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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 15, 2023 Page 1 of 6 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. Page 2 of 6 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; Page 3 of 6 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: Page 4 of 6 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. Page 5 of 6 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. Page 6 of 6 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