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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-11-03 Committee on People with Disabilities Minutes COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES Friday, November 3, 2006, 10:30 a.m. Aupuni Center Conference Room PRESENT: Lawrence Scadden, Chair; Julia Staten, Vice-Chair; Denise Cowdrey, Michael Gleason, Jack Matsui, James Souza, Ted Yamanaka EXCUSED: L. Tobosa, Secretary; B. Whitney GUESTS: Malina Dravis-Tucker, Interpreter; Sidney Kanno, Elderly Activities Division; Leonard McGhee, Office of Aging; Alisa Mitchener, Recreation Specialist-Department of Parks and Recreation; Ofelia Pertubal, CNA CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 10:30 a.m. An introduction of committee members, staff, and guests wasmade. APPROVAL OF MINUTES D. Cowdrey made a clarification to the minutes under Correspondence. She suggested that MCPD correspond with D. Triglia to see if he would like to be an enforcement officer and perhaps he could be stationed in Puna. She was not suggesting that the existing officer should be moved to Puna. J. Matsui made a motion to accept the minutes of October 6, 2006 as corrected. M. Gleason seconded the motion. The motion was passed with L. Scadden and T. Yamanakaabstaining. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ISSUES None. TREASURER€S REPORT The treasurer€s report was reviewed. D. Cowdrey made a motion to accept the treasurer€s reportassubmitted. T. Yamanaka seconded the motion. The motion was passed with L. Scadden abstaining. CORRESPONDENCE None. TEAMREPORTS A. EDUCATION/PUBLIC AWARENESS TEAM  M. GLEASON Noreport. B.RECREATIONTEAML.SCADDEN No report. Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer C. TRANSPORTATION TEAM  B. WHITNEY No report. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. VOLUNTEER PARKING VIOLATION ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM UPDATE  SGT. D. VERIATO Sergeant D. Veriato submitted program statistics for the Volunteer Disabled Parking Enforcement Program for July to September 2006 which was distributed to MCPD members. Secondly, he also submitted an update on the volunteer enforcement program. D. Cowdrey said that Sgt. D. Veriato has indicated that he would put an ad in the newspaper for recruiting more volunteer officers. However, he is recruiting by word of mouth because he is understaffed. She felt this process hasnot been very effective. M. Gleason wondered how many staff do you need to put an ad in the newspaper and to answer any inquiries. MCPD recommended that L. Scadden draft a letter to theMayor regarding this issue. L. Scadden mentioned that he will also include in the letter about the comment from the Kona volunteer enforcement officer commending Major John Dawrs and Captain Paul Kealoha who have been supportive of the program. D. Cowdrey stated that she was happy to see a letter from Sgt. D. Veriato and the information he provided. But, she would like to see more action. B. UPDATE FROM DCAB  C. FLEMING/N. OLESEN/ C. TOWNSEND The October and November report from C. Townsend, Program and Policy Unit Coordinator of DCAB, was distributed to MCPD members. C. ADA COORDINATOR€S REPORT  T. SPINOLA-CAMPBELL No report. D.PARKSAND RECREATION REPORT  A. MITCHENER A. Mitchener provided a report on the Recreation Division. The report is attached. E. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS  L. SCADDEN A. Mitchener reported that P&R is still assessing earthquake damage to recreation facilities. Parks and Recreation staff collaborates with Civil Defense and the AmericanRedCrossforstaffingshelterssothereneedstobegoodcommunication between all three agencies. She attended Debbie Jackson€s (DCAB) presentation of theInteragencyActionPlanfortheEmergencyPreparednessofPeoplewith Disabilities and Special Health Needs. The audience included a vast array of people withdisabilities.Themainpointsofemphasiswere:peopleneedtocreatetheir own individual emergency plan and there will not be an emergency list for people 2 with disabilities. A list creates a false sense of security and suggests rescue or transportation services. The County does not provide a team to take people to shelters. There was discussion about creating a list of people with disabilities to identify the access needs in each community, however, people move, and lists change often. A better solution is to ensure all facilities are accessible and staffed by trained professionals. Another concern is people on Oahu chose hub shelter sites: the hub for Hilo is Hilo High School on Waianuenue Avenue. This location is fed by only one road and if that road becomes blocked off then the hub shelter would not be useful. A hub shelter is set up long term with a certified kitchen that would serve a network of smaller shelters. The idea would be to have a hub shelter in a location that has multiple access roads. M.GleasonsaidthatoneissuethatwasemphasizedattheDCABworkinggroup meeting he attended in September is that nobody will ever be turned away. The Department of Health (Developmental Disabilities Division) said that people under their care or case management system would have an emergency preparedness plan as part of their ISP. L. Scadden asked the guests if there is a way to use their agencies to get information out to the elderly populations that might be at risk and need some special assistance. L. McGhee said that the Office of Aging and the Elderly Activities Division have an extensive network islandwide mainly focusing on seniors 60 and over. However, there are a lot of people with disabilities under 60 served by the Elderly Activities Division because they are the only entity that can service them. M. Gleason said he was surprised to learn DCAB is paying for only one MCPD member to attend the DCAB working group meeting on November 8, 2006. F. Wai specifically asked him to make sure that MCPD send two people from the Big Island. M. Gleason said there are two issues about shelters that concern him. First, the Big Island has only two Level III shelters (Hilo Hospital and Kona Hospital). Perhaps more emergency shelters should be available such as Kau Hospital and North Hawaii Community Hospital. Second, there is no money in the state plan for private organizations to upgrade or do something with their facilities to make more shelters. A. Mitchener mentioned that she would like to see a post plan added to the emergency preparedness plan to address the needs of people with disabilities after the emergency has happened. Plans for counseling or home assessments may be important. J. Souza reported that Sprint Relay Hawaii is offering the State of Hawaii an Emergency Kit for the Deaf. A deaf person would register for emergency notification. In an emergency an instant message would be sent through any method that they had selected including text message to pager or cell phone, fax, email, home phone. If the power is out the viable method is a text message to the 3 pager or cell phone. Sprint can custom design the program based on the needs of the community. He also communicated to T. Kindred (Civil Defense) that deaf people don€t use Verizon Wireless. Deaf people use T-Mobile and Sprint so the County should include this service in their emergency plans. D. Cowdrey suggested that MCPD email her with any feedback for the DCAB working group meeting that she will be attending on November 8, 2006 on Oahu. Her other email address is dee@redlady.com F. COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP L. Scadden reported that B. Whitney informed J. Viernes yesterday that she will resign from MCPD. There is a person who is still interested in serving on the committee and she expressed interest lastweek. Her name is Jeani Navarro who lives in Honokaa, but she works at The Arc of Kona. M. Gleason made a motion to recommend to the Mayor that J. Navarro be a member of MCPD. D. Cowdrey seconded the motion. The motion was passed. NEW BUSINESS A. TEAM LEADERSHIP L. Scadden reported that the teams have not been active. The role is to gather information and to serve as a liaison betweenthe community and the county leadership and back to the committee. He would like MCPD members to take leadership in one of these teams and/or assist with the teams. L. Scadden stated that MCPD should continue discussion and think about how MCPD should handle the liaison between the Mayor, the disability community, and the various services that the county provides. M. Gleason indicated that he would continue in this role if he will be the point of contact and bringing it to the committee€s attention about education and public awareness. However, getting a teamtogetherandhavingmeetingsoutsideofthecommitteemeetingsis unworkable for him. D. Cowdrey offered to be the contact person for the Transportation Team. S. Kanno reported that they submitted a grant in aid for two vans with lifts and ramps to the Governor€s Office. They are now waiting for the Governor to release the funds. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON NON-AGENDA ISSUES A. Mitchener reported that she has the opportunity to create a special inclusive event for peoplewithdisabilities.Sheaskedforideasaboutwhatpeoplewouldenjoycomingto as a one-day program. D. Cowdrey suggested an afternoon dance. J. Matsui expressed concern that the disabled parking stalls at the Hilo Shopping Centerwillberelocatedtotheotherendoftheparkinglot.Itwillbeaninconvenience for disabled people to pay their bills. Since it€s a private parking lot, people can write a 4 letter and indicate that the disability community would appreciate having the disabled parking stalls at appropriate locations. MCPD suggested that J. Matsui consult with T. Spinola-Campbell on this issue. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting will be held on Friday, December 1, 2006, at 10:30 a.m. in the Kona Mayor€s Office conference room. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:39 a.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, _______________________________ JEAN VIERNES, STAFF SECRETARY 5