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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-04-01 Minutes Clarington Accessibility Advisory Committee April 1, 2015, 6:00 P.M. Meeting Room 1A Present: Shea-Lea Latchford Sally Barrie John Sturdy Andre O’Bumsawin Jacquie Watchorn Councillor Partner arrived at 6:11 p.m. Also Present: Anne Greentree, Municipal Clerk Michelle Chambers, Committee Coordinator Tim Van Leeuwen Maureen Reed Anne Greentree welcomed the Committee and provided a brief introduction. The new members of the Committee were asked to introduce themselves and provided some back ground information with respect to being a member of the Accessibility Advisory Committee. Ms. Greentree provided an overview of how the meeting will be conducted. She continued by explaining that these are open meetings and members of the public are welcome to attend and observe. 1. Adoption of Minutes Moved by Shea-Lea Latchford, seconded by Andre O’Bumsawin THAT the minutes of the meeting of September 3, 2014 be approved. “CARRIED” 2. Presentation None 3. Business Arising From Minutes (a) Marshall Hohmann recipient of Region of Durham’s 2014 Accessibility Awards The Accessibility Advisory Committee had previously nominated Marshall Hohmann for Region of Durham’s 2014 Accessibility Awards and he was the successful recipient. Anne Greentree provided some details regarding the award ceremony and the recipients. Clarington Accessibility - 2 - April 1, 2015 Advisory Committee 4. New Business (a) Election of Chair Anne Greentree distributed the Clarington Boards and Committees Orientation Package and provided a brief overview of the Advisory Boards and Committees of Council. She highlighted the goals and expectations of these Boards and Committee and noted that the minutes are submitted to Council for their consideration. Ms. Greentree explained how the Chair of the Committee can bring an issue forward to Council to be adopted by resolution. She noted that this is an Advisory Committee and has limited power. She reviewed information in the package including: conflicts of interest, openness and transparency to the public, length of the meetings, and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Ms. Greentree explained the flow of the meetings, passing of resolutions, minutes, and distribution of the agendas. She advised the Committee that they will need to take two separate training sessions including Serve- Ability and Municipality of Clarington Integrated Accessibility Standards Training module. Councillor Partner opened nominations for the position of Chair, explaining that this is for a four-year period, and Shea-Lea Latchford indicated that she was interested in being the Committee Chair. Moved by Sally Barrie, seconded by Andre O’Bumsawin That Shea-Lea Latchford be appointed as Chair for the Committee’s term. “CARRIED” Andre O’Bumsawin and Jacquie Watchorn indicated that they would be interested in the position of Vice-Chair. Andre O’Bumsawin withdrew his nomination. Moved by Shea-Lea Latchford, seconded by Andre O’Bumsawin That Jacquie Watchorn be appointed as Vice-Chair for the Committee’s term. “CARRIED” (b) Correspondence i. Email from Paul Wirch, Planning Services, dated November 27, 2014, regarding accessibility to retail stores Anne Greentree reviewed the question from Paul Wirch, Planner, with respect to whether dropped curbs or raised curbs with accessible curb cuts are preferred at retail locations. A discussion took place regarding the Clarington Accessibility - 3 - April 1, 2015 Advisory Committee benefits of each option and the Committee decided that the preferred option would be to have dropped curbs along the entire frontage of retail store locations. ii. Letter from Donna McLarty, Town Clerk, Town of Richmond Hill regarding Teleconferencing of AAC Meetings Anne Greentree reviewed the correspondence from the Town of Richmond Hill requesting that the Accessibility Advisory Committee meetings be permitted to be conducted via teleconference. Anne suggested discussing this issue and deciding on a resolution at the next meeting. A discussion took place regarding the request including: losing the face-to-face contact, allowing the meetings to be more accessible, benefits for individuals with hearing and vision impairments. Ms. Greentree committed to undertaking additional research for the Committee’s consideration. iii. Letter from Behishta Mushtaq, Chair of Durham Deaf Accessibility Committee regarding captioning of televised Council and Committee meetings Ms. Greentree provided some back ground information regarding this correspondence. She explained that municipalities video their Council meetings in various methods. There has been a request to have the Council meetings include closed captioning or signing during the video feed. She added that Clarington now has a contract set up with a signer should another request to provide signing interpretation be received. She noted that Rogers Television has responded by advising that they intend to have closed captioning available during the 2015-2016 fiscal year and it will be mandatory by 2021. (c) 2015-2018 CAAC Workplan Ms. Greentree discussed creating a CAAC Workplan and reviewed the proposed draft work plan. She added that she is hoping to brainstorm and create a workplan at the next meeting. Shea-Lea Latchford noted that the Committee should take some time to brainstorm and collect ideas for the next meeting and discuss some possible events and awareness promotion. Ms. Greentree noted that Clarington had previously hosted an Accessibility Challenge, involving members of the community, in downtown Bowmanville and a similar event at Clarington Central High School. She continued by explaining that when she attended the accessibility awards they noted that several accessibility committees worked with local business. She added that she is hoping the Committee can choose some local businesses to work with and assist with accessibility. Clarington Accessibility - 4 - April 1, 2015 Advisory Committee Sally Barrie noted that they did have goals that they worked towards previously as she was on the Committee and she is hoping to make businesses more aware of accessibility issues. Jacquie Watchorn reported on research she had done regarding grants for the Municipality with respect to accessibility. Anne Greentree responded my noting that currently she does have these applications on her desk and she will review them and advise. She added that the City of Pickering received some funding in 2014. Anne Greentree suggested that the Committee bring items forward to the next meeting to assist in developing the Clarington Accessibility Advisory Committee’s workplan. 5. Regional Update (a) Regional AAC Chairs Group Minutes of Meeting of February 18, 2015 (b) Regional AAC Chairs Group Minutes of Meeting of January 27, 2015 (c) City of Pickering AAC Minutes of Meeting of February 19, 2015 Anne Greentree explained that each Municipality in the Region of Durham has their own Accessibility Committee. She added that she will notify Shea-Lea Latchford when the next Region of Durham Accessibility Chairs meeting will be. Sally Barrie advised that the Region of Durham decided at the last meeting that the Chairs will meet twice a year. Councillor Partner asked about “browse aloud” on our website. Ms. Greentree advised that Clarington will be having browse aloud on the website and will hopefully provide a demo at the next Committee meeting. Anne Greentree reviewed the requirements of the Site Plan Review Committee. Shea-Lea Latchford and Andre O’Bumsawin indicated that they would be interested in participating in these meetings. 6. Other Business (a) Accessibility Coordinator for the Municipality of Clarington Anne Greentree advised the Committee that the Municipality of Clarington is in the process of recruiting for an Accessibility Coordinator. Clarington Accessibility - 5 - April 1, 2015 Advisory Committee 7. Date of Next Meeting May 6, 2015 at 6:00 PM. 8. Adjournment Moved by Councillor Partner, seconded by Andre O’Bumsawn That the meeting adjourn. “CARRIED” The meeting adjourned at 7:52 p.m. _________________________ Chair _________________________ Secretary