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2002-05-22 - Commission for Residents with Disabilities - Minutes Board orCommission: ❑ commission on Residents With Disabilities Document Type: 0 A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 05/22/2002 Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BUFFALO GROVE COMMISSION FOR RESIDENTS WITH DISABILITIES MEETING MAY 22, 2oo2 I. Call to Order—The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. IL Roll Call— Commissioners present included Chairman Kahen, Commissioners Chorney, Gottlieb, Holm, Slaw, Sussman, Spallone, Verson, and Weiner. Also present were Trustee Liaison Glover and Staff Liaison Summers. III. Approval of Minutes—A motion to approve the minutes of the 4/24 meeting was made by Comm. Gottlieb and seconded by Comm. Verson. Motion Carried. IV. Chairman's Report— Chairman Kahen reported that next month would be the 10 Year anniversary of the Commission for Residents with Disabilities and to celebrate the occasion the Commission will hold its regular monthly meeting(June 26) at the Village Grill and Tavern at 6:30 p.m. Chairman Kahen will call the restaurant and make the necessary reservations. Additionally, Chairman Kahen will invite the incoming and outgoing Trustee Liaisons as well as Village President Hartstein. Chairman Kahen indicated that Staff Liaison Versten had prepared and sent correspondence to Police Chief McCann thanking him for his department's foresight and preparation in planning for traffic stops for the hearing impaired. Chairman Kahen reviewed a recent NWMC update Bulletin discussing legislation that would require all buildings over 8o feet to have emergency exit plans. He also reviewed correspondence from Ed Schar, Building Commissioner, indicating that the only two buildings in Buffalo Grove exceeding this height are the Riverwalk Towers at the Northeast corner of Lake-Cook Road and Milwaukee Avenue. Chairman Kahen read recently released 2000 Census data quantifying the number of Buffalo Grove residents with disabilities. The statistics were as follows: Population 5 to 20 years 494 ( 4.7% of pop. in age range) Population 21 to 64 years 2,176 ( 8.5% of pop. in age range) Population 65 years and over 3,638 (29.8% of pop. in age range) Comm. Spallone asked how the Census defined "disability." Staff Liaison Summers read the Census definition aloud; "people 5 years old and over are considered to have a disability if they have one or more of the following: (a) blindness, deafness, or a severe vision or hearing impairment; (b) a substantial limitation in the ability to perform basic physical activities, such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying; (c) difficulty learning, remembering, or concentrating; or (d) difficulty dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home. In addition to the above criteria, people 16 years old and over are considered to have a disability if they have difficulty going outside the home alone to shop or visit a doctor's office, and people 16-64 years old are considered to have a disability if they have difficulty working at a job or business." Chairman Kahen indicated Staff Liaison Versten has assembled a matrix of Commission goals for this year and copies of the matrix were distributed to the commissioners. He asked that the commissioners review the matrix and bring back any proposed modifications at the next meeting. V. Commissioners Reports — Comm. Spallone reported "Special Needs, Special Families" last meeting had 55 attendees and that the group continues to bring in cutting edge speakers. VI. Sub-Committee Reports A. Community Service and Accessibility Sub-Committee - Comm Weiner attended the recent Arts Festival planning meeting on behalf of the CRD, and he distributed his notes from the meeting to the Commission. Comm. Spallone asked about transportation opportunities for the disabled at the event. Chairman Kahen indicated he emailed Carmen Molinaro, Director of Golf, regarding using a golf cart as a parking lot shuttle at the event. Trustee Liaison Glover indicated she believed Mr. Molinaro should supply two carts for the event. Chairman Kahen indicated he will contact Mr. Molinaro and request two. Chairman Kahen will coordinate a sign up for golf cart shuttle drivers throughout the two day festival. Comm. Gottlieb volunteered to produce laminated signs for the shuttles containing the handicapped logo and the words "Courtesy Shuttle." Chairman Kahen indicated he did not believe sufficient handicapped parking stalls would be available in the parking lot at Town Center throughout the Arts Festival; he asked that Ray Rigsby, Superintendent of Public Works Operations, be contacted to designate additional handicapped parking for the event. Trustee Liaison Glover concurred. Staff Liaison Summers suggested the commission solicit input from Ghida Neukirch, Ed Schar, and Mr. Rigsby before proceeding. Comm. Weiner indicated there would be a preview for individuals with special needs on Sunday morning from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Comm. Verson asked if the Commission could have a booth (or use the information booth) to distribute information and brochures on the Commission during this preview session. Staff Liaison Summers indicated he would consult with Ghida Neukirch, Asst. Village Manager, on this issue. Chairman Kahen discussed food suppliers for the Buffalo Grove Days Disabilities Session and Comm. Verson indicated she will pursue candy donations for the event. Chairman Kahen also indicated two golf cart shuttles, identical to those from last year, have been ordered for the handicapped shuttle the Commission operates. Comm. Verson also updated the Commission on the wheelchair basketball team scheduling for Buffalo Grove Days. She indicated previous contact problems with the team had been overcome and that the team stated they do not normally do these types of events but would discuss the idea with the team members. The team typically requests travel expenses of a couple hundred dollars and can bring extra wheelchairs for trustees or village staff that wish to participate in the game. B. Business Community Awareness Sub-Committee—No report. C. Public Awareness Sub-Committee— Comm. Holm indicated she would like to prepare an article on legislative issues and disabilities spending cutbacks. She will coordinate with the Advocacy/Legislative Sub-Committee on this issue. D. Schools Sub-Committee—No report. E. Advocacy/Legislative Sub-Committee— Comm. Slaw indicated the sub-committee has not met since the previous Commission meeting. He reviewed that Illinois was now the 48th state in funding for disabilities programs and well on its way to 50th. He will work with the Public Awareness Sub-Committee to prepare articles to educate the citizenry on this issue. Comm. Slaw will attempt to gain support and lobby for spending on these essential programs. He also indicated that if funding were cut he would work with the Public Awareness Sub-Committee to publish "aftermath" articles, and specifically anecdotal accounts of what the funding cuts have meant to individuals with disabilities. Comm. Slaw indicated he is still interested in submitting two or three questions to the gubernatorial candidates and seeking written responses that could be published. Comm. Spallone asked if Buffalo Grove could team up with other municipalities and have a town hall meeting with the candidates. Comm. Slaw responded that it would not hurt to try, but that it is likely the candidates schedules are already booked; it would be more productive to seek out candidates schedules and get Commission members to attend the local meetings to ask specific questions. VIL Items for Discussion—None. VIIL Staff Liaison Report—None. IX. Questions form the Audience—None. X. Other Business— Chairman Kahen informed the Commission that at the July meeting the Commission will need to get into the storage locker and go through the contents. Trustee Liaison Glover thanked the Commission for the last year and indicated it had been a pleasure to serve the Commission. She informed the Commission that their new Trustee Liaison Assignments were Trustees Braiman and Berman. XI Adjournment — Motion to adjourn made by Comm. Sussman and seconded by Comm. Chorney. Meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 at 6:30pm, Village Grill and Tavern.