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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGRAAC - 2005-02-24 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday February 24, 2005 Catholic Family Counselling Centre PRESENT: Susan Harkins (Chair), Brad Ullner (Vice-Chair), Valrie Hummel, Laura Fiorilla, Sharon Ward-Zeller, Kathy Glasser, Jay Oswald, James Hunsberger, Carol Moogk-Soulis, Lori Ludwig, Gerald Moore, Deb Bergey, Margaret Sanderson. REGRETS: Sparrow Rose, Gail Brunsden, Taposhi Batabyal, Councillor Ruby Weber, Bart Toby, Daniel Lajoie, Councillor Jane Mitchell, Councillor Ian McLean. 1.0 DELEGATION No delegation attended the meeting. 2.0 APPROVAL OF JANUARY MINUTES AND REVIEW OF FEBRUARY AGENDA A motion was made by Sharon to adopt the agenda as submitted. All were in favour; carried. A lengthy discussion took place regarding both the agenda and the minutes. The outcome of the discussion was that several items were noted regarding the format of the agenda and corrections/additions to the January minutes: The Agenda: · "Welcome and Introductions" will be added to the agenda as Item #1. · "Approval of Minutes and Review of Agenda" will be added as Item #2. · "Delegation" will be moved to Item #3. The Minutes: · It was noted that Laura made the motion on Item 4.0 at the January meeting, with Jay supporting that motion. · Sharon suggested that the January minutes reflect the $300 expenditure for interpreters. As noted in the action item for 4.0, GRAAC meetings will be held from 1:00-3:30 making it necessary to employ two interpreters at a cost of $50 per hour ($300 total for GRAAC meetings where interpreters are required). · Regarding Item 11.1 (GRAAC Agenda) - if members have to get their items in to Chair/Vice-Chair ten days prior to the meeting, then the minutes will have to be circulated early. · Under "Other" on the agenda: Suggest that this is the place to bring up an issue that is to be considered at the next meeting. It is necessary to bring issues forward to be addressed in a timely manner. ACTION: A motion was made by Sharon, Seconded by Laura, that the minutes be circulated fourteen days prior to the next meeting so that members have time to submit items for the coming agenda. All were in favour; carried. \February 200S - GRAAC Minutes 1 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday February 24, 2005 With all items noted and changes made, a motion was made by Laura, seconded by Brad to adopt the minutes from the January meeting. All were in favour; carried. 3.0 BUSINESS ARISING 3.1 New Bill 118 Presentation Update - James · A copy of James's presentation had previously been circulated via e-mail to GRAAC members. · Good to see such a variety of citizens, organizations, etc., represented at the hearings. · Thanks to James and Brad for being involved with and attending the hearings. · Margaret and Lori also made a presentation on behalf of their municipalities earlier in the day. 3.2 Update on New Appointments to GRAAC - Lori · All municipal Councils have to approve appointments to Committees of Council, therefore, appointments cannot be made known until that happens. · Letters will go out to new members within the next week and all will attend the March 24th Orientation Meeting. · Susan asked whether information is available as to the demographics of GRAAC members. It was suggested that the information be requested from members at the March meeting and recorded. · It was suggested that appointments to GRAAC ensure that all municipalities are represented on the committee. It was noted that this can only be done if applications are received from the various communities - if they don't apply, then they cannot be selected. It was also noted that the Terms of Reference doesn't mention geographic areas as criteria for appointments, but does require a cross- representation of disabilities. · It was suggested to follow the existing Terms of Reference for a couple of years and then adjust as necessary. 4.0 NEW BUSINESS 4.1 2004/2005 GRAAC Budget - Margaret · Margaret distributed a list of expenses from 2004, adding that this information will help to make decisions on spending in 2005. · Although all municipalities have money set aside for GRAAC in 2005, staff will discuss and decide whether this additional money will be necessary to add to the current GRAAC budget for 2005. · Deb will provide GRAAC members with a projected cost for GRT tickets for 2005. · "Public Sector Organizations" - will be changed to read "Scheduled Orga n izations". \February 200S - GRAAC Minutes 2 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursdav February 24, 2005 · No charges are made to GRAAC for administration costs i.e. administrative support, photocopying, mailing, etc. These costs are part of or in addition to, municipal budgets. · In 2003, the cost of the services of an administrative assistant, mailouts, etc., was contributed by the City of Kitchener. Need to consider this for next year and include in the projected costs. The cost of producing the Plan (document) is taken out of a separate budget. · A process will be put into place to address costs associated with member's work on behalf of the committee (i.e. travel). · Lori noted that the Chair/Vice-Chair, with input from staff, is empowered to make decisions for the committee, including approving expenditures. It is not always possible to discuss every issue with the committee before a decision needs to be made. · If an opportunity presents itself (for training, etc.,), and there is time, members are asked to put the item on the agenda for discussion. ACTION: (i) A motion was made by Brad, seconded by Jay, to use the 2004 budget presented by Margaret to develop a draft budget for 2005. The projected budget will be brought to GRAAC for approval. All were in favour; carried. (ii) Members were asked to send their comments/suggestions for training to Margaret, as a central point of contact. Margaret will discuss comments/ suggestions with the rest of staff. 4.2 Region of Waterloo - Deb Bergey 4.2.1 Evaluation of Committee · Deb circulated a copy of an evaluation that has been drafted at the suggestion of Region of Waterloo Council. The evaluation is recommended at this point as a self-evaluation of the committee, for committee members only (not staff). · Other municipal councils have not requested staff to evaluate GRAAC (ie. Municipalities in Joint Plan - Kitchener, North Dumfries, etc.) · Responses will be compiled and results brought to GRAAC prior to sharing more broadly. · Individual responses will be kept confidential. · Discussion took place as to whether the committee should be evaluated after only one year. · A suggestion was made that the evaluation be done by everyone, including staff and Councillors. · It was suggested to add a sentence at the beginning of the evaluation clarifying the purpose of the evaluation and who it is for. \February 200S - GRAAC Minutes 3 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursdav Februarv 24, 2005 · The evaluation will help the committee to see how it has functioned over the last year. ACTION: (i) A motion was made by Sharon, seconded by Laura, that all committee members take part in the evaluation. Brad voted in opposition to the motion; carried. (ii) Deb will revise the evaluation and send out a hard copy and a stamped return envelope, to GRAAC members and via e-mail to municipal staff. 4.2.2 Website Development Deb requested permission from GRAAC members to add their names to the Region's website. ACTION: A motion was made by Sharon, seconded by Laura, to allow all the municipalities to publish member's names on their websites. All were in favour; carried. 4.3 Joint Accessibility Plan 2005 4.3.1 Public Forums re Barriers - Valrie Hummel · Part of the 2003-2004 Plan was to hold public forums as a venue to hear from citizens the kinds of barriers that are encountered. It was suggested that GRAAC, as a group or individually, might like to be involved in hosting the forums. · The Region, also, is planning to hold similar forums for the same reason. ACTION: Staff will draft an outline of a plan for public forums and add to the April GRAAC agenda for discussion. 4.3.2 Staff Awareness Training - Margaret · Part of the 2005 Plan was to provide awareness training for staff from the five municipalities. Staff themselves felt that they need the training. · Margaret, therefore, is spearheading the training and asked for input from members on what they would like to see included - what do they feel that staff need to be trained on (i.e. attitude). Possibly members who are interested could work on the training with Margaret. ACTION: Members are to contact Margaret by March 11 with suggestions for staff awareness training. Margaret will follow up with a few members to discuss. \February 200S - GRAAC Minutes 4 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday Februarv 24, 2005 5.0 REPORTS 5.1 Site Plan Working Group - Carol Moogk-Soulis · With Margaret's help, Carol has contacted a number of other municipalities and researched topics such as terms of reference for site plan working groups, etc. Carol will continue to track information and hopes to meet with staff who review plans for inside buildings. Carol will continue to report as things progress. 6.0 OTHER BUSINESS Meeting with Municipal Councils - Laura · It was suggested last year that GRAAC meet with municipal Councils so that both groups can become familiar with the other. The item will be added to the March agenda for review. Letter to School Board - Susan · Susan distributed copies of the letter that was sent to the Chair of the Waterloo Region District School Board. During a follow-up phone conversation, Susan was advised that copies of the Board's Plan will not be mailed to GRAAC but the 2003- 2004 Plan can be accessed on their website. The Board has not developed a 2004-2005 Plan as they were waiting for Bill 118 to be passed. Mr. Gerth, the Director of Education, is interested in working with GRAAC and will look at having someone from his group attend GRAAC meetings. ACTION: Brad will contact Mr. Gerth and ask for a representative to attend the March GRAAC meeting. Linda will download the Board's Plan and send a hard copy to GRAAC members. 7.0 Next Meeting · Thursday March 24, 1 :OOpm - 3:30pm Catholic Family Counselling Centre 400 Queen St S, Kitchener 8.0 Adjournment A motion was made by Laura to adjourn the February GRAAC meeting. All were in favour; carried. \February 200S - GRAAC Minutes 5