2024-01-24 - Commission for Residents with Disabilities - Minutes '°jj'� RICK KAHEN COMMISSION FOR RESIDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
January 24,2024
7:00pm call to order
A Lower Level EOC Conference Room, Buffalo Grove Village Hall
For Residents with Disabilities 50 Raupp Road, Buffalo Grove, Illinois 60089
I. Welcome & Call to Order at 7:05pm
II. Roll Call
A. Members Present: Chair Judy Samuels, Commissioners Leo Njongmeta, Mark
Weiner, Donna Garfield, Avi Samuels, Lexi Robinson, Amy Parker, Beth
Shapiro, Jack Shapiro, Allie Zalay
B. Members Not Present: Commissioners Dean Klassman, Matthew Dragon, Gowri
Magati
C. Staff Liaison Present: Evan Michel
D. Trustee Liaison Present: Trustee Andy Stein
E. Commissioners Present via Zoom but not counting towards a quorum: Vice
Chair Marty Sussman, Commissioner Debbie Verson
III. Approval of Minutes: October 18, 2023
A. Motion: Commissioner Beth Shapiro
B. Second: Commissioner Mark Weiner
C. In Favor: All Commissioners Present
D. Oppose: None
E. Abstain: None
F. Motion passes
IV. Chair Report (Judy Samuels)
A. Attendance
1. Commitment
i. Commissioners should plan to attend a minimum of 75% of meetings.
There are no more than 11 meetings within a calendar year.
ii. If any commissioners are unable to make a meeting, please inform Chair
Samuels and the Staff Liaison as soon as possible. This will help
determine if we are able to have a quorum.
iii. If any commissioners need to leave a meeting early, please inform Chair
Samuels and the Staff Liaison ahead of time (if possible) so that any
agenda items that require voting or action items can be shifted to the top of
the agenda.
2. Communications
i. The preferred method of communication as an entire commission will be
via email.
ii. It is important for commissioners to read through the agendas and
previous meeting minutes ahead of the meeting.
3. Reappointment considerations
i. Yearly there are reappointment considerations that occur for all Village
commissions.
ii. Commissioner Njongmeta recommended reviewing the commissioner
bylaws annually. He also asked for the consideration to include a
commitment for commissioners to attend both meetings and actively
participate at volunteer events as well.
RICK KAHEN COMMISSION FOR RESIDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
January 24,2024
B. 2024 meeting dates:
1. Regular 41 Wednesday of the month at 7p— 9p (at the latest): Chair Samuels
has shared the following dates as meeting dates for the 2024 calendar year:
• 1/24/24; 2/28/24; 3/27/24; 4/24/24; 5/22/24; 6/26/24; 7/24/24; 9/25/24;
Commissioners should mark these dates in their calendars.
2. Alternative Wednesday meeting dates based on dependencies: Aug, Oct,
Nov.
• 8/21/2024 (Buffalo Grove Days (Thurs. 8/29— Mon 9/2)
• 10/16/2024 or 10/23/2024 (Dependent on Buddy Bowling Date)
• 11/20/24 —Thanksgiving is 11/28
C. Known Events at this time:
1. Labor Day Weekend RKCRD events (Thursday, August 29'— Monday,
September 2nd)
• Buddy Baseball (Tentatively scheduled for Saturday, August 31 st)
• Fun and Food (Tentatively scheduled for Monday, September 2nd)
• Courtesy Shuttle (August 29t"— September 2)
o Commissioners who are available to drive should sign up to
volunteer for a minimum of 2 shifts for the courtesy shuttle.
• Commissioners should mark their calendars and plan to attend and
actively participate in these events.
2. Buddy Bowling (October— TBD)
V. Trustee(s) report (Andy Stein / David Weidenfeld)
A. Trustee Stein has been helping to ensure that handicap parking spaces are not
covered in snow and has been working with various Village staff are communicating
with business owners to keep the parking lots and handicap spaces clear of snow.
VI. Staff Liaison Report (Evan Michel)
A. Any Village updates - possible Buddy Baseball - spring league
i. Staff Liaison Michel is working with various community entities to get the
ball rolling on the possibility of a Village buddy baseball league. There are
not many updates at this time, other than it is a work in progress and more
information will be provided as available.
B. Strategic Planning: Action Planning - Guidance / Direction
VII. Sub-Committee report
A. Buddy Bowling (10/25) Debrief (Commissioner Weiner)
i. Overall, the event went great! The commission has great partners in
Bowlero and the Rotary Club. The entire commission showed up and
supported, thank you!
ii. There were 101 individuals registered to participate in the event and 75 of
those registered attended. This compares to 67 attendees from the
previous year.
iii. $470 were raised as donations on the night of the event.
RICK KAHEN COMMISSION FOR RESIDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
January 24,2024
iv. The total cost of the event (split between both the Rotary Club and RKCRD)
was $2687. The RKCRD cost was $1383. After the donations raised that
event, the net cost was $1157. The RKCRD also had sponsors that
contributed $1250 to the event. This left a net surplus of$97.
v. Next year, the commission will ensure there is someone at the door to
ensure safety and security throughout the entirety of the event.
vi. The Rotary Club has expressed interest in hosting a spring event in
partnership with the commission in the future.
vii. Next year, the commission should consider and tweak the food service at
the event. The buffet lines add chaos and clustering, Commissioner Zalay
suggested putting the food (as they do at birthday parties) close to each
lane. For example, provide one pizza per lane on the end caps near each
lane.
Vill. Unfinished Business
A. Strategic planning — Next step: Action planning
i. The commission is setting up subcommittees. Subcommittees will
determine a date and time to meet between tonight and next month's
meeting.
ii. The three main subcommittees of the RKCRD will include:
• Activities and Ensuring Year Round Fun for All
a. Commissioners Jack Shapiro, Mark Weiner, Amy Parker, Beth
Shapiro, Lexi Robinson, Debbie Verson
i. Co-chairs for the subcommittee will be Commissioners
Mark Weiner and Amy Parker who will communicate
with Commission Chair Samuels the update from the
subcommittee prior to the February 28th meeting.
• Built Environment (Making Sure Things are Accessible)
a. Commissioners Leo Njongmeta, Matthew Dragon, Chair Judy
Samuels, Vice Chair Sussman
i. Chair for the subcommittee will be Vice Chair Sussman
who will communicate with Commission Chair Samuels
the update from the subcommittee prior to the February
28th meeting.
• Sharing of Best Practices and Developing a Resource Guide
(Education)
a. Commissioners Avi Samuels, Allie Zalay, Donna Garfield
i. Chair for the subcommittee will be Commissioner Allie
Zalay who will communicate with Commission Chair
Samuels the update from the subcommittee prior to the
February 28th meeting.
IX. New Business
X. Good and Welfare
A. Huge thank you to Staff Liaison Evan Michel for all your support!
XI. Comments from the Audience
RICK KAHEN COMMISSION FOR RESIDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
January 24,2024
XII. Adjournment at 8:20pm
A. Motion: Commissioner Lexi Robinson
B. Second: Commissioner Mark Weiner
C. In Favor: All Present
D. Oppose: None
E. Abstain: None
F. Motion passes
Next Meeting: Wednesday February 28, 2024
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.
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