HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-12-12-COD-min Commission on Disability
Minutes from December 12, 2019
Members: Victoria Buckley, chair, Shaun Grady, Michael Martignetti, Leonard Morse-Fortier,
Francine Stieglitz
Town Liaisons: Joe Pato, Select Board liaison; Jim Kelly, Building Commissioner; Bonnie
Teitelman, Council on Aging
Guests: Joshua Yaar; Jennifer Yaar; Cindy Arens; Tina McBride; Kathy Santos; Kevin Grocki
Award Presentation
A special award was presented to Joshua Yaar, Youth Ambassador for the Tourette Association
of America. The award was inscribed: Joshua Yaar 12/12/19, Lexington Commission on
Disability recognizes your spirit, achievement and advocacy. Joshua talked about Tourette's. He
told us that when he was in Washington, DC, he was able to meet with many youth ambassadors
and that the experience of being with others like him was good.
Minutes
Minutes for November 7, 2019 were reviewed, revised, and approved.
Discussion with Cindy Arens and Tina McBride about Plastic Straws
The ban on plastic straws begins to be phased in January for establishments over 10,000 square
feet. The Commission reviewed the materials available from Cindy and Tina that will be
distributed to merchants after approval by the Town Manager. The suggested changes involved
making the handout shorter, changing the order of the pages, and used "people first" language
("The CoD recognizes that some patrons may need individualized options".) The pages will be
edited accordingly, sent back to the Commission for review and then sent to the Town Manager
for review. We will then set up meetings with the Lexington Retailers Association and the
Chamber of Commerce to present the outreach packet to them together.
Discussion with Kathy Santos and Kevin Grocki about Town Website Accessibility
Kathy Santos is the Town Webmaster and Kevin Grocki is the Cary Library Webmaster. They
are working with more than 20 web editors. They are guided by the World Wide Web
Consortium accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.IAA). They try to have alternate text for images,
minimized amounts of text in images, headings for page navigation, hyperlinks, sans serif fonts,
high contrast text to background. PDFs and laserfiche continue to be problematic. They would
like people to test the website's accessibility and someone to demonstrate how they use a
screenreader. They would like to know which accessibility fixes to prioritize, and they want to
work with the community that needs special features. The Commission suggested two of its
members, Sue Cusack and Janet Perry, to give feedback and that Kathy and Kevin should reach
out to Special Education PAC, CAL and other community groups.
Outreach for the Commission
This was tabled due to lack of time.
Meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Victoria Buckley
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