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HomeMy Public PortalAboutAll Citizens Access -- 2011-10-21 Minutes Colette Williams From: MOEBOBCC @aol.com Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 10:25 AM To: Colette Williams Cc: cburke200 @verizon.net; vickilyntex @aol.com; helen @vipilot.com; onejuandon @comcast.net; fgentnerma @yahoo.com; rkaddy @verizon.net; sjkelly @truro-ma.gov; erniemayb @comcast.net; comdis @nantucket-ma.gov; polly @cilcapecod.org Subject: Brewster's ACAC October 21, 2011 Meeting Minutes ALL CITIZENS ACCESS COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes for October 21, 2011 Present: Brian Ladley, Jean Sears, Robert Steinmann, Maureen Steinmann Members not Present: Denise Rego Guest vistior: Peter Johnson, President of the Brewster Conservation Trust Minutes for the June 17,2011 meeting were accepted. Review of Summer Issues: Beach Accessibility: We reviewed our beaches re their accessibility throughout the summer months. Linnell Landing was deemed to be the only accessible beach. The committee decided for 2012 to follow up on beach accessibility issues throughout the summer to maintain as much accessibility as possible. Each member will adopt a beach or two and any accessibility issues should be able to be addressed quickly. This came about because the Steinmanns visited Ellis Landing in August,which although not beach accessible, there is a handicap parking spot from which one can disembark from his/her car or van and enjoy the view. Due to erosion a wooden barrier had been put up along the side of the HP area which people were using as a bike rack therefore blocking the handicap parking space. The Chair contacted the DPW and they fixed the problem by providing a bike rack. Brewster has very few beaches that are either accessible or can be made accessible. These will be reviewed at our next meeting with Bob Bersin, head of the Department of Public Works. Peter Johnson also mentioned that Chris Miller, head of Brewster's Natural Resources Dept.would be a good source of information re Brewster's beaches. Information Sheets: The Chair mentioned that only the sheets re Accessible Beaches, Beach Wheelchair Accessible Beaches and Accessible Recreational Sites were available at the Visitors Center. Re the Accessible Restaurant sheets, the Chair decided not to make them available until ACAC had further discussions re "inns". It was decided that the existing accessible restaurant information sheet will have to be reviewed and updated each year. More discussion on that subject to follow. Town Hall Accessibility Update: Tom Thatcher notified the Chair that he has placed accessible desks in the appropriate Town Hall offices. The counters in the Assessors Office and Accounting Department have to be physically modified and Tom is continuing to progress in that work. Captain's Golf Course: It was noted in the newspaper that this past summer the Captains Golf Course had purchased a SoloRider accessible golf cart. The Chair will send a letter thanking them for their purchase. Fall Issues: Brian will check in with Sue Broderick to make sure all is set with CART for Town Meeting on November 7th. He will check with the Town Clerk re the accessible voting machine, AutoMark, for the elections on November 8th . Brian will also put together a list of what he recommends for the CART setup for Town Meeting which also will be sent to the Harwich Disability Commission. Funding Projects: The issue of funding projects was of concern to the Chair so she asked Jeff Dougan of the MA Office on Disability what the responsibilities of the committee are in this regard. He noted that the purpose of Handicap Commissions is basically to assist and advise on issues of disability and accessibility. It is not in their purview to seek funding from grants, CPA funds, etc. The funding of projects to improve accessibility is the responsibility of the municipalities. Bob Bersin, head of the DPW is responsible for Brewster's beaches so the funding should come through the DPW. It was suggested that some grants/funding could be sought as a joint venture between the DPW and the Recreation Dept. Bob will be at our Nov. 18th meeting and this issue will be discussed. Projects for 2012: It was decided to focus on accessible pathways at two-three beaches and Drummer Boy Park. Identifying the beaches, the appropriate material for the accessible pathways and their placement will be discussed at our Nov. 18th meeting. There are two commercial accessible pathway materials being considered: Super Deck Systems and Mobimat, samples of each were brought to the meeting. The mobimat was used this summer at Coast Guard Beach with very satisfactory results. The Super Deck has been used satisfactorily at Eastham's First Encounter Beach for the last few years. The Steinmanns checked out the Super Deck in Eastham. Other used accessible pathway materials available are the wooden slats currently used at Crosby and sections of a "1st generation" of mobimat, now in storage at the DPW. It is the committee's hope that we will be able to use these somewhere in town, but probably not at the ocean beaches. With regard to Drummer Boy Park: A couple of months ago the Chair had asked the Selectmen to include DBP on their agenda. John Dickson, the Selectmen's liason to our committee, was going to follow up on this. The ACAC recommended the appointment of a special committee to review the existing 1995 Drummer Boy Park Master Plan because there is no designation for handicap parking, no accessible pathway to the accessible playground, no particulars on the accessible pathways as to composition, size, etc. The Chair queried the MA Office on Disability and based on the Chair's description, MOD believes that Drummer Boy Park is non-compliant with ADA standards so it is important for this issue to be followed up. As the Selectmen are extremely busy with the Nov. 7 town meeting issues, our committee felt it best to wait until after town meeting before we bring this development to their attention. The Chair distributed copies of the relative correspondence. Other Issues: Peter Johnson noted that he and others from the Brewster Conservation Trust recently finished a pathway on the Trust's property at the Community Gardens area off of Lower Road . Peter said this was their first trail and that the Trust will try to keep accessibility in mind when making new trails. It is also possible that the Trust could use some of the unused accessible pathway materials on their trails. The Chair noted that the Harwich Conservation Trust has two wheelchair accessible walkways. Maureen gave Peter a copy of an article "Happy Trails to You"" from the MA Audubon Connections magazine (May-August 2011)wherein they describe "trail making", including accessible trails. She also gave Peter a general information sheet describing criteria for accessible pathways. Peter asked if this was available on line at the committee's website. The Chair thought so, but was going to check. 2 The Chair noted that the issue of"Scent-Free Policy" is being discussed by other handicap commissions. Brewster's policy, according to our Jillian Douglass, the Assistant Town Manager, is one of"reasonable accommodation"whereby cases are handled on an individual basis upon request. The Chair noted that the dam improvements at the Grist Mill Site which, because of the nature of the work,will improve accessibility is still uncertain due to a State funding issue. The Chair showed a newspaper clipping showing the new accessible bath house at Cook's Brook Beach in Eastham. The Chair received a packet of information from Beth Albert, Director of Barnstable County Dept of Human Services and ADA Coordinator for Barnstable County. Included in this packet were booklets "Planning Accessible Meetings and Events", Accessible Print Materials"and sheets re "Accessibility Language and Symbols", "711 Relay Calling Tips", and "Examples of People First Language" sheets, similar to the "Say What" sheets. The Chair distributed copies of the "special language" sheets, as those were new. The Committee's next meeting will be November 18th at 2pm at the COA. The meeting adjourned at 3:25pm. Respectively submitted by Maureen Steinmann 3 Colette Williams From: MOEBOBCC @aol.com Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 2:45 PM To: Colette Williams Subject: Attachment to ACAC Oct. 21st, 2011 Meeting Minutes Hi Colette, I forgot to send this along with the approved Oct. 21st meeting minutes. Moe DRUMMER BOY ADA STATUS In a message dated 7/21/2011 10:39:52 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, ieff.dougan(a6tate.ma.us writes: Maureen: I am sorry that it has taken me a little while to respond... See my comments in RED below. If there are further questions, please let me know. Sincerely, Jeffrey L. Dougan, Assistant Director for Community Service Massachusetts Office on Disability, One Ashburton Place, Room 1305, Boston, MA 02108 Phone: 617-727-7440 Fax: 617-727-0965,www.mass.gov/mod From: MOEBOBCC(a�aol.com lmailto:MOEBOBCC(aaol.coml Sent: Tuesday, July 12,2011 4:43 PM To: Dougan, Jeff(MOD) Subject: Park access Hi Jeff, I hope all is well with you. As usual, I have a question to ask. We have one town park in Brewster, Drummer Boy Park. It was purchased back in 1988 and had a Master Plan drawn up for it in 1995 which made it accessible but which was never acted on. It is basically a wide open field which is inaccessible to wheelchairs as there are no accessible pathways in it. There is an accessible playground which has no accessible pathway to it. There is also an inaccessible gazebo with no accessible pathway to it. There are no designated handicap parking areas. There is a short unpaved entrance road that leads to a large circular turn area and that is all. Parking is along this circular area. My question is "Is the town required to make this park accessible to wheelchairs? Our All Citizens Access Committee has requested that the town set up a committee to review the Master Plan to see if anything needs to be changed and hopefully to proceed with putting in the accessible pathways. I am just wondering if there is any legal basis that we can use to move this issue forward. As always, thanks for your assistance, Maureen Steinmann The town, under Title II of the ADA, is required to ensure that all of their activities, services and programs are accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. Parks provide a service and/or programs to their residents and visitors. So with that said,when the ADA was passed in 1990 with the expectation that all the barriers were to be removed by 1995ish... Barriers included inaccessible routes, stairs, and other architectural features that would make accessing that program impossible for people with disabilities. 1 So if there is only grass provided as the route of travel, that would need to be remedied. If the gazebo only has stairs, that would need to be remedied. If there is no designated accessible parking spaces, that would need to be remedied. The town runs the risk of a Title II complaint if barriers are still present. 2