2015-09-03-COD-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commission on Disability Meeting Minutes September 3, 2015 Members Present: Victoria Buckley, Chair; Nate Finch; Julie Miller; Len Morse-Fortier; Janet Perry; Francine Stieglitz; Michael Martignetti Town Liaisons: Fred Lonardo, Building Commissioner; Joe Pato, Chair, Board of Selectman; Linda Vine, Deputy Town Manager; Harry Mackay, Council on Aging Guests: Shaun Grady, Lexington Resident; Susan Bennett, Director of Lexington Historical Society; Susan Rockwell, Board member of LHS; Jeri Zeder, Friends of the Lexington Streetscape Project • Minutes from the August meeting will need to be approved at next meeting as there are several corrections needed. • Remote Meeting Participation: Discussion about whether Commission should permit remote participation at meetings, according to M.G.L. c. 30A, Sec. 20(e) —this needs to be voted in in order to be part of future meetings. Vote was unanimous. • Depot Building: Susan Bennett, Director of Lexington Historical Society, and Susan Rockwell, from the Board, came to discuss issues about auditory accommodations in the Depot Building, especially considering grant from the Dana Foundation, "to fund installation of Hearing Assist equipment to assist elderly and disabled access at the Society's building". The grant was to purchase a hearing assistance system and improve accessibility with power doors. The latter part was completed and the doors work well now. The auditory enhancement system was purchased but it needs technical training to run it. Given that the Depot is a rental property, Sue said that it is up to the renters and participants to request training. The Commission pointed out that people will not ask if they do not know what is available and asked if LHS could write this on the rental agreement. Linda Vine suggested including it on the "fact sheet"provided to renters. • Cary Hall: There will be a test sidewalk strip put at back of police station. Victoria will contact members to test it when it is ready. • Center Streetscape and Woburn Street/Massachusetts Avenue Intersection: Jeri Zeder from Friends of the Lexington Streetscape Project, talked about how that group is looking for supporters since the most vocal lately have been the opponents. The concerns most often cited about lights at Woburn Street are visual blight; misunderstanding or varying interpretations of data from traffic analyses; concern about neighborhood cut- through traffic to avoid lights. There are also questions about whether there are alternatives to lights. Commission members are concerned about pedestrian safety, and the majority of members would like to see the lights installed. Jeri asked if supporters could sign her petition and write letters to the editors. It was suggested that outreach to Douglas House would be beneficial to get those residents' point of view about pedestrian safety in the Center.