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Home My Public Portal About2017 WCOD Minutes 12-20-17Watertown Commission on Disability 149 Main St. Watertown, MA. 02472 Meeting Minutes Wednesday, Dec 20th, 2017 The meeting was called to order at 7:15 p.m. by Kim Charlson, Chair. ROLL CALL- Kim Charlson, Chair; Lisa Feltner, Town Councilor; John Hawes, Vice - Chair; Carol Menton,; Megan O'Halloran; Elan Rohde; Gayle Shattuck, Town Personnel Director and ADA Coordinator; and Carol Wilson -Braun. Absent- Jeanne O'Connell. Audience- Carol Hilbinger from Wilmington COD. AUDIENCE ISSUES- Our guest was invited to talk about the Wilmington COD. She said the commission was struggling to get re -started. It has just 3 members and met last month for the first time in 15-20 years. One of the members was an original member, and another is a veteran. Carol has hearing loss. She came to see how our meetings run and to learn from us. She was advised by our members to find out who the ADA person is for her town, what town officials can help, what was the breadth of people are who serve on the COD and how to get the word out. The main advice was to not let herself get overwhelmed, to start slowly. CHAIR'S REPORT- Kim reported that Moh Sayed has submitted his resignation citing the work pressures of his corporation and conflicts of interest. Also, Jeanne O'Connell has pressing family issues affecting her participation on the commission. Kim will talk to her about her plans. We shall advertise for new members. Discussion of Unity Breakfast request- It was moved, seconded and VOTED unanimously to approve up to $500 to fund CART for the Unity Breakfast in January. Kim had forwarded a letter of thanks to the commission. This was from parents of an adult with autism to the police chief thanking the police for their sensitivity and help with a difficult situation. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES- It was moved, seconded and VOTED unanimously to accept the minutes from the November meeting. Copies of the minutes may be requested from the Town Clerk's Office. Lisa had a question about the How dog park, particularly the issue of a curb cut and accessible parking. She said the Traffic Commission is meeting on the 27th and could discuss accessible parking. It was moved, seconded and VOTED unanimously to ask the traffic commission to consider an accessible parking space near the entrance of How Park on Bacon St. TREASURER'S REPORT- Gayle said the treasurer's report was late due to her assistant trying to unencumber some items. $2000 was added back on to the total. Gayle reported that thankyous were received from Caption First for our business, and from the Council on Aging and St. Patrick's food pantry. It was moved, seconded and VOTED unanimously to accept the Treasurer's Report for Nov. Copies of the Treasurer's report may be requested from the town's ADA Coordinator in the Personnel Office. COMMITTEE REPORTS - 1) Plans- Nothing new, per John. 2) Closed Captioning- Carol M. said she still needs to reach out to Helen at Cable about technical issues. She hasn't heard of any more problems. 3) Special Ed- Nothing new, per Elan 4) Safety and Access- Nothing new, per Kim NEW BUSINESS - 1) Gayle said the Town engineer wants to come to our January meeting to talk about the Complete Streets plan, which addresses optimal use of streets and sidewalks. Lisa encouraged us to look at the links through the DPW website. Comments are accepted through Jan 15th. Kim asked Gayle to send out the link. 2) ASL/CART should be provided for the town officials' inauguration on January 2nd, which takes place at 7 p.m. at the Mosesian Theatre. We will vote next meeting to cover the expense, up to 2 hours of CART. Carol M said she could put in a request for CART including Gayle's contact information. Lisa said there would be food and beverages. The next meeting will take place on January 17th at 7 p.m. The meeting was adjourned at 8:06 p.m. These minutes are recorded and respectfully submitted by Carol Wilson -Braun, Secretary.