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2002-11-20 - Commission for Residents with Disabilities - Minutes Board orCommission: ❑ commission on Residents With Disabilities Document Type: 0 A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 11/20/2002 Type of Meeting: ❑ Special Meeting MINUTES OF THE BUFFALO GROVE COMMISSION FOR RESIDENTS WITH DISABILITIES MEETING Special Meeting, November 20, 2002 I. Call to Order—The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. IL Roll Call— Commissioners present included Chairman Kahen, Commissioners Chorney, Dumrauf, Gottlieb, Holm, Morton, Sussman, Spallone, Verson, and Weiner. Also present were Trustee liaison Berman and staff liaison Versten. III. Approval of Minutes—A motion to approve the minutes of the 10/23 meeting was made by Comm. Verson and seconded by Comm. Sussman. Motion Carried. IV. Chairman's Report — Chairman Kahen welcomed new Commissioners Dennis Dumrauf and David Morton and asked all present to introduce themselves. Chairman Kahen recapped current issues for the new members. Since the last meeting, he had received a letter from Mike Rylko, Administrator of the Buffalo Grove Park District, noting that the dugouts for the Willow Stream North Diamond are to be expanded to 10' wide by 30'. Again there was discussion as to who would fund the diamond and whether the State or the NWSRA could be counted on. Trustee Berman reminded all that money is tight in Springfield. Chairman Kahen reiterated that this field should generate regional interest and should be used to accommodate regional programs. Again there was discussion about whether and how Buddy Baseball was promoted and whether it made it into the Park District flyer. V. Commissioner's Reports - none VI. Sub-Committee Reports— Community Service and Accessibility Sub-Committee Chairman Kahen reported that he had spoken with a woman on Le Jardin who has lived there with her sister since April 2002. She has MS and has been having trouble getting her scooter past the curb of her driveway in order to get to the mail box stand, and to board the Pace bus, etc. The group concluded that the homeowner's association should be informed of her need and make the arrangements. Rick will follow up with her further. Some discussion followed about the pedestrian overpass at Dundee in Wheeling near the London School. Commissioner Holm noted that the overpass is not being taken down, as had previously been thought. It is instead going to be repaired. There was some question as to whether such reparations could be performed now without upgrading to include a ramp per the ADA. Trustee Berman informed the group that the ADA improvement being contemplated must not exceed a particular percentage of the cost of the overall project for that part of the law to apply. Business Community Awareness Sub-Committee Commissioner Weiner distributed fact sheets describing the tenets of the personal shopper program. We will start with the Jewel at Route 83 & Lake-Cook Road. Harry Holgerson, Store Manager, has already been contacted and, upon first blush, seems supportive of such a program. Using this as a pilot, we will eventually present the program idea to other large "box" retailers in Buffalo Grove. Mr. Versten will get the sub-committee the contact info for the three Dominick s stores. Commissioner Wiener next summarized the letter that was sent to Buffalo Grove Postmaster Mike Wingstrom asking for sensitivity to and quick processing for handicapped customers for whom it is often painful, if not impossible, to wait in moderate to long lines. Chairman Kahen is awaiting word back from Mr. Wingstrom as to the Buffalo Grove Post Office's receptivity to taking action to address the concern. Public Awareness Sub-Committee Versten noted that the deadline for the winter newsletter is upon us. Commissioner Spallone will try to get something to him in the next few days. Possible topics were discussed, and Trustee Berman reminded the group that the goal should be public information, not advocacy and editorial. Other ideas for public awareness were discussed. The notion of rewarding businesses that went "above and beyond" in areas concerning handicapped customers or employees was discussed. Trustee Berman reviewed the concept of the Board of Trustees' Golden Bison award to community-minded area businesses and suggested that the desires of the group to reward disabilities-sensitive businesses would seem suited to that award. Chairman Kahen suggested that Astro Amusement should be so recognized for their contribution to the "Fun and Food" program each year at Buffalo Grove Days. Commissioner Holm offered that the Buffalo Grove Days Committee should be recognized as well. Versten suggested a newsletter article on the joint "Fun and Food" program serving as a model for how two commissions working together can achieve more than each could separately. BG Days and ESDA is another example in that regard. Schools Sub-Committee Commissioner Verson asked whether Mr. Swieca had reported anything in regard to restraints for transporting individuals in wheelchairs in ambulances. Mr. Swieca is reviewing the materials with respect to applicability, cost, and if they can be installed while maintaining the ambulance a hermetically sealed and sterile. Mr. Swieca will report at a future meeting. Commissioner Verson also asked whether Mr. Swieca had reported anything in regard to the need for the Fire Department to be aware of where children with special needs gather in school emergencies or even how many children with special needs are in each school. Fire Department Liaison Swieca had indicated in the previous meeting that the Fire Department was not and that the schools were reluctant to provide the information, and that the Fire Department also had trouble inspecting schools for code compliance because the schools fall under state, not local, jurisdiction despite their location within the village. Commissioner Verson distributed a draft for discussion of a letter and survey to the schools from the Commission concerning the emergency evacuation from the schools of students with disabilities. The survey asks for details of such plans. It was suggested that the letter include a proposal for an intergovernmental group of public safety and school officials to meet with members of this Commission to exchange information and identify common policies and methodologies, if so doing would be helpful to an emergency response effort. Trustee Berman suggested that the tone of any such endeavor should be based in assisting the schools and toward better assuring the delivery of our services to them, as opposed to, for example, a Village inspection or critique of their evacuation plans. It was agreed that the letters should be addressed to the superintendent of each district, asking permission to correspond directly with the principals of each school should we not get a response to the survey from the superintendent's office. Mr. Versten will forward the letter to Mr. Swieca of the Fire Department for review and input on the letter, the survey, and the overall notion. If Mr. Swieca approves and provides his input, Mr. Versten will arrange for the typing and sending of the letter. Legzslative Sub-Committee Chairman Kahen relayed Ken Swan's report on a medical break through concerning the isolation of the gene for FD (Familial Dysautonomia). This is a big step toward a cure. Chairman Kahen announced that the NW group was meeting tomorrow night. Chairman Kahen reported that the ADA Center administers an e-mail list serve which he has joined and finds very informative. VIL Items for Discussion— Surveys — two separate surveys were reviewed and discussed. The general survey, last sent out in the fall of 1999 and generating 206 responses, was updated with suggestions by the Group, as was the emergency 9-1-1 survey. Commissioner Morton noted that similar information is kept in the 9-1-1 database by the firm contracted by the Northwest Central Dispatch System. It was agreed that we should ask Larry Swieca how he advises we proceed in gathering up information on persons with disabilities for the Fire Department to relay to the database management firm in Indianapolis. VIIL Staff Liaison Report—None. IX. Other Business— none. X. Adjournment — Motion to adjourn made by Commissioner Sussman and seconded by Commissioner Weiner. Meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Next Meeting: Wednesday, December 18th, 2002 at 7:OOpm, lower level conference room, at Village Hall.