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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.