HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-11-24Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee
Date: Thursday November 24tn, 2016
Location: Conestoga Room, Kitchener City Hall
Present:
Carrie Speers (Co -Chair), Sharon Giles (Co -Chair), Rob Bender, Mike Shipley, Dawn Clelland,
Brenda Robinson, Councillor Sue Foxton (Regional of Waterloo), Lolita Paroski (City of
Kitchener/City of Waterloo), Vanessa Lopak (Region of Waterloo), Johanna Ellis (Recorder —
City of Kitchener), Julie Forth (Township of Woolwich)
Guests: Denise McGoldrick (City of Kitchener), Eckhard Pastrik (City of Kitchener), Gloria
McNeil (City of Kitchener), Leanne Lobe (Region of Waterloo), Colleen Brown (Region of
Waterloo), Darren Kropf (City of Kitchener).
Regrets:
Councillor Kelly Gal loway-Sealock (City of Kitchener), Councillor Bob Mavin (City of Waterloo),
Andrew Tutty, Greg Moore, Keri Cameron, Paula Saunders, Donna Hartzler, Lori Heinbuch
(Township of North Dumfries), Dawn Mittelholtz (Township of Wilmot), Amy Black (Township of
Wellesley).
1.0 Welcome and Introductions
• Carrie called the meeting to order
2.0 Approval of October Minutes and November Agenda
• Approval of the November Agenda, motion by Dawn Clelland and seconded by Mike
Shipley.
• Approval of October minutes, motion by Mike Shipley and seconded by Rob Bender.
3.0 Declarations of Pecuniary Interests
• None
4.0 Township of Woolwich Status UpdatefWebsite — Julie Forth (Township of
Woolwich)
• Will be reviewing and updating the Township's Accessible Customer Service Policy
early in the New Year.
• Julie had the website up on the screen and went through the upgrades with the
committee.
• The new website is focusing on what is current in the Township of Woolwich. This will
include pop-up alerts to keep residents updated with any potential emergencies.
• The Township will continue to review and monitor content on the Township's existing
website. The new website redesign is almost complete.
• Accessibility training has been updated and will be delivering training for all staff and
new hires within the next couple of weeks.
• Training with respect to accessible websites and online documents will continue into
early 2017.
GRAAC — November 2016 Minutes Page 1
Review the accessible parking provisions contained within the Township of Woolwich
Zoning By-law when completing the general provisions update. This has not taken
place in 2016, however, will be brought forward when this update takes place.
5.0 City of Kitchener Winter Sidewalk Maintenance — Denise McGoldrick (City of
Kitchener)
Current Practice
• 193 km (16%)
• Sidewalk fronting city -owned properties
• Backlotted properties
• Downtown area — special taxation
• The average cost is $895,000 annually
• There are approximately 88 complaint based service requests (average)
• By-law requirements are; bare surface within 24 hours of a snow event; there are
support resources available but there is often a waiting list.
• Many complaints are due to windrows that may be left by plows.
• The majority of other Municipalities have similar practices to Kitchener.
• Currently the City clears 193km as mentioned above. City wide is 1200km. That would
equate to an average increase of 2.5% in taxes per household.
• Complaints would increase approximately from 88 to 1150. This would include things
like sod damage, curb and sidewalk damage etc.
• Staff recommendations:
- Existing sidewalk snow clearing practices be maintained.
- Continuous improvement opportunities continue to be explored and implemented
where feasible.
- Continue to review and evaluate impacts of any proposed change to O.Reg. 239102
(Minimum Maintenance Standards) and report back to Council with this information.
Questions/Comments
Q. Can snow be removed on a need to need basis if the people were paid?
A. This would be a city wide program, not an individual program.
• Email questions or suggestions to Lolita. Denise said she would like to continue these
discussions with GRAAC and would be happy to come back to a future meeting.
6.0 Region of Waterloo Curb the Salt campaign — Leanne Lobe, Colleen Brown
(Region of Waterloo)
• The Intent behind the Curb the Salt campaign is to limit the amount of salt used on the
roads in the Region.
• Wells in the Region are getting serious levels of chloride due to the salt. This is a
drinking water and health issue.
• To curb the usage of salt, planners can review different types of materials when
resurfacing roads or building new ones.
• Safety can be improved and salt reduced if other practices are changed (roads where
downspouts are located etc.)
GRAAC — November 2016 Minutes Page 2
Six key actions to curb the salt
1. Weather — this is one of the biggest challenges. When conditions change within
minutes or kilometers, it can be tough to ensure safe conditions.
2. Community Expectations. When many people expect bare pavement and others are
concerned about salt stains on their boots, it can be tough to please everyone.
3. Liability is one of the biggest reasons there is too much salt. Being sued by someone
when your sidewalk or roads are not cleared.
4. Using the right tools and equipment for the job can make a big difference. When your
tools are not able to perform, it can be tough to control your salt. It can be also tough to
plow the snow.
5. There are no industry Standards outlining best practices, it can be tough to train staff to
make defendable decisions (which can impact liability).
6. The most significant considerations is one that is often forgotten, Design. When the
design of our parking lots and buildings create icy conditions, it can be really tough to
maintain safe conditions.
• Built partnerships with bylaw departments.
• There are university students current doing research.
• The messages will be getting out via bus shelters, shops etc.
• Social media will also be used to get the word out.
• Email Vanessa with any other questions.
Announcement
Vanessa announced to the committee that she is leaving the Region and will be starting a
new position with the City of Cambridge in a few weeks. Thank you for everything Vanessa!
Break (20 minutes)
7.0 Kitchener's Neighbourhood Strategy draft recommendations — Darren Kropf (City
of Kitchener)
• Darren gave a report on the City of Kitchener, Neighbourhood Strategy.
• The vision behind this project is to help neighbours connect and work together to do
great things in their neighbourhood. It's about supporting resident -led initiatives.
• Spoke with over 5000 people which took approximately 4000 hours. Current
recommendations are from feedback from this engagement.
• We heard 3 themes:
o Great Places - People were asking for more input into public spaces they spend
time in.
o Connected People -People want to get to know their neighbours but are unsure
of how to connect. Events are especially helpful.
o Working Together - Creating more ways to collaborate in neighbourhoods
• There are 18 recommendations within the 3 themes. Cannot implement them all by next
year but would like to get to all of them over the next 3 — 5 years.
• Next steps will be to prioritize; will break into 2 groups; collecting input until Monday
November 28th 2016.
Final Strategy will go to City Council in February.
GRAAC — November 2016 Minutes Page 3
8.0 GRAAC Terms of Reference Update - Vanessa Lopak (Region of Waterloo)
• GRAAC staff went over the terms of reference. Vanessa handed out the draft. Will be
presented to each city council,
• Revisions to the GRAAC Terms of Reference are minor and primarily wording that
reflects legislative changes.
• Changed the working to incorporate legislation.
• Looked at the membership. Added an option that voting GRAAC members could be
staff of agencies. Right now the person has to apply individually to sit on the GRAAC
committee. Will be requesting that council(s) approve an agency as a whole. This will
allow the agency to appoint a staff person rather than going back to council every time
there is a staff change to have a new staff member (of the agency) approved.
• Kept the conflict of interest policy within the Terms of Reference because it is a policy
with minor tweaks.
• Will continue to follow Roberts Rules of Order.
• Draft terms of reference will be left with committee to look over. Please send any
thoughts you may have by next Thursday.
• Vanessa will email all members an electronic draft version, therefore members not
present today will have until next Thursday to comment.
9.0 Built Environment Committee Update - Lolita Paroski (City of Kitchener/City of
Waterloo)
Paula is in Ottawa this week for work related business and has asked Lolita Paroski to
present the built environment report on her behalf.
Centre in the Square - Paula, Carrie and Lolita joined Beatrice Powell and Centre in the
Square staff on Nov 16 for a site visit to look at accessibility. The Centre in the Square
has applied for a grant to increase accessibility. The grant focus is primarily accessible
washrooms. GRAAC identified that a priority should be a universal washroom with an
adult change table. Lolita shared that updates and site plans will be provided to GRAAC
as the project proceeds.
Badminton Club - The Cherry Park Neighbourhood Association contacted Lolita and
Paula to ask for a site visit to look at the possibility of enhancing accessibility to the 2"d
floor. The Badminton Club may possibly offer a 2",, floor meeting room to Cherry Park
Neighbourhood Association so they can run programs. Cherry Park Neighbourhood
Association is affiliated with the City of Kitchener; therefore that is why Paula was called
in to comment on accessibility. Suggestions were provided. The upgrades would all
depend on grant funding. The Neighbourhood Association is looking at applying for
possible funding. GRAAC will be contacted to assist with accessibility enhancements if
the grant application is successful.
John/Caroline St. Site visit - Lolita and Paula were called by City of Waterloo staff to
look at a municipal sidewalk. Staff felt that the slope maybe too steep.
Recommendations were provided on site and staff will make adjustments.
10.0 Councillors Report(s)
• Councillor Sue Foxton reported on the presentation that GRAAC Co -Chair, Sharon
Giles, gave at Regional Council.
• Regional Council discussed Discretionary spending and how we will work to avoid this
decrease so that there will be no cuts.
GRAAC - November 2016 Minutes Page 4
11.0 Co-Chair/Staff Report(s)
• Welcomed Melanie Garbarz who will be taking over for Vanessa. She has been with the
Region of Waterloo for 15 years and comes with a background in Public Health and
Human Resources.
• Carrie thanked Vanessa for all of her hard work.
• Carrie and Sharon attended the Waterloo City Council committee night on Monday
November 215', 2016. Sharon presented GRAAC's accomplishments for 2016. Carrie
congratulated Sharon on doing an amazing job on her report.
• Tuesday morning, Carrie and Sharon went to the Regional Council meeting where
Sharon had the opportunity to speak to the proposed cuts and the discretionary benefits
for Ontario Works and ODSP. She spoke out against any cuts at all. The decision of
council was to leave the budget as is for 2017 and collect additional information.
• The Next meeting is at the Region in December. Feel free to bring treats as we will have
a longer break to celebrate the holidays.
12.0 Adjournment - Motion to adjourn by Mike and seconded by Rob
Next meeting will be on Thursday December 15th, 2016. **Note the location change**
Region of Waterloo, 150 Frederick St — Kitchener Room 110
Please send regrets to:
Johanna Ellis at iohanna.ellis6a kitchener.ca or call 519-741-2200 Ext. 7225
GRAAC -- November 2016 Minutes Page 5