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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-05-07-EC-minEnablement Committee Minutes May 7, 2003 Present: Jennifer Aliber, Victoria Buckley, Sue Cusack, Michael Novack, Bill Kennedy, Michael Martignetti Absent: Bob Harris, Richard Landau, Dan Murphy Guest: Kathi Geisler, Spastic Paraplegia Foundation, an organization designed to support 2 groups of rare neurological disorders that manifest over time overtime causing among other things the gradual ability to walk; the condition is hereditary The Foundation was started last year to build awareness about this rare disorder. The organization chose Lexington as an accessible location to hold their Walkathon. A critical need for participants in the event is convenient proximity to accessible bathrooms. They were assured that there would be accessible bathrooms at the Visitor Center and that from 11 -12am Sunday Sept 13, First Parrish might also be available, The committee suggested that Starbucks could be another site. The Walkathon is 2.5 miles with a 3 leg route. They expect that it will take 1.5 hours for the whole route. The Walkathon will end with a celebration at the Hancock Church at 2pm. Given their prior experience with this kind of event, they are expecting 80 participants. Discussion: Minutes: April Minutes modification re: Heritage Museum Concerns was requested by Chuck to more accurately reflect his conversation with the director of the museum. Jennifer will make the changes to the April minutes. Commission Status: Applications to become a member of the Commission were disseminated. They must be filled out and submitted to the Town Manager for the transition to occur from Committee to a Commission. Meeting Attendance: Issues related to improving participation were discussed. It was decided to try 4pm as a new meeting time. We are also going to ask if anyone needs assistance with transportation. We are also aware that email communication does not work for everyone, so communication by mail will continue. June 4 at 4pm will be our next meeting. <> Visitor Center: The bathrooms are now accessible, there are plans to grade the front pathways to facilitate access; the back door will be getting a new ramp but it too will be a temporary because a permanent ramp would inhibit opening the basement door. MA Buddhist Association: A letter to the Architecutral Access Board was prepared by Jennifer requesting their variance not be requested. The Community Access Monitoring Training: Michael Novac attend the training and found it very interesting. He has been invited to go on a field visit with the MOD to gain more first hand experience in assessing architectural barriers. Wayne Medland (DPW) and Ryan Gilbert (Operations Manager) also participated in the training. Steve Frederickson was invited but declined. Other Discussion: We would like to pursue looking systemic protocols that promotes more awareness and inhibit the continued erection of architectural barriers. There appears to be an educational issue related to granting permits to entities that erect architectural barriers. Minutes submitted by Sue Cusack, 6/3/03