Commission on Disability - Regular Meeting

We are here at the Middleborough Conservation on sorry, Commission on Disability meeting. It's Wednesday, April 22. This meeting is being recorded, and will be broadcast on the cam. So today, we have Judy. I'm here. Pam and Ricky, and, hopefully, Olivia will make it on on Zoom. Do I have a motion to accept the minutes from the last meeting? Yes. Move. Motion by Pam, second by Judy. Any discussion, any changes? All in favor? Aye. Aye.

Any

opposed? Alright. I listed the upcoming Mass Office on Disability Workshops. They have community access monitor trainings. So these are two day get year the certification.

And And the we'll 20 which I think is a one day training that you can take after you've taken the first one. I don't have any specific upcoming resource events. I know Liz, when she's here she usually has a lot because she gets a lot of information. If you don't if you're not on the email list for the Mass Office on Disability, they send out, I think, monthly a newsletter. So they have updates on that.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, they do have an adaptive program. I had put some specific things on there for the winter sports. In the spring schedule, I think they just came out with it. So I'll try to put that on their website. They had a, I think, like a Word document that had the different things in the area. So there are I think there are private mostly private companies that partner with DCR to provide adaptive different sports and recreation. So I think adaptive cycling was big on the spring list. I forgot what else, but right. The municipal ADA improvement grant for this year, that's coming up soon. I think the due date for that is June.

They haven't opened it yet for the application, but I figured we should talk about what we would like to apply for and then maybe get the grant writer involved as well to help us out with that. Did

you say it was opening up in June?

No, I think it's due in June. They usually open, I think, early May. Okay.

Thank you.

So I know a couple of times we've applied for the pool locker room and Pierced playground, and we haven't received it. I don't know. Part of it might be because it's such a big expense. It's sort of at the limit usually of the grant, what the grant would allow. My understanding is that the items that are on our transitional plan, which we just had updated like about a year ago in AFCO.

Those usually get priority. So if there are some items on there that we'd like to do, we will have one more meeting before the application is due but I don't know if anyone had anything specific. Can take a look at the transition plan and see and we can maybe talk about it at the next meeting. Yeah. I'd like to send her an email once we know what we would like to do. Or maybe she could come to our next meeting. The name's Stephanie? Stephanie. Right. Yeah. Stephanie Hall. Yep. And she had come a couple years

ago. Okay.

Anything for the website update? I'll put the DCR adaptive schedule on there, but if there's anything else. Is Olivia on now? Hi Olivia. Hello.

Sorry about my technology issues.

That's okay. Glad you made it on.

The only thing I can think of is maybe a cross reference. We have on only our election page. We have PowerPoint presentation that Taylor and I put together explaining the accessible ways to vote and the options that people have. So it's on our page, but I think if it's on that page as well, it might be a little bit more visible to people. It was our intention to present that in February, but we had a blizzard.

Yes. So we couldn't come. But it's a really comprehensive, I think it's pretty informative. We'll probably ask to get on the agenda. I would say probably either July or August because even though the elections aren't until September and November, you can do the vote by mail and things of that nature way ahead of time. So I think that way the earlier that we get the information to people about what options they have the better it is. But I don't want to do it too early in case people forget. So I think the timing is either I don't know if we have a July meeting. If not, August is either June or July, would say. Because the primary is early this year.

Maybe June, I know it's tough sometimes getting a quorum in July and August.

I think June would be really good because the postcards will drop. The vote by mail will become active at the July. So that's actually perfect timing. We're excited about it. We think it came out good. Yeah, I think I saw it last time. And get the word

out. Okay, good. I did have a couple of questions from residents about that voted at the high school. And is there handicap parking in the back?

Don't know. So it's kind of

a long walk for people that have trouble So walking from the main parking

we did talk to Scott about that, Taylor and I, and there's always the back parking. I don't know if it's actually a handicap spot, but if somebody would prefer to park there and come in that door near Precinct 6, we're certainly willing to let that happen. And we did I talked to somebody else the night before the election. They were concerned about the stairs, like when you park up front and they didn't realize, or maybe they did, I'm not sure. Made sure Taylor drove down there the night before to make sure that it could and I'm drawing nobody can see this, I'm drawing a map to make sure that you could get there from the handicapped parking spots that were available by using the gymnasium door.

So we did ask Scott about the potential for opening the front door to make the walk a little bit shorter. But I think that once we determined that that had the it was just as much of a distance between the parking lot to the front door as it was the with those handicap parking spots were if you walked around and went in the gymnasium door but the back parking lot is always an option. Okay. And we're happy to I mean this it's a secure location and we have a flow to it, but we're certainly going to open the doors of who needs to come in.

Think that's a lot closer for people to walk. Maybe for the next election, could have like a handicap parking sign, direct people out back and maybe block off some of the spots, whatever

Yeah, we can get temporary handicap spots too, which I think is good. But Taylor and I are working on that because we know that it's a long walk for us.

With all your equipment. And

so I can't imagine how the struggle would be for somebody else that may not be able to do that.

And just I think because there's multiple precincts that go there too. Correct. I think the other voting locations, their spots are pretty all close to the door.

This Yes. Is most We're always open to it. But it's on our radar I for like the backdoor one because I think it's quicker.

It's more direct.

The handicap spots, of course, they're ADA compliant because it's a new school. It can be compliant and still not be ideal at the same time.

Yeah. And I get the ones in the front, they're closest to that front door. Sure. And it's still kind of a walk and then to walk through the front door and all the way to It's a long walk. Okay, cool. Yeah, we can just kind of. Yes, go ahead.

Know we've brought Ricky to Vogt High School the last two years. And I think last year was raining and somebody had told us we could just drive up It's like it's on an official driveway, but it goes around from the back parking lot around the tennis courts and around the front. It's wide enough for two cars. We told you, you can pull a pair to park if you need to. It's not official parking spots.

Right.

But it's right there. And it did you know, it goes all the way around.

So Right. Okay. Yeah. I think especially if we could put, a big sign, easy to read, like, on the entrance. Yeah. Because people would take a left instead, usually, right, to to go more directly.

We park around the back of the fields. And those handicap spots are very far away. Not that it makes a difference to him,

but Right. Yes, but if someone's walking.

Yes, absolutely. Thank you. Good.

Thank you.

I have twenty twenty six activities on here for discussion. I know we're sort of a third of the way through 2026 now. Liz had helped set up last year, I think it was in July with a panel discussion or presentation with someone from the Commission for the Blind. So if we'd like to try do something with that again, I think that was good. It wasn't during a meeting, was just everything it was a weekday during the workday because that's when the person was available.

But we had it on Zoom and McCann recorded it so that people can go back and watch it if they couldn't be on Zoom that day. If anyone I can check with Liz too, but if anyone has suggestions on ideas for topics or let me

know.

I wanted to discuss the fiscal year twenty seven meeting schedule. So that's July 26 through June '27. The fourth Wednesday, does that still generally work for people at 05:30? Okay. And then what I had been doing was I think we ended up on the third Wednesday in November and December because of the holidays. Because the third Wednesday this year or the fourth Wednesday this year is the day before Thanksgiving, and then the fourth Wednesday in December is the day before Christmas Eve. So are people okay with the third Wednesday? I think that's kinda

For those two months. And then the fourth Wednesday the rest.

Okay. So I will send that to the room reservations for the next year. Anything under unanticipated?

Yeah. I have a couple questions. Does interim town manager know that he's the ADA compliance officer?

I haven't had that discussion with him, so I don't know if he knows or not, but I can certainly reach out and ask.

Yeah. Well, he should be aware of that just in case anything comes up. And any of the new businesses in any new public building like the Skate Park, are they going to keep us in the loop when they do all that?

I will ask them to do that. Is that the town manager's office that's heading that up or? Yeah. Yeah,

because it's kind of important that we be on the front of looking and monitoring so that it gets done first instead of laughed and work hard.

Well, yeah. It's a lot easier and cheaper to do it from them getting it. Yeah.

For sure. Okay. Yeah.

Is the park department involved at all with a skate park or no?

Not really. Not really.

I know it's not on Parkland, but Yeah.

I think we're going to be more responsible for it as time goes on. Could be. And never not could be. We will be.

Oh, it's probably a good idea for you to be involved then if it's definitely going to fall to Brannen and

then park tomorrow.

Okay.

Anything else under unanticipated? No. Public comment? Public comment? No. Anything else? Olivia, anything you wanted to bring up?

Not at this moment. Okay.

Alright, well if there's nothing else, Ricky, what time is it?

06:02.

06:02. Can I have a motion to adjourn?

Make a motion to adjourn.

Motion by Judy. Second. Second by Ricky. All in favor, we need to do a roll call vote. All in favor. Yes. Judy is yes. I am yes.

Yes. Pam is yes.

Yes. Ricky is yes. And Olivia?

Yes.

Alright. Very good. Thank you, guys. We'll see you next month. Okay.