HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-09-17-EC-minEnablement Committee — Town of Lexington
Minutes of September 17, 2002 Meeting
Present: Robert Harris — Chair; Barbara Barrows; Dan Murphy; Susan
Cusack; Jennifer Aliber; Victoria Buckley
The meeting came to order at 2:15 PM.
Robert Harris and Barbara Barrows presided over the meeting since Stephen
Baran was unable to attend due to attending a training. The agenda proposed by
Steve was used to discuss the following items:
1. The minutes of the previous meeting (8/20/02) were not available
to be approved.
2. Victoria Buckley agreed to be minute taker for this meeting. She
has received the letter from Town Manager, Richard White,
approving her as a committee member.
3. The letter regarding the interference of bicycles on the sidewalks
in the Center was approved and signed by Bob Harris, as written
by Richard Landau.
4. The letter about the inaccessibility of the Liberty Bus was
discussed. Concerns were raised about the phrasing used in the
letter — that the request for accessibility needs stronger wording,
since the current system is not in line with ADA requirements.
Even the current inadequate system of telling people to call
ahead 30 minutes is not spelled out or made public on any of the
Liberty Bus flyers, Website, or phone message machine. The
letter was put on hold.
5. The letter concerning the crosswalks was approved as written by
Barbara Barrows.
6. Recruitment of new members continues and follow -up is needed
regarding the Minuteman article.
7. Barbara Barrows read her report of the meeting held on 9/13/02
with DPW regarding the Transition Report, which listed the
priorities to make Town buildings accessible. Steve, Barbara,
Bill Hadley (Director, DPW), Peter Chalpin (Town Engineer), and
Wayne Medlin (Maintenance) discussed the cost and lengthy list
of renovations needed to bring the Town to ADA compliance.
The Transition Report was written by reviewing paperwork
requests of repair costs as opposed to physical inspection of the
ten buildings; they claim on -site inspections cannot be completed
t due to lack of personnel. Town representatives suggested
choosing two or three items per building to be completed each
£, year due to cost. Some repairs have been done, including the
crosswalk on Hancock Street and the closure on the basement
door at the Town Hall. The Town Hall's front door and stoop
problem cannot be resolved without permission from the Historic
Districts Commission even though this is a safety problem. A
suggestion was made to perhaps address all building problems
directly with the building inspector. Even the curb cuts do not
seem to be part of the $7 million repaving budget. The curb cuts
need to be accessible for visually impaired individuals as well.
(This issue was discussed again later in this meeting — see
below.)
8. Two grievance forms need to be filed on two businesses with
copies for Mr. White. This concerns the Dunkin' Donuts at
Waltham Street and Marrett Road (inaccessibility and parking
after recent rebuilding) and the business at 52 Waltham Street
(steps and inaccessibility despite recent renovation). Jennifer
Aliber agreed to follow up on these grievances.
9. Susan Cusack reported on her meeting with Richard White,
Town Manager. Mr. White had some minor wording changes on
the charge. He also said that there is the opportunity to have a
paid position for a disability specialist. Currently there are not
enough protocols and systems in place for the committee to be
able to do its job, such as being able to review building plans for
accessibility before construction, and this hire might be able to
solve some of these issues. Susan will follow up with the charge
being approved and the hiring of the new position.
10. The next meeting of the Enablement Committee will be on the
third Tuesday in October, October 15, 2002, at 2 PM.
New business and additional discussions continued after the initial ten items on
the agenda had been addressed.
1. The flyer composed by Richard Landau, entitled "Lexington Cares ", met
with unanimous approval.
2. Compliance priorities for town buildings were reviewed, since the priorities
lack some specificity. It was suggested that the issue of curb cuts needs
to be put back on the list. It was decided that the top priorities should be
the Fire Department, curb cuts, and the Visitor Center. Susan Cusack will
work with Steve and Bob on the Transition Report.
3. The issue of addressing diversity in the school curriculum was mentioned,
Victoria Buckley is doing this as co -chair of the Anti -Bias Committee at
Hastings Elementary; she was encouraged By Susan Cusack to contact
Carol Pilarsky and PAC.
4. Due to medical reasons, Barbara Barrows will be out for some time.
Victoria Buckley agreed to follow up on the 40B housing issues.
5. Bob Harris will check the plans for the new library regarding ADA
specifications and architectural accessibility.
6. Steve Baran will be asked to forward copies to all committee members of
the booklet proposed to be given to others for educational purposes.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 PM.
Minutes submitted by V. Buckley.