HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 15, 2023
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Minutes/Meeting Summary
Accessibility Advisory Committee
February 15, 2023
Electronic Meeting
7:00 pm
Attendees: D. Currie
S. Fatima
P. Milton
R. Rizvi
C. Rudberg-Chin
A. Khan
S. Snyders
M. Thorpe Ross
J. McLellan, Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade
S. Douglas-Murray, Director, Community Services
I. Janton, Senior Planner - Site Planning
T. Higgins, Accessibility Coordinator (Staff Liaison)
A. MacGillivray, Committee Coordinator (Recording Secretary)
Absent: B. Ferguson
T. Lyle-Gravlev
Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
1. Review and Approval of Agenda
T. Higgins reviewed the agenda items.
Agenda approved.
2. Disclosure of Interest
No disclosures of interest were noted.
3. Approval of Minutes
S. Snyders flagged an error in the spelling of his last
name in the Attendees section.
Moved by C. Rudberg-Chin
Seconded by D. Currie
That the Minutes of the January 18, 2023
Meeting of the Accessibility Advisory Committee,
with the noted correction be approved.
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
Carried
4. Presentations/Delegations
There were no presentations or delegations.
5. New Business
5.1 Memorandum from the Deputy Clerk Re:
Amendments to Boards, Committees and
Taskforces
- Staff Liaison, Chair, and Vice Chair Roles
- Council Membership
S. Douglas-Murray provided introductory
remarks and explained the Memorandum.
A discussion period ensued with the
Committee discussing:
• historical context regarding Chairs and Vice
Chairs on City Committees;
• the benefit of strong communication with
the City under the Staff Liaison led model;
• concerns with the potential slowing of
communication between the Committee
and the City under a Chair led system;
• concerns with the workload and
responsibilities associated with the Chair
role;
• the importance of someone with strong
knowledge of the history and key issues
regarding accessibility chairing the
Committee;
• the opportunity to revisit the Terms of
Reference in the future should the
Committee want to change the way the
Committee is chaired;
• the appointment process for Members of
Council on City Committees;
• the benefit of hearing issues and seeking
answers from Members of Council during
Committee discussions;
• the benefit of having Members of Council
as allies that can be a direct conduit to
express concerns to Council;
• concerns regarding potential conflict with
Council;
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
• whether City or Regional Councillors would
be considered to join the Committee;
• whether Council representation would
come into effect this term or next term;
• whether it may be more appropriate to
simply invite Members of Council to
meetings on an as needed basis;
• concerns around the Committee’s
discussion being held back or curbed by
the presence of a Council Member;
• whether the Committee can move to
endorse having a both a City and Regional
Councillor to address both City and
Regional issues; and,
• clarification regarding the timelines of when
Committee feedback is required.
Moved by C. Rudberg-Chin
Seconded by S. Snyders
That the Accessibility Advisory Committee:
a) finds Council representation on the Committee
advisable; and,
b) amend the Terms of Reference to include 2
Members of Council, one of which will be a
Regional Councillor, and one of which will be a
City Councillor.
Carried
5.2 Terms of Reference Review
A. MacGillivray provided an overview of the Terms
of Reference review process being undertaken by
Legislative Services and requested feedback from
the Committee regarding the existing Terms of
Reference.
There were no comments from the Committee
regarding the Terms of Reference.
The following motion Carried later in the Meeting:
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
That the Accessibility Advisory Committee approve
the Terms of Reference with the following
amendments:
a) replacement of “Culture & Recreation” in
Section 6 with “Community Services”.
Carried
5.3 Site Plans Review
S21/80(R23) - Vaughan Willard Public School
(DDSB)
I. Janton, Senior Planner - Site Planning
provided an overview of Site Plan Application
S21/80(R23), a proposed addition to a public
elementary school.
The Committee raised questions with regard to
the information provided to the Committee prior
to the meeting, and sought clarification
regarding the scope of the review. I. Janton and
T. Higgins clarified the scope of the Site Plan
review process as it pertains to the Accessibility
Advisory Committee and how information is
shared with the Committee through ShareFile.
The Committee engaged in discussion
regarding:
• whether there will be an increase in the
number of staff and students attending the
school as a result of the addition;
• accessibility concerns regarding the
double-door entrance to the school;
• whether additional accessible parking
spaces are provisioned for the site;
• the need for the applicant to be cognizant
of accessibility needs in areas such as
parking, drop-off areas, washroom
capacity, corridor and door entrance width;
• consideration for the playground area and
structures to be accessible to children with
mobility devices; and,
• whether there are standards around
accessible access to playground areas.
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
5.4 AAC 2022 Year-End Report & 2023 Work
Plan
T. Higgins provided an overview of the Work
Plan process that the Committee will undertake
including the opportunity to speak at a Council
Meeting, the timelines to have the Work Plan
completed.
5.5 LEAD Project and the Durham Abilities
Centre
T. Higgins provided an overview of the ongoing
discussions with the Abilities Centre to improve
the City’s accessibility processes and services.
He informed the Committee regarding the
tentative dates for the upcoming Improvement
Planning meetings being March 30, 2023 at
2:00pm, and April 19, 2023 and April 26, 2023
9:00am to 12:30pm.
T. Higgins encouraged the Committee to check
their availability for those dates.
5.6 2023 Budget
T. Higgins informed the Committee of the
City’s Budget process that is underway and
opportunities to share feedback. He further
explained the various aspects that accessibility
is considered through the City’s budget
process and how it is outlined in the 5 Year
Accessibility Plan.
5.7 Canada Day (July 1, 2023)
T. Higgins provided an overview of the
Committee’s past involvement at the City’s
Canada Day event, and informed the
Committees of the opportunity to get involved
in the event this year. He let the Committee
know that he will provide updates as more
information about the event becomes
available.
T. Higgins to send the
Committee the last report
submitted and draft the new
Year-End Report and Work
Plan for the Committee’s
review, prior to the March
15th Meeting.
T. Higgins to send out
invitations to the
Improvement Planning
meetings to Committee
Members.
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Item/
Ref #
Details & Discussion & Conclusion
(summary of discussion)
Action Items/Status
(include deadline as
appropriate)
5.8 AAC Document Sharing
A. MacGillivray solicited feedback from the
Committee regarding what kind of solution they
may be looking for in terms of collaboration
and document sharing. He briefly explained
the use of ShareFile by the City’s Committee
of Adjustment and how they use the platform
to organize and store information for reference.
5.9 AAC Meeting Captioning
A. MacGillivray explained that meeting
captioning has been something that has been
considered in the past and that there have been
conversations with IT to explore what is
possible presently with the City’s meeting
software and YouTube. The Committee
provided feedback around this feature,
speaking to its importance for those that are
hard of hearing, and that while accuracy may
be an issue, it would at least provide a general
understanding of what is happening in the
meeting.
A. MacGillivray to bring back
information to the Committee
at a future meeting regarding
this matter.
A. MacGillivray to bring back
information to the Committee
at a future meeting regarding
this matter.
6. Correspondence
There were no items of correspondence.
7. Other Business
There was no other business discussed.
8. AAC Member Roundtable Updates
T. Higgins surveyed the Members for updates.
S. Snyders raised concerns around snow clearing.
T. Higgins to raise the snow
clearing issue with the
Accessibility Core Staff
Team.
9. Next Meeting – March 15, 2023
10. Adjournment
The Committee lost quorum at 9:26 pm and the
meeting was adjourned.
Meeting Adjourned: 9:26 pm