked for serving as chair, and various commissioners made comments.

Acting Chair Report (Cathy McAdam)
Cathy discussed the budget. During this fiscal year we have spent 1,500 of the 5,000 budgeted for Printing & Publicity. We also spent $1290 of the $3, 500 budgeted for Travel & Training

Cathy discussed our need for improved communication and the possibility to bring someone in to lead an inservice training. Christian suggested Robin Jones. Kim commented that there is always room for improved communication - and to avoid pitfalls. It ws agreed the ADA Coordinator should be include in the inservice. Cathy will call Robin Jones to see about her availability.

Cathy briefly discussed IDEA (Individuals with disabilities education Act), HAVA ( Help America Vote), the ADA Notification Act, and the continued need for accessible internet access.

Cathy also discussed the contacts she has made with various community member organizations, including the Neighborhood Association, Fordson School, and in Lansing interested parties in Help America Vote. Cathy and Dale also were guests at the MayorÕs Forum.
( See attachments C)

Motion. Kim: I move a private meeting with the commission and ADA coordinator only if Robin Jones is available. The June meeting will be canceled. Seconded: Jane. Unanimous. ( Christian did not vote.)
Uniphone Training Update ( Claudia Damian)

Claudia updated us on the dates and logistics of the training.
It was decided that Claudia and Susan would decide where the old TTYs would be best utilized in the future. Susan will be the designated person to contact the city relative to TTY issues. Paul & Bobwant a tie-up meeting to take place before the training - Susan will coordinate this .
( See attachment D for Claudia's full report)

Motion. Cathy: I move that the commission donate the old TTYs to the front desk of the police, homecoming, and/or whatever is decided between Claudia and Susan as appropriate. Dale seconded. Unanimous.

Visitability (Kim Hetrick)
Provided a copy of what he and Dale presented when they went to Lansing. Asked commissioners to read it over if you have not already. Things are happening despite inactivity to change the ordinance or law.
Local builders met to have a visitability meeting. 2 builders showed up, but Dale and Kim were not informed of the meeting and did not attend.
(See attachment E)

State Voting ( Cathy McAdam)
Input is being asked for help in making a decision about what voting machine system/ systems to use. Every polling place would have one ADA compliant voting machine.

Claudia would like to receive copies of any complaints made relative to voting access.

Recreation Accessibility ( Kevin Mitchell)
The shower chair in place appears to have a 200 weight capacity. The commission recommends that a sign be put in place stating that. The seat bends in the middle. What appears to be needed is a freestanding versus a pull-down shower chair to permit a weight capacity up to 500 pounds.

Kevin discussed summer Michigan Adaptive Sports activities for people who use wheel chairs, a Camp Dearborn event, and a hand-cyclist event ( Sept 6, 7, 8.) He noted that Camp Dearborn has 2 barrier-free restrooms on site

Motion. Cathy: I motion that we recommend to follow Kevin Mitchell's recommendation on reevaluating and modifying the benches to meet the needs of people up to 500 pounds. Seconded: Dale. Unanimous.

BREAK 3:35 - 3:50

Town Hall Meeting ( Claudia Damian & Dale Swanson)
The working document for the results of the Town Hall Meeting were discussed. ( See attachment F)
Claudia asked about the statistics cited during the event and Kim said he had gathered them from census data. Susan asked for and received verification that she can go forward with tasks that are within the jurisdiction of DPW. Susan will take charge of the mobility and travel issues instead of the Access Committee. Kim discussed the need to tone down the disability specific language as people (especially the elderly) who do not identify as disabled versus helping people to become less stigmatized by the label of disability. It was agreed we need to balance these issue.

Disability Awareness Day & PR Committee Report (Dale Swanson)
Executive Committee approved chamber insert and cost of $300.00. Mary will get Chamber inserts to Chamber of Commerce.

Dale discussed the water bills inserts and his dissatisfaction with what C& A produced. He wants to pursue other printing options. 38,000 copies of the insert will be needed for Senior Housing and distributed with the water bills.

He wants to have the flyers translated into Arabic to be distributed into the Arabic community via the school and ACCESS.

Dale showed the flyers as they had been printed by him. These flyers need to be taken to the Dearborn Heights Commission meeting.
(See attachment. G)

Motion. Dale: I move that the Commission spend money to get 38,000 flyers printed to insert into the water bills and to be used at Senior Housing. Seconded: Kim Unanimous

Homecoming (Claudia Damian)
Claudia mentioned the need to have a ramp to the main stage and a TTY at the police van.
She has asked people to sign up for the a 2 hour shift as soon as possible.

Susan said that Gary had not been informed of the last Homecoming meeting and so did not attend. It was suggested to do some follow-up on this with Kurt to be sure we are invited to all further meetings. Susan mentioned the need for TTY signage at the police van.
( See attachment D for Claudia's full report)Elections ( Led & counted by ADA Coordinator)
Motion. Kim: I nominate Cathy McAdam. Seconded: Dale.
Motion. Dale: I nominate Kim B. Hetrick. Seconded Cathy.
Motion. Claudia: I nominate Jane Thomas. Jane refused.
Votes cast for Cathy McAdam - 7.
Votes cast for Kim B. Hetrick - 7.
Cathy discussed that the Executive Committee is a 4- person committee. Susan as the ADA Coordinator is one of the members as are newly elected Chair and Vice Chair. The third member will be Dale Swanson.

There will be committee changes, especially in Public Relations as the chair and vice chair and Dale are all on it. If you would like to change what committee you are please contact Cathy asap. There will be a new chair for the Education/ Employment Committee to replace Cathy. Claudia and Dale agreed to continue as chair of Access and Public Relations respectively.

Access Committee (Claudia Damian)
Claudia thanked everyone for their participation in the Town Hall meeting. The last Access Committee meeting was mostly related to finalizing THM plans. TTY testing continues to be 100%. Claudia has been following up with Deaf related organization to participate in DAD.
( See Attachment H)

Education/ Employment ( Cathy Mc Adam)
Cathy discussed the Town Hall meeting and asked Jane for her input on the report as a person who did not attend.

Workshop topics for DAD have not been finalized, but Robin Jones and Doc Andrews are confirmed.
Mary Hodak has participated in health fairs and senior expos.
(See attachment I)

Public Comments ( public member needed to leave)
Herb Adams is a community resident who works in Dearborn during the day and cannot come to meetings during the day. He noted that there is no Braille signage in the Senior Center and very limited Braille signage throughout the PAC. He suggests we contact the Lion's Club as they may be interested in a service project.

Susan initiated a discussion about alternating occasion evening meetings. There appeared to be some support for this among all and even a preference for evening meetings by some.

Kim brought up that he and Susan would be developing some web page update protocol in response to a question as to how often the web site would be updated.

Commissioner Reports
Mary Hodak:
5/26 Art Council, Very Special Arts seeking artists.
Hi-Hopes Club visited the Titanic exhibit with the Seniors from City Housing. Wyandotte has extended an invitation to Hi-Hopes to join them at Turkeyville.
Need to discuss with Peg Watson of Senior Ct the need to more clearly describe events as including people who need accommodations to participate.
Jane Thomas:
Evening meeting would be very helpful to her.
Sonya Tishler:
Camille of recreation very good with swimming class arrangements. There is a long distance to walk to the pool area where there are accessible entrances into the accessible end of the pool. Kim will investigate whether another entrance can be used.
Jack O'Reily has been instrumental in gets modification at ACCESS for Michigan Works! in place. ( See attachment for complete report.)

Motion. Kim: I move to adjourn. Dale: seconded. ( 5:03 PM) Unanimous


.Attachments:
ADA Coordinator Report 05-15-2003 Susan Fitzmaurice
Web Page
¥ The site is up. Our web designer has retired from the project. Some recent changes made caused some errors in how the page shows for some. but not all. I will be working to correct the page after the meeting today.
¥ I am doing additional changes, additions to the site. I am going to try to hold to making the majority of changes a week before the monthly commission meeting when I post the agenda, and the week after when I post the approved minutes. ( See the Yahoo calendar for the days I plan to update the site and please try to get changes/additions to me by then.)
* Our site was down for a few hours on May 2 due to a major power outage where are server is located. It did not affect our page.
¥ Our site is linked to the front of the city web page, and it you go to the old address you will reach our new web page.
¥ When you come across good web sites - please think about whether they might make a good addition to our web site.
Assistive Listening
¥ Courts 1, 2, & 3 set-up is complete. The ordinary sound system needs some work and as soon as it is fixed the court system will be turned on. Court 4 still needs our current system taken over and installed, but the electronic connections are in place.
¥ Council Chambers assistive listening is in place and working.
Public TTYs
¥ SBC has installed the public TTY near Council Chambers. SBC was going to install the one in the Ford Library, but due to their power loss it has been delayed.
¥ MIS installed the public TTY at the courthouse and the PAC.
Desktop TTYs (for training info see ClaudiaÕs report)
¥ The phone lines are in place. No new lines were created - little used lines became TTY lines.
¥ The Uniphones were put in place the last week in April. This was earlier than planned due to some resolved misunderstanding. We did not replace the Court TTY as it was only a year old and we needed one more Uniphone.
¥Ê I have ordered labels to be put on the Uniphones for tracking and identification purposes.
Business cards, stationary, contact lists
¥ Braille business cards have finally been received. I have nearly 500 of them in my office. When you need more than what you will receive today, let me know.
¥ I am going to be placing an order for ordinary business cards - if you need new/more ones - please let me know asap.
¥ I am going to be ordering commission letterhead, formal stationary
(for thank youÕs).
¥ Find enclosed in PINK a new contact list.
Library renovations
¥ Ford auditorium designs are not yet finalized. A ramp to the stage has been designed and eliminates an additional 4 seats. When some of the staff discovered modifications were being made, another accessibility issue was raised. New designs to approve will be ready next week. If all goes well, the auditorium changes will take place in time to announce at DAD.
¥Ê Building & Safety is moving into the basement of Bryant library and have agreed to the proposed changes. They plan to move into the library soon, and their being there will not create any impediment to the new construction.
¥Ê Snow changes have been approved and are moving through the system.
City Hall renovation
¥Ê There was a major snafu. I have been asking about this and been told again and again all is well and in progress. It was suggested I speak to John Sullivan/purchasing and see if the location of the hold-up could be determined. It turns out that some necessary paperwork had never been done/ or at least not received. Bob Leinen is looking into this further. The architect is ready to go.
DPW renovations
¥ The new accessible restroom is complete, All the entrances are accessible/curb cuts. Drinking fountains have been lowered or additional ones put it in.
Doors/Entrance to City buildings
¥ The ADA/transition plan requires that every entrance be signed. That means it is either signed as accessible --or directs you to the nearest accessible entrance. I have a list of entrances that I know need changes, but also need to ascertain if what is believed to be accessible still is ----pull weight can be changed, so it needs to be rechecked periodically. Also it needs to be determined which is the accessible entrance we are going to direct people to.
¥ This is an extremely time intensive endeavor and what priority it holds needs to be established, in addition to how best to do it.
Scanner. Scanner Software
¥ We need a scanner & software to make scans for Cathy & Mona, and for other reasons. Cathy is looking into the best choice for software, and I will follow-up and see about getting a scanner. This may be delayed until July when citywide employees will get new computers.
ADA Conference
*I am interested in going to an ADA conference on the technical specifications of the ADA. It is in Oklahoma City in July sponsored by the same folk as the conference Jane went to. I am looking into whether this could be considered a Transition fund expense, as it is training me to better evaluate our adherence to the requirements of the ADA. Are any commissioners interested in attending?

Christian Mageli's address to the Commission (Attachment B)
I wanted to address the commission today to clear up a few items.
Over view of the commission: In the beginning Cathy and I formed an alliance and supported each other to make our hometown accessible to all. The agreement between the City and myself was as I had asked, to complete a city self evaluation, form this commission and have a transition plan. In 1990, the ADA was signed in to law. Each State, City, etc. was mandated by federal law to have a needs assessment/Self Evaluation done by 1993 and a transition plan in place by 1995. Most cities still donÕt have these things done, not because they havenÕt wanted to but because there was a lack of experience in how to do it. Each City was to have an ADA coordinator but there were no directions or qualifications in how to find this perfect person.
When we formed this commission, we knew we would have a lot on the plate. A self evaluation was done by an outside company but ended up leaving a lot of questions as to itÕs accuracy. Kurt became the liaison for this commission to the Mayors office and was treated as the ADA coordinator. Kurt carried out the needs and requests of the commission until we realized in a meeting with Robin Jones, that transition plan was bigger than we thought it was going to be. At that point, Kurt suggested we hire a part time ADA coordinator.
Unfortunately, I developed a septic wound infection and I had to appoint someone to be part of the interviewing process. Once a decision was made to hire Susan, there were some disagreements how this position should be used. I felt and still feel the first thing that position should be doing is to complete the City Transition plan for equal access and to work with the various City departments to help meet their needs.
When we started this commission, Cathy and I wanted to make sure as many disabilities were represented as possible. We had the limit of basically 11 commissioners so we did what I couldnÕt do when I was Vice Chair of the State Commission, we had it written in the bylaws that subcommittees could use public members. No one individual can possibly understand the needs of all the other disabilities and that is why it is important to find the most qualified person to address a specific problem. This is what we have attempted to do on this commission. This is why, when it came to TTYÕs, I called upon Claudia to advise us. Each of you have a value to this commission and to Dearborn. This is why I tried to have some separation between the commission and the City ADA Coordinator.
It became more confusing when we added the job of Secretary to Susan's responsibilities. Susan came to us with a high level of energy and wanting to get things done. I tired to explain to her what the commission had accomplished in itÕs first two years and what needed to be done. I had advised her to first, sit back and watch and listen.
Susan and I have had some disagreements much like my executive committee but I never wanted a yes sir type of executive committee to begin with. The biggest downfall of the disability community is infighting. One group against another. I stepped down to try and avoid exactly this kind of thing. Instead, I was part of the infight. For this, I apologize to the commission and the City. We need to work as a unit and get back to what this commission was formed for or we will all lose. It is more important than ever that we make sure we get the transition plan in place since federal dollars are not being guaranteed.
Whoever is elected as the Chair and Vice Chair, it will be important to have a well defined job description of the duties and expectations of the ADA coordinator and to have the commission continue in the manner it was developed for. We are the voice of the public. When I served with the State commission we had our hands tied by a Governor to had no commitment to the disabled. We are fortunate to have not only a Mayor who is committed to our objectives but the City is behind us and asking for our help. We are a model for other cities, like Dearborn HgtÕs.
When You elect your new Chair and Vice Chair, this commission will have a new start. They will need your support and input. You are all equal and appreciated for what you bring to the community. Make your disagreements lead to something productive and we will all win. Thank you to all of you that served during my chairmanship.
A) Greenfield Village.
B) Congratulation to Susan on the ADA/ Civil RightÕs NCIL Subcommittee.
C) Would like to represent the Commission the Building Commission.


Acting Chair Report ( Attachments C )
May 15, 2003
Dear Service Club President
We would like to introduce your organization to the Commission on Disability Concerns from the City of Dearborn. As a commission, we raise awareness in the general community about disability issues.

Our meetings are the third Thursday of each month and are held at the Dearborn Community Arts Center. Additionally, we have a speakersÕ bureau and would be happy to provide information about the commission or address disability issues at one of your meetings. We would also like to know any questions or concerns that your members have and that we can address.
Please contact us if you would like us to speak at one of your meetings or provide information of any kind. A brochure from the Commission is enclosed for your information. Our web site is .

We look forward to the possibility of meeting with you.


Sincerely,

ADA Coordinator Job Description
This is highly responsible administrative work coordinating the PROGRAM Coordinator (PT/T) (COMMISSION ON Disability Concerns)

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF WORK: efforts and initiatives of the CityÕs Commission on Disability Concerns. The Commission on Disability Concerns acts as an advisory body to the City with the purpose of promoting the full integration and participation of persons with disabilities into all areas of economic, political and community life. Assignments are received in the form of broad policy statements and program goals with performance reviewed through reports and program results.
Interacts in a consistently pleasant and helpful manner to fellow employees, visitors, and citizens of the City of Dearborn and demonstrates the highest standards of internal and external customer service.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Essential Job Functions (Functions essential to attaining job objectives):
· Serves as liaison between the Commission on Disability Concerns, City departments, the public, external organizations, groups and individuals. Position reports to the Director of Public Works.
· Receives and responds to calls, Emil and other communication from citizens, City departments and various external sources regarding the needs and concerns of the disabled community.
· Updates the CommissionÕs web site and develops other informational, educational and public relations materials to promote public education and awareness.
· Works closely with City departments and the Mayor's staff to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and promote the full integration and participation of disabled persons.
· Researches opportunities for alternative funding sources, develops proposals for Commission consideration and implements programs as directed.
· Coordinates and monitors citywide ADA compliance efforts including self-evaluation surveys for assessing compliance, and provides advice and recommendations to promote accessibility.
· As the city's designated ADA Coordinator, the position manages implementation of City Transition Plan and coordinates other short- and long-range plans developed through the Commission.
· Communicates with vendors, architects, consultants and related professionals involved in Commission activities.
· Compiles databases, develops program tracking systems, completes analyses and presents status reports to the Commission.
· Attends Commission meetings and records minutes or assumes other duties of Commission secretary as designated.
Marginal Job Functions (Peripheral or incidental to primary job functions):
· Performs related work as required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
· Working knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related federal, state and local requirements applicable to public sector compliance.
· Familiarity with issues pertinent to the disabled community and knowledge of the methods and processes utilized to promote full integration and participation.
· Ability to organize, plan, and coordinate technical/administrative programs and activities.
· Advanced computer skills in database, spreadsheet, word processing and related windows-based programs.
· Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with the Commission, coworkers, elected and appointed officials, and the general public.

EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING:
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in public administration, social work or related field emphasizing program management, communication, and client advocacy.
Professional or technical level experience promoting ADA compliance in a public setting or any equivalent combination of training and experience.


Commission Report by Claudia Damian (Attachment D)

Uniphone training has been rescheduled for June 20th and June 23rd 2003. It will be held at the Police Training Room. Four classes: 9 AM D 10:30 AM; 1:30 PM to 3 PM each day. Claudia Damian will be teaching the classes. Training manuals and cheat sheets have been composed. Logistics of class equipment is set.
Uniphone Access for Dearborn Jail: Since pay phones are no longer in the Police Station lobby; a public tty need not be provided for the Deaf and hard of hearing. Allowing arrested or stranded civilians to utilize the Dispatch Center TTY for personal calls is not permitted. Paul Klink will contact the company that put phones in every jail cell. TTY calls will be made from a Uniphone bolted to a tabletop in the Òcommand centerÓ of the jail. Phone calls made from jail cells are not recorded and so must tty calls from the Uniphone not be recorded. The Uniphone will be placed in an area or have a privacy screen so the caller can make calls in private.
Town Hall Meeting Notes: We need to look at the issues raised and have items assigned to either Susan to follow up (sidewalks, ramps, etc.) or to Commission members to follow up on e.g. Gary and the playground equipment and playing surfaces. Some items are of concern to the City of Dearborn, others concern companies/businesses not connected to the City. Employment and Education Committee do some follow up with letters, etc. Resident survey to reach the disabled. Emergency Readiness- information and procedures: I have contact with MSU ER Director and State Representative Spade, Homeland Security in Michigan. Should we have information available for residents at the DDAD?
HomeComing Schedule is available to fill out. August 1st is Friday, Seniors Day; August 2nd is Saturday; August 3rd, Sunday. If you sign up now and decide to switch with some one later, let me know so the change can be noted on the schedule. E-mail me with a time and date and I will try to accommodate. I sent Homecoming information to the MIDeaf Association to be posted to the Deaf Community.
Communication Issue: Brought to my attention via the newsletter of the Dearborn Vicariate: Oakwood Healthcare System has a new program for Limited English Proficiency patients called Clinical Language Assistance Support Services (CLASS) through a grant from MASCO Corporation to the Oakwood Foundation. Interpretation services over three years to Òimprove patient-physician/staff communication and resourcesÓ (Dearborn Vicariate, May 2003, pg.1). I brought this information to the attention of Chris Hunter, Director of the Division On Deafness and Hard of Hearing in Lansing because the contact person was not familiar with State of Michigan QA standard requirements and legal ramifications of having unqualified interpreters do medical interpreting. I believe also French and Spanish interpreters must be licensed by the State to do interpreting in the courts and medical fields. I am hoping that Oakwood Health Care Systems and the State of Michigan (DODHH) can work together to make this a successful study for all parties.


Visitability Handouts ( Attachment E)
From: eleanors [eleanors@MINDSPRING.COM]
Re: Plan ahead for legal challenges

I find this legality/accessibility discussion very interesting. In the big
picture, I think civil rights is a legitimate claim. The immediate buyer
is not the only person to consider, but also the many families that will
inhabit the home in thew future and those who are in close connection to
them. In fact, I think a landmark lawsuit on the order of Brown vx Board
of Education would be very appropriate. We have a situation here where
the changes in new construction are easy (always presupposing exemptions for
unusual situations) and the lack of those changes causes severe segregation
and physical endangerment.

In the smaller picture, and with regard to cost, I think it is useful to
bring up repeatedly the cost to taxpayers of failing to make routine home
construction basically accessible. Average cost of one year in a nursing
home, per person: $36,000. 54% of nursing home costs are borne by public
money.

Also, I think health and safety concerns are a legitimate basis for a legal
claim.

From: "Walton D. Dutcher, Jr."
Subject: Re: Plan ahead for legal challenges

The problem we are anticipating here in St. Petersburg, based on voiced concerns from council members, has to do with the implications for developers, not potential homeowners, who seek financial assistance from the City. In this case, the argument with regard to civil rights goes away.
You are then left with the argument which goes more to the point of the economics of visitability--the expansion of the marketplace for the developers as well as eliminating the potential future cost to the homeowner who may become disabled and need such features.

I am a firm believer of presenting a viable reason that goes directly to avoiding a cost either to the government or the homeowner. This position then, by default, gathers the greatest number of supporters as opposed to a small number of developers. In either event, the downside impact to the City is zero because a new home is being added to the tax roll.
Walton D. Dutcher, Jr.

Plan ahead for legal challenges
Friends:
As we are moving forward to win passage of a visitability ordinance in Pittsburgh, I have been planning how we would defend a legal challenge to the ordinance. I want to share my suggestions for how to provide your legal team with the best possible legal position.

We all know that visitability is a civil rights / human rights issue, however, this provides a very tenuous legal position to defend. I'm making the following assumptions: (1) the challenge is likely from some right-wing, property rights organization; and (2) the Courts continue to be populated by Judges eager to stifle what they see as "social engineering", and are increasingly hostile to disability rights issues.
In this scenario, I would be extremely concerned that the Judge would "balance" the property owner's rights as being superior to the rights of the municipality, or disability advocacy organization.

On the other hand, Courts extend great deference to Acts of the legislature (be it City Council, state legislature, or Congress) when that Act is based on the "police power" of the state, Acts regulating issues related to public health and safety. Therefore, in our Ordinance, we were worked to insert the following language.

WHEREAS, Allegheny County has the second highest proportion of senior citizens of any county in the United States. And as people get older, many become trapped by the physical barriers of their home. Many seniors cannot get out of their homes without assistance to seek medical care, and attend to daily living needs. This creates a serious threat to public health, and a heavy cost of social services.

In addition, we provided testimony in the public hearing:
about health disparities caused by individuals unable to freely enter and exit their own home to get medical care;
the paramedics union testified about typical hazards (to themselves and the injured party) related to getting ill and injured people in stretchers out of homes with steps;
we placed in the record the AARP study about costs associated with falls around the home.

Even if your sense of political correctness is that reliance on these grounds is distasteful, do it in addition to all the other reasons you have. Your legal team will use every option available to defend the ordinance, but what you don't give them -- they can't use. So if there isn't any credible way they can assert the City Council was properly exercising its police powers, then you are at the mercy of the judge "balancing" your rights away.

Paul W. O'Hanlon

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Strategies in states with unified building codes

Friends:

Here in Pittsburgh we are in the midst of a very exciting effort to pass an
ordinance requiring housing built or substantially renovated with City
financial assistance to be visitable. (We were honored to be featured in

the most recent e-newsletter of the RERC on Universal Design at Buffalo:
< >
)

I would like to address an issue raised by Kim Hetrick & Matthew Barkley in
messages last month. They both raised questions about how to design local
advocacy efforts in the face of a state-wide, unified building code. Kim
put it this way:

* "Michigan has a unified building code, which does not allow municipalities
to make any ordinance or alteration to the building code requiring builders
to incorporate Visitability in their plans and projects. Therefore, we are
promoting voluntary Visitability for housing built or remodeled in the
city."


Our experience in Pittsburgh is that you don't have to target the building
code if your objective is limited to housing developed with City assistance.
You can instead target the "Conduct" or Contracting Authority of the
municipality. So, for example, our ordinance says:

" Supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title Six-Conduct by adding a new
Chapter 623 - "Pittsburgh Visitability Design" to require new housing,
substantially renovated single-family dwellings, duplexes, tri-plexes, town
homes and row houses constructed with city assistance, and adapted reuses of
industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or
converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance, to meet a
minimum standard of visitability."

Title Six of the Pittsburgh City Code, Conduct, regulates a large variety of
" conduct," everything from discrimination, "boom boxes", to "intersexual
massage".


By regulating "conduct", the Ordinance is able to (1) prohibit persons from
building / renovating housing with City assistance that isn't visitable; (2)
prohibit City Assistance from being awarded in connection with housing
covered by this Ordinance unless the scope of work set forth in the
application complies with the design requirements set forth in this section;
(3) prohibit Building Permits from being issued in connection with housing
covered by this Ordinance unless the scope of work set forth in the
application complies with the design requirements set forth in this section;
and (4) prohibit an Occupancy Permit from being issued in connection with
housing covered by this Ordinance unless the requirements of this Ordinance
have been met; and (5) require entities using City funds to place
Visitability requirements in contracts for housing construction and
substantial renovation.

Here is the current draft of the Ordinance: <<Visitability Ordinance
12-3-02.doc>>

So my opinion is that even if your state has a unified building code, you
are not limited to "voluntary" types of initiatives. This would not be an
adequate strategy, however, if your objective is to require ALL housing,
even that housing built / substantially renovated without any public subsidy
or assistance.

Paul W. O'Hanlon

Supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, ÒPittsburgh Visitability DesignÓ
draft revisions as of 12/3/02
No. 939 AN ORDINANCE

Supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title Six-Conduct by adding a new Chapter 623 D ÒPittsburgh Visitability DesignÓ to require new housing, substantially renovated single-family dwellings, duplexes, tri-plexes, town homes and row houses constructed with city assistance, and adapted reuses of industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance, to meet a minimum standard of visitability.

WHEREAS, no statutory requirements presently exist on a federal, state or local level that require new single family homes and duplexes, tri-plexes, town houses and row houses, or those undergoing major reconstruction, and adapted reuses of industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance, to install visitable features for persons with and without disabilities; and

WHEREAS, people with disabilities and their immediate families are often isolated to their own homes because of insurmountable barriers at the homes of their acquaintances, and often experience difficulty in locating a home to rent or buy that meets their needs; and

WHEREAS, certain features in construction make new houses visitable, and in many cases livable, and requiring that newly built and substantially renovated houses meet at least this minimum standard of visitability will allow people with disabilities more freedom of visiting other homes and of locating a home themselves to rent or buy; and

WHEREAS, Allegheny County has the second highest proportion of senior citizens of any county in the United States. And as people get older, many become trapped by the physical barriers of their home. Many seniors cannot get out of their homes without assistance to seek medical care, and attend to daily living needs. This creates a serious threat to public health, and a heavy cost of social services.

WHEREAS, installing visitability features in newly constructed or substantially renovated homes is far more cost effective than making necessary accessibility modifications at a later time.

WHEREAS, the added cost of providing these visitability standards is minimal and is far outweighed by the public good they have the potential to provide.

Be it resolved that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title Six-Conduct D by adding Chapter 623, ÒPittsburgh Visitability DesignÓ to require new and substantially renovated single-family dwellings, duplexes, tri-plexes, town homes and row houses constructed with city assistance, and adapted reuses of industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance, to meet a minimum standard of visitability.

Chapter 623 Title and Purpose

(a) Pittsburgh Visitability Design Ordinance D This Chapter shall be known as the Pittsburgh Visitability Design Ordinance.Ó

(b) The purpose of this Ordinance is to guarantee visitable housing
to all individuals, with or without disabilities, by requiring that new and substantially renovated single-family dwellings and duplexes, tri-plexes, town houses and row houses constructed with city assistance of any kind, and adapted reuses of industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance, contain the visitability features set forth in this Ordinance, which will enhance both visitability and usability for all residents.

Section 2. Definitions

(a) ÒVisitabilityÓ- the presence of architectural design features which allow basic access and use of a residential dwelling by people with significant mobility impairments, and which minimize the cost of full accessibility modifications, if necessary, at a later time.

(b) ÒCity AssistanceÓ D funding or assistance from the City of Pittsburgh, or
any agent thereof, including the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA),
through any of the following means:

(1) receipt of a building contract or similar contractual agreement
involving any city-funded program or fund, including but not limited to
the URA or similar programs;

(2) real estate purchased, leased or donated from the City of Pittsburgh or
any agency thereof;

(3) receipt of preferential tax treatment, bond assistance, mortgage
assistance, or similar financial advantages derived from the City of
Pittsburgh, or any agency thereof;

(4) dispersal under city auspices of any Federal or State construction
funds; and

(5) beneficiary of city-funded property development infrastructure such as grading, development, decontamination, sanitation systems, sewers and other benefits; and

(6) receipt of any other funding or financial benefit from the City of
Pittsburgh, or any agency thereof.

(7) ÒCity AssistanceÓ does not include tax abatements under the LERTA program, or the URAÕs Pittsburgh Home Rehabilitation Program, Pittsburgh Home Ownership Program, Home Emergency Loan Program, Home Accessibility Program for Independence, or Pittsburgh Party Wall Program; provided that beneficiaries of these programs are given information concerning universal design and visitability principles.

(c) ÒSubstantially renovatedÓ D property alterations which involve the reconstruction of interior living space and which in total cost exceed $40,000 or 75% of the assessed value of the property, whichever is greater.

(d) ÒCirculation pathÓ D An exterior or interior way of passage from one place to another for pedestrians.

(e) ÒSignificant mobility impairmentÓ D The disability of a person who needs assistive mobility technology in the form of a wheelchair, walker, crutches or similar device to move along a circulation path.

(f) ÒPowder roomÓ D A toileting room having at a minimum, a water closet and a lavatory.

Section 3. Visitability

(a) Applicability D

(1) This Ordinance applies to all newly constructed, or substantially
renovated single-family dwellings and duplexes, tri-plexes, town houses and row houses after the effective date of this article that are constructed with city assistance; and adapted reuses of industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance.

(b) Design Requirements D

(1) Building Entrances: Each unit must have at least one no-step entry,
approachable by a firm, stable and slip resistant circulation path (walkway, garage, or ramp) w/ a slope of no greater than 1:12. Where the average slope of the property line along and contiguous to the public right of way exceeds a slope of 1:12, the slope of the circulation path may be greater, if necessary to provide access to the entry, but may not exceed the average slope along that property line. Entry doors must have lever handle hardware and have a clear open width of at least 32". If the conditions of the lot are not compatible with a circulation path design usable by persons with significant mobility impairments, builder may apply for a waiver with the Department of City Planning as provided in Section 4 of this Ordinance.

(2) Interior Doorways: All interior doorways must have a clear open width of at least 32", except for those of closets less than 15 sq. feet. All must have lever door hardware.

(3) Interior Circulation Paths: Circulation paths into and throughout the visitable entry level floor of the dwelling must be at least 36Ó wide and have a surface that is firm, stable and slip resistant.

(4) Powder Room: Each housing unit must have at least one powder room on the visitable entry level floor, with a 30" by 48" minimum clear floor space contiguous to the water closet and the lavatory, the clear space under a wall-hung lavatory can be included in this measurement. All bathrooms throughout the unit must have reinforcement in the walls adjacent to water closets, bathtubs and showers for the installation of grab bars if needed.

(5) Environmental Controls: Environmental controls, including light
switches, electrical outlets, and thermostats, must be at accessible heights.
Outlets may not be lower than 15Ó above the finished floor and switches and thermostats may not be higher than 48Ó above the finished floor. If there are two controls for the same appliance in a room (for example, two light switches), only one need be in compliance with these standards.

(c) Non-compliance D

(1) No City Assistance may be awarded in connection with housing covered by this Ordinance unless the scope of work set forth in the application complies with the design requirements set forth in this section

(2) No Building Permit shall be issued in connection with housing covered by this Ordinance unless the scope of work set forth in the application complies with the design requirements set forth in this section.

(3) No Occupancy Permit shall be issued in connection with housing covered by this Ordinance unless the requirements of this Ordinance have been met.

Section 4. Waiver of Visitability Regulations

(a) Any or all of the requirements of Section 3 may be waived or modified by a committee appointed by the Director of the City of Pittsburgh Planning Department through the issuance of a ÒVisitability Waiver.Ó The application for said waiver must demonstrate that, due to unusually difficult circumstances such as the topography of the lot, limited buildable area, or limited size and configuration of an existing building, compliance can only be accomplished at great expense or hardship of the property owner. The waiver of one or more requirements under Section 3 does not remove the obligation to comply with the other requirements of Section 3.

(b) The Director of the City Planning Department shall appoint a 5-member committee to review Visitability Waiver requests. This committee shall meet at least once every month and shall include the following persons or their designees:
?) the CityÕs Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator
?? a representative of the City-County Task Force of Disabilities,
?? an architect licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who is familiar with, universal design visitability, the Federal Fair Housing Act, and the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
?? a representative of the Pittsburgh community development corporation (CDC) community, and
?? an official with the City Bureau of Building Inspection

(c) Requests for Visitability Waivers shall be filed with the CityÕs ADA Coordinator, who shall present all such requests at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the waiver committee. The waiver committee shall review each request and issue a decision within 14 days of the meeting. A property owner may appeal the denial of a waiver request to the Director of City Planning.

(d) The waiver committee shall adopt clear standards for the granting of waivers, and shall make those standards available to agencies that award City Assistance and to the public upon request. To the greatest extent possible, the waiver standards shall be designed to give property owners clear and understandable guidelines for determining whether they will be granted an exemption in a particular situation.

(c) Yearly reports shall be made to City Council of the numbers of Waivers requested and granted, and the basis thereof. Within two years of the effective date of this Ordinance, the waiver committee shall present City Council with a critical review and findings evaluating the effectiveness of this Ordinance. The waiver committeeÕs report shall include any recommended changes to this Ordinance or to waiver standards that in the opinion of the committee would improve the effectiveness of this Ordinance.

Section 5. Effective Date

(a) The effective date of this Ordinance shall be July 1, 2003.


Town Hall Meeting (Attachment F)
*This is a working document for the Commission

NOTES FROM TOWN HALL MEETING APRIL 11, 2003
(Notes by Sonya Tishler, Kim Hetrick, and Darleen Sykes)
Facilitators: Cathy McAdam, acting chair, Susan Fitzmaurice, ADA coordinator
Commissioners present: Nancy Bower, Garry Filiak, Kim Hetrick, Mary Hodak, Cheryl Kreger, Sonya Tishler,

Introduction:

Mayor Guido welcomed all to the Town Hall Meeting, noting that an estimated 20,000 persons in Dearborn live with some form of disability and he thanked the commission for their hard work and sponsorship of the Town Hall Meeting. He introduced the commission members and commented that he is committed to make accessibility to all city facilities possible. He stated that we strive to make Dearborn a model of success, noting that the performing arts center was designed by working with the commission to make this one of the newest and best in the nation, one of the 10 best new sports facilities in America.
He encouraged everyone to attend the Disability Awareness Day planned in October.

Attendance: 55 signed in
Shown by raised hands:
organization or agency 13
resident with a disability 12
living with a disabled family member 8

The commission represents a cross section of different disability groups; blind, deaf and hard of hearing, those with mobility issues, and parents of the developmentally disabled. Their needs for access may be different yet similar. We addressed issues raised by identifying perceived barriers than looking at action steps and comments for clarification.

Networking and Communications
1. Kurt: Need guidance regarding the best ways for the city/Commission to reach out to the Disabled community; need to find/network with 20% of our population. (13)
2. How to get referrals/resources for a friend?

Barriers
No access to city cable channel...
No Cable because of finances
Blind, unable to read script when flashed on cable
Deaf HOH uncaptioned on cable
Stigma of disability label keeps people from self-identifying.
There is concern for seniors who do not identify themselves as disabled.
Action/comments:
Use of city mailings
Self-addressed postcard with water bill - survey
Survey of senior housing and use of their bulletin boards
Verbal addressing of special events in the City Calendar on cable
Announcing that information can be available in alternate formats upon request
Targeted mailings to senior residences
Use of coalitions of service organizations (does one exist?)
Check "News" page on the web site
Make information available to medical facilities
Make information available through police and fire departments
" File of Life" is free and available to all
Educate people to understand that the city must have the numbers of disabled (demographics) in order to effectively apply for grants/funds/etc.
Change Vocabulary: if "disabled" carries stigma, then don't use the term; talk about "ways to make your life better."
Educate public about vocabulary necessary to speak accurately about the Disability community.
Look for ways to appeal to specific Disability groups, i.e., approach the Blind through the Wayne County Library for the Blind, etc.
Develop network of information with interested agencies.

Commission
Assigned committee.......*Public Relations/Awards
Clarification/discussion with .......... Various Departments (DPW/Water (Sheila Kreza), DPI (Randy Coble/Mary Laundroche), DPI/CDTV (Jim Brian), Housing (Ann Sonoga), Police (Nancy Strutz), Fire (Linda French) etc..)
Follow-up/recommendation
* Proposed, will discuss at Commission Meeting

Recreation and Sports
1. Michigan Adaptive Sports: activities for children and adults with disabilities. (5)
2. Accessible equipment at city parks for disabled. (8)
3. Employee at Performing Arts Center need additional handrails into the building and more seating, possibly benches. (11)
4. Difficulties enrolling autistic children in programs lack of qualified instructors/lifeguards at city pools for children with special needs. (9)
5. Social activities other than sports for adults with physical disabilities, who are not athletically inclined. (9)

Barriers:
Wellness Center employees have a lack of knowledge and training, re: disabilities, such as autism.
Restrictions for adults: Limitations in rules that cut out individuals with special needs.
Restrictions for children: restrictive rules for disabled children.

Exercise equipment was not Brailled. (Is it now?).
A financial barrier: some of the Disabled that may benefit by coming to the Center, but the cost is prohibitive to them when on fixed incomes. Are there discounts for seniors that could be paralleled?

In the Theater area:
The lighting on the steps in the performing arts theater is inadequate.
Accessible level for wheelchair or Disabled with difficulty walking appears to be at a more costly seating area.

Action/comments:
All budget requests for children's recreational programs were cut. Need to explore options for small children with one-on-one needs.
Kevin (with adaptive sports) volunteers to work with the Commission and to look into this issue and advance the available programs and add new ones.
A task force is suggested.
Gary (parks department): does not handle the program, just the equipment. Do have ramping and wheelchair access in some parks. Recreation is geared to children who are able to do things on their own. We have 44 parks within the city and they are periodically upgraded. The progressive system of equipment replacement will eventually make them all accessible.
A list of the accessible parks could be listed on the web page.

Commission:
Assigned committee.......*Access
Clarification/discussion with .......... Recreation Department (Denise Toepfer), DPW/Parks (Gary Filiak)
Follow-up/recommendation
* Proposed, will discuss at Commission Meeting

Mobility and Travel
Sidewalks for access (6)
Pedestrian lights (7).
Construction of Michigan Avenue and barriers on pedestrian sidewalks (6)
Barriers, planters, on sidewalks (Mercury Motel) (4)
Resident of Hubbard Manner East: condition of road at Schaefer & Ford creates difficulty when using walker or wheelchair (6)

Barriers
Greenfield & Michigan - no pedestrian walkway to K-Mart, Borders, or Fairlane, lack of crosswalks and pedestrian lights
Michigan Ave. construction: Caution tape is unsafe marker
Schaeffer and Ford Rd. - uneven road condition makes walker and wheelchair travel impossible
HC parking is inadequate, van accessible
Mercury Hotel: sidewalk at Military and Michigan has irregularly spaced planters from Military to the parking lot...these planters create a barrier for walking to the disabled.
Size of doorways at GNC on Schaeffer is too small to permit wheelchair access.

Action/comments
This list will be sent to the Dept of Public Works for review and response. Need to determine if state, county, or city area has responsibility to determine action to take.
Michigan Avenue construction: caution tape should be replaced with construction fence. Tape is not adequate. If the tape is hit with a walking cane, it tears or drops and someone could fall into a hole.
Explore possibility of getting more, or dedicated patrols to check disabled parking, to see if it is being used legally.

Commission:
Assigned committee.......*Access
Clarification/discussion with .......... DPW Department (Kurt Giberson, Susan Fitzmaurice)
Follow-up/recommendation
* Proposed, will discuss at Commission Meeting

Employment and emergency issues:
1. Dearborn Schools Employee: Employment for disabled High School students within city departments including coop. (10)
2. Michigan Rehabilitation Services: Emergency evacuation plans and policies in place for disabled employees and visitors of city facilities. (9)

Barriers
Dearborn is not opening up opportunities for youth with disabilities. (From an employment councilor who works with youth and has difficulty getting employment opportunities)
There are questions regarding the availability and effectiveness of emergency evacuation plan/policy.
There is an emergency evacuation plan for everyone, employees/and visitors.
City employee stated that a plan is in effect, but feels it needs to be reviewed more often.
Evacuation plans are being reworked and are in transition.
Evacuation plans need to be publicized.
Evacuation plans must include specific language for people with disabilities

Action/Comments
Group agreed major barriers to employment were beyond today's scope.
A job fair for youth was held when the Rec. Center opened; businesses reached out to community. People were not certain if job fair opportunities are still available.
Clarify concern with HR

Commission:
Assigned committee.......*Education/Employment
Clarification/discussion with .......... Human Resources (Valerie Murphy-Goodrich), Fire (Chief Mike Birrell) Department
Follow-up/recommendation
* Proposed, will discuss at Commission Meeting


Living Arrangements
1. Independent Living opportunities for young adults with disabilities. (4)
2. Day care/respite care within the city for adults with disabilities. (4)

Barriers
Accessible housing is not readily available in Dearborn.
New condos are not accessible for disabled.
Lack of adult daycare, respite care, and recreation for active Developmentally Delayed adults (non-child, non-senior)
After the school age limitation is reached, the young adults fall through the cracks until the senior level is reached, re: daycare, recreation, and respite care.

Action/Comments:
Time did not permit adequate discussion
Visit-ability task force to move forward for all housing issues
Need to clarify DearbornÕs role in promoting improved services through community-based programs.

Commission:
Assigned committee.......*Access
Clarification/discussion with .......... (?) Department
Follow-up/recommendation
* Proposed, will discuss at Commission Meeting


Voting Accessibility
Group agreed that this is a major concern.
Commission members are going to Lansing soon to look at new equipment available for voting. Vendors of some of the machines will be there.
Written statement was provided by League of Women Voters supporting concerns regarding the need to provide equal access for disabled voters.


Commission:
Assigned committee.......*Access
Clarification/discussion with .......... City Clerk (Lola Isiminger, Kathy Buda) Department
Follow-up/recommendation


Concluding comments:
The note after each section indicates that the Commission will assign a committee to follow up on concerns, and clarify the issue raised with the appropriate departments. It also indicates specific follow-up actions and recommendations. Thus, this represents a working document to be addressed along with the ongoing work of the commission.

Dearborn Disability Awareness day: on October 22. Workshops are not final yet. We waited for Town Hall Meeting to see if topics would come up to work on. Part of the format will be workshops, to get information to people, and to work with Commission for needs and networking.
Our meetings are from 2-5 pm, once monthly (third Thursday).


Public Relations and DAD Report ( ATTACHMENT G)
¥ 1,000 Award Nomination Letter/Forms printed and mailing with Chamber of Commerce Newsletter in June. Nomination letter/form approved by the Executive Committee.
¥ 7- 8 workshops almost finalized
¥ Flyer Attached for Commission Review/Approval ($942.00 print charge, for mailing with 3rd Quarter Dearborn Water Bill)
¥ Exhibitors/Sponsors Update
Sponsors/Exhibitors:
¥ Wright & Fillipis - $500
¥ Professional Home Health Care - $500
¥ Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living - $125
Exhibitors (For Profit)
¥ Advantage Mobility Outfitters - $100
¥ A-1 Mobility - $100
¥ Creative Controls - $100-200
¥ Ford Motor - $100
¥ Nan Asher - $50
¥ Assistive Technology - ?
Exhibitors (Non Profits)
¥ New Horizons RehabilitationÊ- $25
¥ PAWS with a CauseÊ- $25
¥ Epilepsy FoundationÊ- $25
¥ Metropolitan Home Health Care ServicesÊ- $25
¥ Goodwill Industries of Greater DetroitÊ- $25
¥ Wayne County Library for the Blind D Fee Waived
¥ Beaumont Hospital Community Connection ProgramÊD Fee Waived
¥ Adaptive Sports & RecreationÊD Fee Waived
¥ Spoke to ÒDocÓ AndrewsÕ wife. Doc was in the hospital with colon problems, but she assured me that we would have his contract and set a meeting before June 30, 2003.
Other Business:
¥ Cathy and I appeared on the MayorÕs Forum in May (I have a tape for your viewing pleasure!) to discuss the Commission, DAD, City Hall renovations, Homecoming and a bunch more. We are scheduled to appear again in July
¥ We are working on Web-Page Protocol


Access Committee Meeting, June 16, 2003 ( Attachment H )
Those present: Claudia Damian, Chair and Sonya Tishler. Not present: Gary Filiak, Kevin Mitchell (Public Member), and Kim Hetrick.
Sonya and I went over all of the topics as given in the THM notes sent from Cathy. We reviewed all of the items and I have assigned issues for people to investigate and formulate some approach for action.
Recreation and Sports
v Kevin has volunteered to work with our Commission to help advance and add new programs to DearbornÕs recreational programs.
v Kevin, Gary and Susan should explore the possibility of Recreation staff training to recognize and work with children, young people and adults with disabilities. Note should be made for the need of one to one help for some children. Denise Toepfer should be included in these meetings.
v Gary should note the upgrading of equipment in the CityÕs 44 parks so all equipment will be accessible for children. Is there a way to allow parents or caregivers to write letters of concern or requesting new equipment?
v Gary and Susan should make a list of accessible parks and note progressive changes in equipment for a listing on our web site. Note also ramps and wheelchair access of parks and activity areas.
v Susan and Denise Toepfer could look over the rules of the recreation department and address those which may discriminate against children, young people, and adults with disabilities. Limitations and restrictions on use of equipment and participation should be scrutinized, rewritten or eliminated.
Task Force and Alliances with Local Groups
v With Michigan Adaptive Sports (Kevin), the PAC and Recreation Department, a task force could be formed with parents and care givers from other local support groups such as ARC, cerebral palsy, autism, rheumatism/arthritis, blindness, hearing loss, etc. Dr. Cheryl Kreger (Dearborn Public Schools and Commission member) could inform parents and care givers of the Task Force and encourage them to contact our Commission. (SusanÕs Office). Together, all can work with the City to ensure its programs and services are accessible and lend support for new programs, training and services. Also efforts to secure grant monies for equipment and training.
v Task Force should have the support of the Dearborn Public SchoolÕs Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, pathologists, and special education staff, along with parents and care givers.
v There should be no charge for caregivers who participate in recreational programs and accompany their children in the program/activities. Parents often carry, push, feed, aid children in these programs thereby allowing the staff to give special instructions, hand out materials, work one on one with each participant.
v Efforts should be made to include the parents, care givers, private group participants/members, private nonprofit groups, public program members/staff, and the schools to promote DearbornÕs commitment in promoting and improving services through its community programs.
Barriers
v Rule restrictions, limitations on equipment usage, program restrictions on admittance, lack of staff knowledge and training, no alternative format available on instructions/rules/hours.
v Lack of social activities other than sports, dancing, arts, and wheelchair basketball for adults with physical disabilities. Task Force should address this issue with ARC, VSA, Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Commission For the Blind, The American/Michigan Arthritis Foundation, Autism, Deaf CAN, etc. and coordinate and share information about ongoing activities. Also invite Dearborn to participate and host various activities.
v Lack of programs for disabled children over the age of 12 and under the Senior Citizen age. Perhaps a liaison can be made between the public schools and private nonprofit or for-profit (parents must pay for the services and programs) organizations that can develop and provide programs and services for older children. Ask Cheryl and Nancy Bower about such a possibility.
v Access to buildings, play grounds, cost of programs, no alternative formats, interpreters, lack of staff training.
Living Arrangements, Daycare and Respite Care
v Visitability Committee can address issues of accessible housing, condos and businesses: remodeling of homes and businesses, new buildings (businesses) and homes/condos in the Dearborn area. There is a lack of accessible housing in this City. This will be an ongoing Committee and Commission concern.
v There is some day care for adults (usually seniors) but not for children and young adults. Sonya will contact ARC and see what suggestions this group has and see if there is any enterprise interested in setting up such a business in Dearborn either privately (for profit) or with Oakwood Hospital or the Schools.
v Susan: to compose a list of the City Housing Units (Federally funded and City funded) which accept non-senior adults. The Commission could assess whether or not these units are accessible and meet the needs of disabled adults (non-senior). Also could have an informational meeting with the Unit populations to help clear up misunderstandings about who is accepted into such housing and why and what the CityÕs legal obligations are under the ADA. This could help alleviate any misunderstandings about non- seniors being in the housing units. Commission members could participate in these informational unit meetings.
Equipment and A Long Walk
v Exercise equipment is not Brailed; not sure staff understands how to and what needs to be Brailled. Where should the Brailled labels be put? Some equipment displays are so complicated and the settings so close together that putting a Brailled label on the display would interfere with the written words on the displays. Could equipment and weights be generally Brailled and staff trained how to work with people who are blind and have limited vision? Cathy and Mona could go to the exercise room and work with the PAC staff about Brailled the equipment and the issues involved on how much to Braille and where to put the labels, etc. and report back to the Commission.
v Could general information about the pool, weights, types of equipment, etc. be put on line so people who are blind, deaf or have limited vision, parents and care givers, others who are disabled can acquaint themselves with what is available in the exercise room and pools? Is there a need to have any of this information available in alternative formats?
v Sonya has stated it is a long walk from the front parking lot (disabled parking) to the lockers (the Family Locker Room is fantastic!!) to the pools. Does the PAC have a wheelchair available for people who may need to wheel someone from the front doors to the locker rooms and pool areas and back to their cars? Would a staff member be willing to push someone to the Locker room areas from the front door or front desk? Are there liability issues involved with the City and staff? Patrons would leave their driver license at the front desk in exchange for the use of a wheelchair.
PAC General Issues
v Claudia is going to formulate a letter to the PAC about several issues and ask Susan to send it to Mr. Greg Orner.
}? Having a wheelchair available for patrons to use.
}? Additional handrails outside on the blue edged steps.
}? Additional seating, benches, inside the PAC so persons with limited mobility have a chance to sit and rest; especially by the front doors.
}? Discounts for the disabled who are limited incomes. Such discounts could be similar to discounts for the seniors.
}? Additional and better lighting on the theater steps.
}? The accessible level for wheelchairs users and the disabled seems to have seating in the more costly areas of the theater. Is the charge for disabled seating less or equal to the costs for this more expensive seating location? The charge should be discounted.
Voting Accessibility
v This is an ongoing concern for the Commission. In Lansing on June 21st, a decision will be made about which types of voting equipment best serves the needs of the largest numbers of disabled people. Changes may not be readily made once the choices are made. Unfortunately as of this date (6/18/03), no Commission member can make the trip to Lansing to voice our choices.
v A letter was written by the League of Women Voters supporting equal access for disabled voters and our CommissionÕs efforts.
v A written invitation will be sent to the Dearborn City ClerkÕs Office to attend our Disability Awareness Day and state our continuing support to help make voting accessible to all disabled residents.
Jail Uniphone Availability
v There has been no statement as of this date (6/18/03) from Paul Klink about the installation of a Uniphone in the City jail. Paul is continuing to contact his source for the installation of the Uniphone.


Education Employment committee report (Attachment I )
Meeting 4/1/03
I.ÊÊ Reviewed draft of THM report to create a follow up process and check clarity for those who were not in attendance in preparation for commission meeting.Ê Noted problem with evaluations, as it was not specifically requested that forms be completed.
II.Ê Final workshop topics recommended for DDAD
1.Ê Robin Jones Communication issues: language, disability identification, interactions with employers etc.
2.Ê Seniors and disability concerns... AARP health update
3.Ê Sports/leisure for children and adults with disabilities...Kevin Adaptive sports
4.Ê Living independently: panel with CIL's,
5.Ê Special Education, Cheryl Kreger IDEA
6.Ê Employment panel recruitment, hiring, and successful employment of people with disabilities
7.Ê Doc Andrews!
8.Ê Home safety/modifications Karen Murphy
III.Ê Mary reported success with health fairs in continuing to reach out to seniors
IV.Ê Cathy reported on follow up with Michigan works.Ê Modifications and software are being completed at ACCESS.Ê Thanks to assistance from Jack O'Riley
V.Ê Service club letter is attached. For review.