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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGRAAC - 2005-03-24 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursdav March 24, 2005 Catholic Familv Counsellina Centre PRESENT: Voting Members: Ian Ardill, Taposhi Batabyal, Gail Brundsdon, Chris Douglas, Frank Groenestege, Carol Moogk-Soulis, Tara O'Brien, Jay Oswald, Brad Ullner, (Vice-Chair), Sharon Ward-Zeller. Staff & Councillors: Deb Bergey, Trisha Givens, Valrie Hummel, Lori Ludwig, Margaret Sanderson, Councillor Berry Vrbanovic, Councillor Ruby Weber. Guests: Dawn Paxton (Waterloo Region District School Board). REGRETS: Susan Harkins (Chair), Councillor Ian McLean, Councillor Jane Mitchell, Sparrow Rose. ABSENT: Voting Members: Laura Fiorilla, Kathy Glasser, James Hunsberger, Daniel Lajoie. 1.0 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION · Housekeeping & washrooms - Meeting times were confirmed as 1-3:30 pm; facilities amenities were reviewed. · Accommodations - Large print format of minutes and agenda are available if required, members were directed to contact Linda Pretty or municipal staff if they require assistance with transportation or print materials. · Sign Language Etiquette - Frequent breaks will be taken to provide the Sign Language Interpreter with rest periods. Members were asked to speak one at a time to assist the interpreter in their communication. · Regrets policy - The policy for regrets was reviewed. Regrets should be sent to Linda Pretty at 741-2224 (voice) or 741-2384 (TTY) prior to meeting. Should Linda not be available please leave your regrets in the form of voice mail or send Linda an e-mail, notations will be made in the minutes. Members were reminded that missing 3 or more meeting without notice will cause their membership to be reviewed by the committee according to the Terms of Reference. · Bart's Replacement on GRACC - Trisha Givens will replace Bart from Township of Wellesley. 2.0 APPROVAL OF FEBRURAY MINUTES AND REVIEW OF MARCH AGENDA A motion was made by Ian to adopt the agenda with the addition of the following item: 7.2 Sidewalk policy (Lori Ludwig) All were in favour; carried. A motion was made by Sharon to adopt the minutes as submitted. All were in favour; carried. 3.0 DELEGATION NjA 4.0 BUSINESS ARISING NjA \March - GRAAC Minutes 1 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday March 24, 2005 Catholic Family Counsellina Centre 5.0 NEW BUSINESS 5.1 Binder Distribution Binders were given out to the new members which included: Meeting dates; Members contact lists; Bill 125 & 118; GRAAC Terms of Reference; Conflict of Interest Policy; Municipal Roles; Two years of Annual Accessibility Plans for the Region of Waterloo, the Joint Plans for the 5 municipalities and for Wilfrid Laurier; Minutes & agenda's for January and February, 2005. It was noted that on the membership list, several e-mail addresses have underscores and don't show up due to the automatic underline that MS Word attaches to all e-mail addresses. This will be removed and the list re-distributed. 5.2 Role of Chair IVice-Chair Christine reviewed the role of the chair and the process to elect a new chair. The Terms of Reference requires that a chairperson to be elected annually from among GRAAC committee members to preside over meetings and committee business. Susan Harkins has been GRAAC's chairperson and Brad Ullner has been the Vice-Chair for the past year. The following models for the chair were reviewed: Vice-Chair - takes over when chair is unable to attend Co-chairs - take turns Rotating chairs Role of the ChairDerson · Sets the agenda in conjunction with the Vice-Chair and staff. · Chairs all GRAAC meetings, commencing and adjourning all meetings. · Determines when a quorum is present, manages time limits and speaking order. · Acknowledges and welcomes speakers. · Helps GRAAC members focus their discussions so that items are dispensed with in a timely and fair manner. The Chair strikes a balance between getting through the business on the agenda and paying attention to the needs of GRAAC members. · Acts fairly, in good faith, without malice, and with the GRAAC Terms of Reference in mind at all times. · Establishes when motions are required and ensures they are seconded. · May vote on any question before the Committee. In the event of a tie vote, the chair will not have an extra vote and the motion will be lost. · Reserves the right to move to expel any person present who disrupts the meeting. · Withholds the right to put forward motions. This can be done on his or her behalf. · Offers guidance and asks questions without taking a specific position on a matter. Remains neutral. Turns the meeting over to the vice-chair or other member of the committee before participating in debate and any subsequent vote · The Chair and Vice-Chair respond to inquiries from GRAAC members and staff between meetings. · The Chair or Vice-Chair sends out correspondence on behalf of GRAAC as directed. \March - GRAAC Minutes 2 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday March 24, 2005 Catholic Family Counsellina Centre · The Chair is the official spokesperson for GRAAC (media and the public). Interested candidates for the chair's position must submit their resume to Linda Pretty by April 15th. Each applicant will be given 5 minutes to speak at the next meeting. Nominations will be taken at the next meeting, you can nominate yourself. A vote will be held at the next meeting. A motion was made by Sharon to have co-chairs, second by Ian. 6 for the motion; 3 abstentions; carried. 5.3 Purpose/Mandate of Terms of Reference Margaret reviewed the Terms of Reference for the GRAAC. GRAAC exists because Provincial legislation. The Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (also called the ODA) requires municipalities with a population of 10,000 or more to establish an Accessibility Advisory Committee and prepare an annual Accessibility Plan. Two or more municipalities are allowed to have a joint accessibility advisory committee and may prepare a joint plan. The Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) is the joint Accessibility Advisory Committee for the area municipalities and the committee advises on two separate plans: 1) Region of Waterloo Accessibility Plan and 2) The Joint Accessibility Plan of Kitchener, Waterloo, Woolwich, Wellesley and North Dumfries. GRAAC is the joint advisory committee for the area councils of the Region of Waterloo, The City of Kitchener, The City of Waterloo and The Townships of Woolwich, Wellesley and North Dumfries. Role of Councils: · Area councils are accountable for making sure that the requirements of Provincial legislation are met. · Area councils work together to support GRAAC through financial contributions and by providing staff resources. · Area councils seek advice from GRAAC to ensure that persons with disabilities are involved in the identification, removal and prevention of barriers as required by Provincial legislation. · Area councils want advice from GRAAC on the accessibility of buildings, structures or premises that the municipalities purchase, build or significantly renovate, lease for their own use or those buildings designated as a municipal capital facility. · Area councils appoint members to GRAAC. · 1 representative from each area councils has been appointed to sit on GRAAC as a non- voting member. Role of GRAAC Members · GRAAC is accountable to the area councils - to fulfill the requirements of the terms of reference (to be reviewed). · GRAAC members are responsible for reviewing the agenda before the meeting and for attending GRAAC meetings regularly and participating in discussions and decisions. \March - GRAAC Minutes 3 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday March 24, 2005 Catholic Family Counsellina Centre Role of Staff · Staff attend meetings as non-voting members, participate in discussions, and offer advice and direction to GRAAC on procedural matters. · Staff is accountable to their respective councils for ensuring that the requirements of Provincial legislation are fulfilled · 1-2 staff members from each municipality have been assigned the task of providing support and direction to GRAAC. · Two plans are prepared: Region of Waterloo Accessibility Plan and the Joint Accessibility Plan (K-W, Woolwich, Wellesley, North Dumfries ) for GRAAC's review and the plans are taken to their respective councils for approval. · Staff link the area councils and GRAAC together as a kind of "information highway". · Staff advertise for new members and taking the names of possible committee members to Council for appointment Role of GRAAC Chairperson - Discussed earlier. Role of Scheduled Organizations: The terms of reference indicates that GRAAC is to work in collaboration with participating scheduled organizations as part of the promotion and facilitation of a seamless approach to effective barrier removal across our community. Participating scheduled organizations (or PSOs) are the Waterloo Region District School Board, the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, St. Mary's Hospital, Grand River Hospital, Cambridge Memorial Hospital, University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College. This list is found in Schedule "C" of the terms of reference. Scheduled organizations become "participating" scheduled organizations when they pay the PSO fee annually. Representatives of the PSOs attend meetings and can participate in discussion as non-voting members. At present WLU is the only PSO participating fully at the GRAAC meetings. However in 2005 other PSO's will be invited. The terms of reference were reviewed. 6.0 REPORTS 6.1 Site & Building Plans Working Group Update Carol has been busy reviewing the Terms of Reference for the working group. She is working to develop and effective and efficient process. She reviewed the two main processes of building and site plan review. · Site plan refers to the 'outside' of the building (parking, garbage cans, curb cuts and sidewalks to the doors). Building permits deal with everything inside the building. First she is trying to understand the working process that the staff currently face and then she can develop a framework for the terms of reference. She will have final meetings with staff before the next meeting and then bring a terms of reference to the next meeting. \March - GRAAC Minutes 4 Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (GRAAC) Thursday March 24, 2005 Catholic Family CounsellinG Centre 7.0 OTHER 7.1 Evaluation Results Deb handed out a summary of the results from the self-evaluation of this committee. She reminded members that the committee has only been in place for one year and it is expected that there will be opportunities for growth. The results show that the committee has knowledge and expertise in key areas. Most agree that decisions as a whole are well supported, but that there are some process issues to sort out. Additionally, most agree that the right mix of people are at the table and that members have expertise in accessibility issues. Again, Deb reminded folks that these results will not be shared with anyone else at this time. At the next meeting, members can discuss any actions they want to take as a result of the evaluation. 7.2 Sidewalk policy Lori informed the committee that there is a report going to Waterloo Council in May from the around a proposed sidewalk policy. This policy could have serious implications around new subdivisions being built which could see sidewalks only being built on one side of the street. You can voice your opinion by filling out the sidewalk policy questionnaire located on the City of Waterloo web-site at www.city.waterloo.on.ca; this questionnaire will be available on-line until April 12. Dates to keep in mind: meetings will be held at the City of Waterloo; 100 Regina Street South; 3rd floor in council chambers on April 6. Hard copies of the questionnaire will be available to fill out. April 25 there will be an informal meeting where public views can be heard. It was suggested that GRAAC members sign up as delegation to attend the meeting, if interested call the City of Waterloo at 747-8549. 8.0 NEXT MEETING · Thursday April 28; 1 :OOpm - 3:30pm Catholic Family Counselling Centre 400 Queen St S, Kitchener 8.0 Adjournment The meeting was adjourned. \March - GRAAC Minutes 5