2023-09-27 - Commission for Residents with Disabilities - Minutes RICK KAHEN COMMISSION FOR RESIDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
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September 27,2023
7:00pm call to order
A .� Public Works Lower-Level Conference Room
Fur Rniyidtmt-�With AI N%nCKPAifip% 51 Raupp Road, Buffalo Grove, Illinois 60089
I. Welcome & Call to Order at 7:04pm
II. Roll Call
A. Commissioners Present: Chair Judy Samuels, Vice Chair Marty Sussman,
Commissioners Lexi Robinson, Avi Samuels, Matthew Dragon, Mark Weiner, Dean
Klassman, Leo Njongmeta
B. Commissioners Not Present: Commissioners, Beth Shapiro, Jack Shapiro, David
Morton, Gowri Magati, Allie Zalay, Donna Garfield
C. Trustee Liaison Present: Andy Stein
D. Staff Liaison Present: Evan Michel
III. Approval of Minutes with Changes: August 23, 2023
A. Motion: Commissioner Weiner
B. Second: Commissioner Klassman
C. In Favor: All present
D. Oppose: None
E. Abstain: None
F. Motion passes
IV. Chair report (Judy Samuels)
A. Happy Holidays to those who celebrated throughout the month of September
V. Trustee(s) report (Andy Stein / David Weidenfeld)
A. None
VI. Staff Liaison Report (Evan Michel)
A. November meeting will bring back up our strategic planning (after Buddy Bowling)to
prepare for our strategic plan presentation to the Village Board - we will break back off
into sub-committees/working groups to refocus on our goals/planning for the upcoming
year—> goal would be to present in January at a Board meeting
a. The purpose of the presentation would be to celebrate the work we are hoping to
accomplish
VII. Sub-Committee report
A. Buffalo Grove Days Debrief
a. Buddy Baseball (Commissioner Klassman)
i. Idea for next year: personally invite police and fire to support/volunteer as
buddies ---> we were scrambling a bit for volunteers
ii. Idea: Start a Buddy Baseball program through the Village with the support of
the RK-CRD in the spring/fall.
1. Staff Liaison Michel will work with Village representatives and
Commissioner Klassman to connect on potential ideas and
partnerships for Buddy Baseball moving forward
iii. There were about 33 players at this year's event
iv. It is recommended to continue using the Buddy/Player online registration
form. This will also assist with building up our database and listserv.
V. It was a great event!
vi. 46 shirts were distributed at the event and 24 shirts are leftover (mostly
medium, large and XL were used).
vii. See the below report submitted from Commissioner Zalay via email ahead
of the meeting:
1. The shirt location distribution location was good. There were no
shirts requested from anyone who was not a Buddy.
2. Next year we need to make sure to provide water to spectators due
to the heat (even before dinner is being served).
viii. Idea for next year to have a representative from Walgreens or Lou Malnatis
throw out the first pitch of the Buddy Baseball game.
b. Fun and Food (Commissioner Verson)
i. Commissioner Verson —, thanks to the entire commission for a great event
1. Carts ---> The courtesy shuttle golf carts did not have tops despite
being ordered with tops
a. Public Works went above and beyond to support and help -
especially with the use of the electric carts with the tops.
2. Music The band should not be underneath the tent next year
(move a little further away).
3. Space in the tent --> We should make sure there is enough space in
the tent for all our participants. Some of the spectators from the car
show were sitting in the tent, which made it challenging to ensure
space for our guests.
4. We ordered 425 lunches, many participants left before lunch
because of the heat. We were able to donate the leftover food to
Public Works, the First Aid team, etc.
5. Logistic idea for next year to include a "satellite" location for
distributing food to participants.
ii. Registration update
Pre-Registered = 440
88 individuals 315 additional family members
2 group homes 37 participants
Walk-Ups = 72
16 individuals 56 additional family members
Actual Attendees = 314 pre-registered 71% of those who pre-registered attended
60 individuals 229 additional family members
1 group home 25 participants
Total Actual Attendees = 386
c. Commissioner Weiner requested that the Village provide a thank you note on
Village letterhead to donors and sponsors from the event thanking them for all
their contributions to the successful event. Staff Liaison Michel will work on this
with the support of the Commissioners who coordinated the sponsorships.
d. Chair Samuels thanked the Commissioner for all the hard work to make this one
of the most successful events we have hosted.
e. Thank you, Commissioners Verson and Klassman for their leadership!
f. Huge shout out to Staff Liaison Michel for his support and hard-work to ensure
the events and logistics were smooth.
g. Round Robin
B. Buddy Bowling (10/25) (Commissioner Weiner)
a. The bowling event will be from 6-8pm on Wednesday, October 25th.
b. Commissioners should be around at 5pm, for those who are able.
c. Registration will begin at 5:30pm.
d. Registration is closed because there are currently 102 participants registered.
There will be at least one Buddy for every lane. We have one or two lanes held
for any extra people who thought they may have registered.
e. Vice Chair Sussman sent fliers to all the local schools to inform them that the
event is occurring, which led to an influx from some of the school districts as a
result of that marketing. Many registrants noted in the registration form that they
heard about the event from Fun & Food or the school districts.
f. Three registration tables with the following Commissioners working the
registration tables --> Vice Chair Sussman and Commissioner Zalay; Chair
Samuels and Commissioner Klassman; Commissioner Dragon and
Commissioner Robinson will partner at the three registration tables.
i. We will include a spot for donations at the registration tables, as we did last
year.
g. Commissioner Verson will be in charge of the shoes.
h. Commissioner Garfield and possibly Commissioner Njongmeta will work as
"Safety/Security" and "greeters."
i. Staff Liaison Michel will work with the Village to have an officer present.
j. Commissioners Shapiro have helped with dinner in the past.
k. We will discuss in November or December the possibility of another bowling event
in the spring. This will be something discussed at the "Events Subcommittee"
during the November meeting.
Vill. Unfinished Business
A. None
IX. New Business
A. There is a restaurant in Arlington Heights called "Gerry's Cafe" that employs only
individuals with special needs.
X. Good and Welfare
XI. Comments from the Audience
XII.Adjournment at 8:
A. Motion: Commissioner Weiner
B. Second: Commission Klassman
C. In Favor: All present
D. Opposed: None
E. Abstain: None
F. Motion passes
Next Meeting: Wednesday October 18, 2023
The Village of Buffalo Grove, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, requests that persons
with disabilities, who require certain accommodations to allow them to observe and/or participate in this
meeting or have questions about the accessibility of the meeting or facilities, contact the ADA Coordinator
at(847) -459-2525 to allow the Village to make reasonable accommodations for those persons.