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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNovember 8, 2017 Page 1 of 7 Minutes/Meeting Summary Accessibility Advisory Committee November 8, 2017 7:00 pm Main Committee Room Attendees: P. Bashaw S. Bernardo A. Doucette B. D’Souza D. Hughes M. Thorpe Ross S. Wilkinson D. Wysocki T. Higgins, Staff Representative R. Michaud, Recording Secretary Absent: E. Fulton V. Ronaldi J. Whynot Guests: Jordan Cahill, Program Assistant, Community Services Vince Plouffe, Manager, Facilities Capital Projects D. Holmes, CNIB Item/ Ref # Details & Discussion & Conclusion (summary of discussion) Action Items/Status (include deadline as appropriate) 1. Welcome T. Higgins welcome everyone and introduced the guest speakers for the meeting. Donna Holmes from CNIB is also joining the meeting tonight. 2. Review and Approval of Agenda T. Higgins provided an outline of the agenda items and noted that Scott Booker is unable to attend this evening, therefore the item will be postponed to the December meeting. Saul Perdomo, Pickering Public Library is absent and therefore this item will also be postponed to the December meeting. Page 2 of 7 3. New Business 3.1) City Capital Initiatives Update (TBC) Item deferred to December meeting. 3.2) Library Update S. Perdomo did not attend therefore this item will also be deferred to the December meeting. 3.3) Speakers Bureau, Accessible Employment (TBC) J. Cahill, Assistant Programmer, Community Services, was invited to describe a proposal for a Speakers Bureau topic dealing with Accessible Employment. He suggested that the committee could host this event in Spring 2018 with local businesses and the community to learn, share and connect with stakeholders. T. Higgins mentioned that statistics indicate that employment rate is very low for people with disabilities and noted that after many attempts and rejections, many stop trying to find employment and therefore may not be counted in the government statistics. D. Hughes and S. Bernardo both indicated that they would be interested in this type of event to reach out to possible employers. P. Bashaw mentioned that there are Federal financial assistance programs available for employers interested in hiring people with disabilities. It was noted that it may be helpful to research what type of jobs are available and have some information on hand at the Speakers Bureau. Pursue contacts with recruitment companies to increase the number of people with disabilities in their bank of candidates. S. Wilkinson noted that the City should take a leadership role in the community by hiring people with disabilities particularly as front counter staff where they are visible to the community. T. Higgins to follow-up with S. Booker and S. Perdomo Page 3 of 7 J. Cahill noted that he is inspired by the interest of the committee members and noted that he will discuss this with his Supervisor to develop a plan and would like to come back to the January meeting to present it. Committee members are welcomed to submit ideas to Jordan at jcahill@pickering.ca The committee then viewed the Accessibility page on the City’s website to watch the video footage on YouTube from the accessibility-themed 2017 Canada 150 Youth Forum. Go to pickering.ca/en/living/accessiblepickering. Click on Highlights. T. Higgins noted that it would be a great idea for Jordan to be a recurring guest at the AAC and the Accessibility Core Staff Team meetings to provide updates on the youth programs in Pickering and provide a youth perspective on accessibility. 3.4) Council Chambers & Other Projects Update V. Plouffe, Manager, Facilities Capital Projects, attended the meeting to provide and update, with the aid of a Power Point presentation, on the Council Chambers renovation as well as other projects within the City. He indicated that Council decided that they wanted more input into the design of the Council Chambers, therefore the renovations were postponed to provide each Member of Council with an opportunity to review the drawings and make recommendations. The revised drawings include modifications to the benches which will be upholstered and also be designed with adjustable arm rests to make it easier to move in and out. There will also be one center aisle to walk down to the podium. The staff areas have also been adjusted to include a removable desk whenever needed. J. Cahill to draft plan for review at January 2018 meeting. Page 4 of 7 The main concern with the recommendations is that the Members of Council want to maintain a formal Council Chambers, which can also allow for alternate use. The current seating capacity is estimated at 120 and the revised drawings will be around 100. There will also be 2 projection screens for greater visibility, enhanced acoustics and assisted listening devices. There will also be 2 LED display screens outside chambers to allow for additional viewing from the lobby area as needed. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of June 2018 and is expected to be completed by December 2018. D. Hughes enquired if the plans could be slightly modified to move the wheelchair seating areas to include them with the general seating area to make it more inclusive and integrated. V. Plouffe indicated that this could be easily accommodated. C. Wysocki questioned if there are plans to include live captioning during the Council meetings. V. Plouffe noted that there will be upgrades to the current system which will provide for better sound system. Moved by A. Doucette Seconded by P. Bashaw Carried That the members of the Accessibility Advisory Committee endorse the revised drawings for the Council Chambers. V. Plouffe mentioned that City Hall is currently facing a space crisis as they will need to add about 30-35 more employees in the next 5 years to meet the needs of the City. They plan to conduct a furniture study which will include a review of all workstations in each Page 5 of 7 department and provide alternatives to the current set up and maximize the use of the current space. V. Plouffe mentioned that they are in the Planning Phase of the Renaissance renovation for the Pickering Recreation Complex redesign starting next year. This will be a major redesign exercise for the 1st and 2nd floor, especially the staffing area and to better utilize the wide open space in the lobby. It was suggested that this would be a great opportunity to include a Coffee shop lounge area where residents can gather. Another project is the Pickering Museum Village steam barn conversion which requires complete reconstruction to provide more workshop/program space for museum events. The Pickering Museum Administration Building will also be redone to include Library archives and build a proper Pickering Heritage Community Centre for residents. The Claremont Community Centre upgrades will be completed by the end of January 2018. V. Plouffe will be attending future meetings as appropriate to provide timely updates on these projects. T. Higgins thanked V. Plouffe for attending and including comments from the committee on renovation projects. 3.5) Member Updates S. Wilkinson – to provide comments by email. D. Holmes – appreciates the opportunity to attend to find out what the committee is working on in order to report back to CNIB. B. D’Souza – after about 8 months on the committee, feels more settled and grasping the issues that the committee is focusing on. D. Wysocki – will submit comments via email as well. Page 6 of 7 R. Michaud – finds the work of the committee interesting and will be back soon to report on 2018 municipal elections. D. Hughes – development underway for a new condominium-style building to provide inclusive accommodations for people with disabilities. P. Bashaw – good to see the committee’s progress over the past few years. S. Bernardo – impressed by committee’s accomplishments and success to date. Great job! M. Thorpe Ross – no comments at this time. A. Doucette – appreciates the support from the committee members in dealing with DRT accessibility issues and provided examples of transportation barriers experienced. 4. Review & Approval – October 11, 2017 Minutes & Business Arising Moved by D. Hughes Seconded by A. Doucette That the October 11, 2017 minutes of the Accessibility Advisory Committee be approved. Carried Business Arising from October 11, 2017 Meeting Broadening the Definition of Accessible Transit Moved by S. Wilkinson Seconded by D. Wysocki That the committee recommend the following item to the Council of the City of Pickering: The Accessibility Advisory Committee therefore directs staff to present a motion to Council for endorsement to address the concerns identified and potential improvements that include the following areas:  customer service for persons with disabilities and seniors; Page 7 of 7  methods for providing service/support for people with invisible disabilities, such as autism;  enhancements to driver role definitions and training for transit employees; and,  improvement to transit policies and procedures. Further that, the Accessibility Advisory Committee is seeking Council endorsement for a motion that Pickering City Council send a letter to each of the other Durham Region Municipal Councils requesting the lower tier municipalities to collectively engage Durham Region Transit’s leadership to explore opportunities to improve its policies, procedures and practices to better respond to the letter and spirit of the Ontario Human Rights Code and related case law relating to the duty to accommodate, as well as the Customer Service and Transportation Standards of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Carried T. Higgins to send motion to City Clerk to be included in the December Council meeting. 5. Other Business P. Bashaw enquired about the status of the lighting at the Shoeless Joe Plaza on Kingston Road. D. Hughes enquired about the work being done on the Esplanade South parking lot. He expressed concerns about the timing of this project, being that Saturday is November 11th and that there will be a lot of people with walkers, wheelchair and scooters attending the ceremony. The sidewalk is completely ripped up which will make it difficult for them to get to the ceremony across the street. T. Higgins suggested that D. Hughes contact S. Booker to find out about these two items. D.Hughes to contact S. Booker. Meeting Adjourned: 9:30 pm Copy: City Clerk