2024-02-28 - Commission for Residents with Disabilities - Minutes 2,n RICK KAHEN COMMISSION FOR RESIDENTS WITH
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DISABILITIES
February 28, 2024
7:OOpm call to order
Lower Level EOC Conference Room, Buffalo Grove Village Hall
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I. Welcome & Call to Order at 7:06pm
II. Roll Call
A. Members Present: Chair Judy Samuels, Commissioners Leo Njongmeta, Mark
Weiner, Donna Garfield, Avi Samuels, Lexi Robinson, Amy Parker, Dean Klassman,
Beth Shapiro, Jack Shapiro
B. Members Not Present: Commissioners Matthew Dragon, Gowri Magati, Allie Zalay,
Debbie Verson
C. Staff Liaison Present: Tyler Ankney
D. Trustee Liaison Present: Trustee Andy Stein
III. Approval of Minutes: January 24, 2024
A. Motion: Commissioner Lexi Robinson
B. Second: Commissioner Mark Weiner
C. In Favor: All present
D. Oppose: None
E. Abstain: None
F. Motion passes
IV. Chair report (Judy Samuels)
A. Great to see everyone this month!
V. Trustee(s) report (Andy Stein / David Weidenfeld)
A. Trustee Liaison Stein brought up the idea of redesigning new shirts with the RK-CRD
logo and the updated Village branding.
a. Staff Liaison Ankney said that Molly Gillespie from the Village will attend a
future meeting to discuss the updated Village branding and the possibility of
revising the RK-CRD polos.
VI. Staff Liaison Report (Tyler Ankney)
A. Introduction of the new staff liaison, Tyler Ankey.
a. Welcome, Tyler!
B. Village Budget Report
a. The RK-CRD has a budget of$3,000 this year.
b. Last year, the RK-CRD spent $3,959.60.
c. Staff Liaison Ankney will bring a budget update regularly to meetings.
d. Staff Liaison Ankney will request a $4,000 budget for next year, since for the
last two years the Commission has spent closer to $4,000.
e. Staff Liaison Ankney will work on getting us an itemized budget from last year
to see what exactly our funds were spent on last year as a Commission.
VII. Working Groups Report
A. Ensuring Opportunities for Hands-On Fun
a. Leads: Commissioners Mark Weiner and Amy Parker
b. Commissioners: Jack Shapiro, Mark Weiner, Amy Parker, Beth Shapiro, Lexi
Robinson, Debbie Verson, Dean Klassman
c. The working group has the idea to host an additional event in May or June.
The event would be a spring dance.
i. The working group discussed utilizing a space through the Village (such
as the Community Arts Center) or some place outside (such as the
Willow Stream Park Pavilion).
ii. The Commission would hire a DJ to come and have a fun night of
dancing for residents with disabilities.
iii. The working group discussed a potential budget of a few hundred
dollars for the event.
iv. The working group discussed partnering with the Rotary Club of Buffalo
Grove as we do with Bowling with Buddies to host the event.
V. The event would be for around 100 attendees and their family
members.
vi. Vice Chair Sussman mentioned that in May the Buffalo Grove
Symphonic Band hosts a band and dancing event. He mentioned that
we could reach out to the Symphonic Band to possibly combine or
coordinate events. This event is held at Stevenson High School.
d. The working group has the idea to create a Sponsorships Packet to share with
local businesses.
i. There would be two tiers of sponsorships with various options for
different prices: Tier 1 = $1,000 and Tier 2 = $350.
ii. Tier 1 donors would receive the following potential benefits:
1. Large logo on signage at all events
2. Logo on shirt for Buddy Baseball All Star Game
3. Share resources or fliers at all events
4. Public thanks at all events
5. Link to business on RK-CRD website through the Village page?
a. The working group does not know if this is allowable,
Staff Liaison Ankney will follow-up to discuss if this is
possible.
6. Framed thank you certificate
iii. Tier 2 donors would receive the following potential benefits:
1. Business name on signage at all events
2. Public thanks at all events
3. Share resources or fliers at all events
4. Framed thank you certificate
iv. The working group will add a component about in-kind donations, such
as water, pizza, soda, etc.
V. The goal would be to raise sufficient funds to help support and pay for
all four events that we host as a Commission: Bowling with Buddies,
Fun & Food, Buddy Baseball, and the Spring Dance.
vi. The Sponsorship Packet would share benefits with potential donors and
what we can offer in terms of types of sponsorships to help entice
people to donate.
vii. Staff Liaison Ankney will discuss with the Village if the sponsorship
packages and the "offerings" are acceptable and approved by the
Village.
e. Motion to pursue a dance event in the Spring and bring information and details
to the full Commission at next month's meeting: Commissioner Jack Shapiro
i. Second: Commissioner Donna Garfield
ii. In Favor: All present
iii. Oppose: None
iv. Abstain: None
V. Motion passes
B. Advocating for Inclusion and Access
a. Lead: Vice Chair Sussman
b. Commissioners: Leo Njongmeta, Matthew Dragon, Chair Judy Samuels, Vice
Chair Sussman
c. The working group discussed several large parking lots.
i. One of the main concerns discussed was the need to restripe and re-
asphalt the handicap parking spaces near The Continental Restaurant
and the Garden Fresh supermarket.
ii. The working group is meeting on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 with those in
the Village who are involved with regulations of parking lots to inquire
about parking lot monitoring and maintenance, including handicap
spaces, restriping, re-asphalting, and signage.
iii. Later on down the line, the working group will also seek to find out the
process for if Commissioners or residents notice something amiss
around the Village that needs revising and what the RK-CRD can do as
a Commission to support or recommend improvements.
iv. There are multiple physical therapy parking lots in Buffalo Grove where
the distance from the handicap spots to the entrance of the facility is
too far.
V. The goal is to understand the process of how we can recommend or
request based on the rules of the Village and the legal requirements.
C. Trusted Resource for Accommodations and Services (i.e., Sharing of Best Practices
and Developing a Resource Guide (Education))
a. Lead: Allie Zalay
b. Commissioners: Avi Samuels, Allie Zalay, Donna Garfield
c. The working group is facing challenges with this task.
d. Commissioner Garfield reached out to multiple agencies to try and find what
resources and agencies are local and able to support this initiative.
Commissioner Garfield discussed reaching out to Stevenson High School and
Buffalo Grove High School to see what resources or agencies they share with
families of students who "age out" of high school.
e. Commissioner Parker discussed the Connect to Community organization that
is composed of local moms of children with special needs who have a resource
database for a similar reason. Commissioner Parker will connect with
Commissioner Garfield to share that information.
Vill. Unfinished Business
A. Strategic planning — Continue to meet, in workgroups, outside of the regular monthly
RK-CRD meeting, to brainstorm and develop an action plan to support one or more
objectives within the identified goals. Present to the Commission for review and
approval.
a. Per the Open Meetings Act, working groups cannot meet with 4 or more
Commissioners at a time, unless the meeting is held in a public space and the
meeting has been published with 24 hours notice to the public.
IX. New Business
X. Good and Welfare
XI. Comments from the Audience
XII. Adjournment at 8:39pm
A. Motion: Commissioner Beth Shapiro
B. Second: Commissioner Mark Weiner
C. In Favor: All Present
D. Oppose: None
E. Abstain: None
F. Motion passes
Next Meeting: Wednesday March 27, 2024
RICK KAHEN COMMISSION FOR RESIDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
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.