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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-10-23, Committee on People With Disabilities, Minutes MAYOR’S COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES c/o Hawai‘i County Office of Aging, 1055 Kino‘ole Street,Suite 101, Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 MINUTES Wednesday, October 23, 2013 The County of Hawai‘i Mayor’s Committee on People with Disabilities met at 10:10 a.m. at the Aging and Disability Resource Center at 1055 Kino‘ole Street, Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720. MEMBERS PRESENT: Paige De Lima, Chair, Wesley Tanigawa, Vice Chair; Pauline Aughe, Chris Cholas, Janice Mancini, James Souza, Laura Tobosa. ABSENT: Jessica Arruda, Raelene Souza, Dr. Ron Wagner-Wright. OTHERS PRESENT AND GUESTS: Alisa Mitchener, P&R; Bill Brilhante, Corporation Counsel; Teri Spinola-Campbell, ADA Coordinator; Alan Parker, Aging; Sandra Arriola, Aging; Jesse Floyd, DD Council; Sam Nagasawa, Aloha Independent Living, Hawai‘i; Karin Riedel, Bayada Home Health Care; Paul Pascua, Joyce Imaino, Maria Hainsworth, Juliet Arnold, Julia Weaver, Ku Mei Kern, Sign Interpreter. CALL TO ORDER P. De Lima called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 20, 2013, MEETING P. De Lima called for a motion to approve the September 23, 2013 minutes. L. TobosaW. Tanigawa moved to accept the minutes. It was seconded by . All approved. The minutes were accepted and approved. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC (Agenda Items) A. Mitchener will amend her report (#8) and call it Discussion of Beach Access Equipment and How It Is Used instead of Mobi Chair Loan Program. NEW BUSINESS Presentation by Tiffany Kai, Hawai‘i County Mass Transit Agency J. Souza Since there are a few new people in attendance, wanted everyone to introduce themselves. Paige thanked everyone for attending the meeting. P. Aughe introduced and thanked guest speaker, Tiffany Kai, Mass Transit Administrator who will be discussing the variety of services and other issues that might arise in relation to people with disabilities and Mass Transit. T. Kai According to Transit is responsible for the operation of the County’s public transit system. The agency provides the island Shared Ride Taxi Program. Transit also licenses all taxi cab operators. This is a semi-privatized organization. There are six County employees, and we also contract with private vendors for bus drivers and bus services. The current contractor is Robert’s Hawai‘i for bus drivers. As of July there was a bus fare increase which went up to $2 for general, $1 for seniors, individuals with disabilities and students through college. Discounted bus tickets and passes are also available. In August, there was a mandatory ADA Training for all of the Hele-On bus drivers which was conducted by Teri Spinola-Campbell. In addition to that, Robert’s Hawai‘i also conducts ADA training. So together we’ll continue to offer these types of trainings for our drivers. T. Kai stated for Seniors, there is no application process. You just bring in your ID and you could purchase the discounted bus ticket or monthly bus pass. If you are an individual with a disability, there is an application process where your physician would complete the application; you would turn it in to us; and in turn we will give you a disability identification card which allows you to purchase discounted bus passes and then getting on to the bus with your identification card and your dollar cash fare. And I believe the disability identification card is good for two years and then you would have to go in for a renewal. Monthly bus passes are $45 for seniors, 60+, individuals with disabilities and C. Cholas students. said that most people don’t usually have the kind of ready cash that you need for an annual pass. And if they lose their card then they’re stuck. It costs over $500 for general and $360 for others. W. Brilhante According to the Council approved the six month pilot program for a semi-annual pass which goes into effect January 1 through the end of June. The numbers and the ridership associated to those passes are going to be the determining factor as to whether or not the Council wants to proceed with the annual pass program. It gets down to about $30 monthly if you buy the annual pass. If the pass is destroyed, stolen or lost, it’s not going to be refundable. And if circumstances change, they’re also not going to be transferable. You would have to purchase a new pass. Chris stated that makes it hard on people with disabilities to be responsible for a card for a whole year. It’s easy for some people to lose that card or have that stolen. I think the County Council has been looking at that as a possible amendment. W. Brilhante said the County Council is the entity that sets the bus fares and various programs. Brenda Ford is the council person in charge of Mass Transit. Chris suggested that as a committee, maybe advise the Mayor that he persuade promote/getting the $30 a month pass for seniors, students and people with disabilities. P. Aughe inquired about the Shared Ride Taxi program. Tiffany stated the Shared Ride Taxi program is offered for as little as $2 to get door-to-door services. It is taxi vouchers that an individual purchases. Then you would call one of the participating, contracted taxi companies with the program and let them know that you need a pickup from your residence, etc., to go to another location. 2 One coupon will take you up to four miles. After four, and a limit of nine miles, they would charge you two coupons. The thing with the Shared Ride Taxi program, it is limited to nine miles, but it does offer the door-to-door services. Currently we don’t have any participant who has a wheelchair accessible vehicle although we have been trying to solicit more companies to get an accessible vehicle. Chris feels that this is a County problem and an area that needs to be fixed. L. Tobosa inquired if there was a chance that Mass Transit buses would go to the airport to pick up people. Tiffany said that’s something that needs attention and there may be some funding to add services to the airport. The buses are all wheelchair accessible. C. Cholas stated that there is no other way to get to the airport besides taxis and J. Floyd wondered if that was an ADA violation. also inquired if wheelchair accessible vehicles are required by law. According to Teri’s research, not all taxis are required to be accessible. It was brought up that if you’re going to offer transportation services to the general public, then some of the vehicles should be wheelchair accessible otherwise this does not allow a certain part of the segment of the population access to that service. W. Brilhante stated the other side to that would be to cancel the services. Not being facetious, but right now there is no entity that is willing to participate in the County Shared Ride Taxi program for disability transportation. It’s not financially feasible for these mom and pop taxi companies. The County provides accessible transit through the Hele-On bus service. There is no handivan service. T. Kai stated that what Transit does is contract with HCEOC, (Hawai‘i County Economic Opportunity Council) to provide those types of services which is for disabled transport and for the elderly. Transit also works closely with Coordinated Services for the Elderly. S. Nagasawa has clients that receive those services and sometimes HCEOC doesn’t show up. There aren’t enough vans and drivers and it creates a problem too. They miss medical appointments because the agency that’s supposed to provide that service is unable to. It’s with HCEOC and Coordinated Services. W. Brilhante requested to be notified if problems like that are occurring, because Transit is assuming they’re operating the way it should be operating. The County is paying significant sums of money to HCEOC to provide the services, and if they’re not providing the services, we have to be able to know what services aren’t being provided, what’s happening, what’s taking place, what’s going on. So if you can provide that information to the Transit Agency, that would be very helpful. Now we know that there’s always an issue of availability. T. Kai informed Sam to have her clients contact her at the Mass Transit Agency at 961-8343. Tiffany will also get back to the committee regarding the amount of 3 accessible vehicles HCEOC has although she believes they are required to have at least twelve. C. Cholas thanked Tiffany and is grateful that there has been a lot of progress. The Shared Ride Taxi program has proven to be really helpful. Having lifts on the buses on the Hele-On is great. Back in 1997 there was only one bus with lifts and you had to call and find out when it would come around your area. So I think when we’re talking about pukas in the programs, we’re still seeing there are needs like getting to the airport or having more wheelchair accessible means for getting around for individuals. W. One thing as being the attorney assigned to the Transportation Commission, Brilhante says the Transportation Commission is ultimately the entity that approves these taxi licenses or certificates. And that’s one of the things that the commissioners always raise is the possibility of a new applicant, a new taxi cab operator providing or engaging or agree to engage in the Shared Ride Taxi program and especially the issue of providing disability transportation. It’s a primary area that gets discussed with every applicant that comes in front of the board. From what I see on my side is that it’s hard to regulate a private entity when it comes to just the taxi cab operator. Where do you set the standards of the regulations to ensure that that van will meet all the possible uses for an ADA accessible vehicle? That’s the concern. Right now there’s nothing on the books as it relates to that. Maybe that’s something that needs to be ferreted out, or a more detailed look to be placed to that issue. The County relies heavily on HCEOC and those vehicles associated with that entity as it relates to its disability transit. I hope you don’t get the sense that the County or the Transit Agency is opposed to providing disability accessible transportation. That’s one of the areas that we’re always looking to provide better service for. P. AugheT. Kai had some questions about the Shared Ride Taxi program which and W. Brilhante answered. Besides the vouchers, Mass Transit supplements the rest of the cost for the taxi. There is a contract that’s made between the taxi cab and the County Mass Transit. Pauline was wondering if when they are applying, maybe say to be contracted with the County, in five years or so, we would like to see this progress moving forward and the standard used is ADA W. Brilhante accessible taxi cabs. According to the problem is that participation in the shared ride program is voluntary. We can’t force any operator to participate in that program. So, if the operator looks at it and as a private business person, determines this is not financially feasible, they will not participate. The fact is that we’re losing more participants or operators as opposed to people wanting to sign up. J. Mancini wanted to know if incentives are offered. Bill stated that the fares are subsidized, but not for obtaining a wheelchair accessible vehicle which Pauline inquired about. 4 A. Parker stated that the handi lift service was started in 1985. We got a call from Sally Wehrsig at Easter Seals. We got a grant and the van driver. So we went into partnership with HCEOC and we got police radios from the Police Department, a van, and we started a handi lift service. We got it up to about three to four vans, and personnel and turned it over to Mass Transit. Over the years, the program was transferred to Coordinated Services and that’s why Coordinated Services continues to have vehicles that are wheelchair accessible. The County has made a lot of effort to address this issue. Transportation is the number one problem in every district on this island. No transportation system is able to sustain itself without huge subsidies from the government. All our 501C’s are barely surviving. It’s a really, really tough time. And so Transit has been working with us for all these years and really trying to do something. We need to get together and advocate. We need subsidies. There is no way the County is going to be able to come up with the funds to do this kind of program. That’s why every community has to rely on Federal subsidizes from various Federal agencies. So, it’s becoming huge. People are living longer. That’s another challenge to transportation. We’re going to be working more closely with Transit Office as well and trying to get some support from that organization I told you about, National Association on Area Agencies on Aging and Easter Seals nationwide. We need to try to pool the disability and different groups together, working with Transit, working with Aging, and trying to see what the solutions are for these issues. Hopefully we will come up with solutions in the not too far future. We’re trying. Bus stops C. Cholas stated that there are a lot of new bus stops and they are wheelchair accessible. He wanted to know if people can give their input on where a bus stop might be placed or if they have an access issue. Tiffany said when there are requests, they look at the ridership numbers at that stop also. Bill wanted everyone to know that the county operates on a flag stop system. So outside of the bus stops (44 bus shelters) the majority of the stops are just flag stops and they are on the request of the rider. And those are the ones that can be dangerous according to Chris. We need to have bus stops that are safe to get on and off, and they have to be placed where people are going and the access is there; and knowing where the bus routes are in relation to parks and recreation areas so people can enjoy those facilities. T. Spinola-Campbell inquired about the process for a visually impaired person. Tiffany stated people who have vision impairment will call and inform Transit of where they’re going to be and then we in turn let the driver know to watch for that particular bus rider. When the rider boards the bus, he or she will inform the driver where they would like to get off and they will make that stop announcement. It was stated that some of HCEOC’s vehicles might be broken down and they might be short on drivers, so that it seems like the demand is higher than what they can provide. The question about who is overlooking the safety of all the vehicles. Tiffany stated that safety inspection is done annually, but HCEOC is 5 responsible to ensure that their vehicles are in safe operational condition. Alan stated they are governed by PUC. Tiffany said there is also a different type of inspection with that. It’s more specific and more detailed or extensive as far as the safety of the vehicles. A. Mitchener thanked Tiffany for providing transportation coupons for the volunteers for the Mobi Mat Beach project so they could come and help lay the mats out. She inquired if the buses go through all the community park centers as part of their route. Tiffany stated that they don’t go by all of the community parks but they do go by a number them. Alisa mentioned that in Pahoa, at the Makuu Farmer’s Market there is the Park and Ride kind of thing going on where people come and park their cars and catch the bus to go into town which saves them a lot on transportation costs. So that becomes kind of a community hub for catching the bus. So those things are happening out in the rural communities. I wanted to know if you would like help or if you have some kind of an orientation for the public on transportation training for people with disabilities. Tiffany said there wasn’t anything like that. K. Riedel would appreciate more advertisement regarding things like Park and Ride which encourages the public. Tiffany agreed and responded that actually in Pahoa at the Makuu Park and Ride facility, there were two dedications to that facility. So whenever we do have a new Park and Ride available we do put it out there for the community and the public. S. Nagasawa had a concern about taxi drivers charging disabled, elderly folks that use the shared ride taxi coupons a dollar for each shopping bag. Tiffany said they do charge a dollar for carry-on items and that there is also a charge for bags and groceries on the transit system. W. Brilhante wanted to clarify that, they may charge a fee but if the person has a disability and there is a necessity for maybe a cart or less bags, then the fee is supposed to be waived by the operator. T. Kai thanked everyone for having her at the meeting and providing her with their concerns and suggestions. T. Spinola-Campbell stated that Easter Seals project action specializes in transportation services for people with disabilities. And I’ve noticed that twice a year they offer special resources for people interested in rural transportation and how to get better transportation services for people with disabilities for rural providers. If there is anyone interested in working on that in particular for this island, it might be worthwhile. J. Souza praised his interpreter saying she is doing a really good job and he wanted to point out that she is very talented. BREAK – 11:10 – 11:25 6 Paige called the meeting back to order. ACCESS AD HOC COMMITTEE Review and Approval of a Thank You Letter to the Police Department Letter to the Police Chief was read by Pauline. There was discussion on the corrections they wanted to make on the letter and a new one will be forthcoming. W. Tanigawa made a motion to accept the letter with corrections. It was C. Cholas seconded by . All were in favor. None opposed. Discussion on the Committee’s Findings with County Services – Police Department, Mass Transit Agency and Public Works Department The members were surprised that Sgt. Pauole didn’t really know that much about the process for disabled parking. He didn’t know about the ID cards, how and when the placards are used. It was a surprise that he didn’t know that everybody that has a placard has to carry an ID card. It seemed like they weren’t very educated on the program at all. And it didn’t seem like they were doing citations. T. Spinola-Campbell stated that she does ADA and law enforcement classes for recruits and includes the HRS regarding the disabled parking. Teri read the comments where Sgt. Pauole said that he is constantly writing grants and wasn’t that involved in the enforcement of disabled parking violations. That’s probably why he is not that informed about it. Teri did see an officer go over to someone parked in a stall and ask for ID so some officers do understand the process. T. Spinola-Campbell suggested that it would be a great project for the committee to put together a training packet and offer it to the police and other law enforcement and private security. P. De Lima felt there should be more incentive to go out and issue a citation, because $250 is a significant amount, and people getting that won’t be so happy about paying it. I thought they are very sensitive towards people with disabilities but I think that they need to be educated so that they feel comfortable about asking to see their ID card. And once word goes out that someone got a ticket, it might deter people from parking when they are not supposed to. J. Floyd mentioned that maybe Bill Nakamatsu from DCAB could come over and give a training about the placard and the state law regarding that. At the last meeting, Jesse had a question about Art Nakayama and his role as security - Art Nakayama is from Public Works, Traffic’s Division, and he does issue tickets in County parking lot, and Downtown Hilo. 7 Transportation letter Pauline asked for any input from the committee to go into the thank you letter to Mass Transit: It was decided to put in some of the things discussed - review of HCEOC, the best way to get discounted fares, improving Shared Ride Taxi services, transportation for people in wheelchairs, public transportation to the airport, the need for handivan service. Bill suggested that since accessible transit service to the airport is challenging, state the need for further consideration to the possibility of the Hele–On bus providing service to the airport. REPORT OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I EQUAL OPPORTUNITY OFFICER AND ADA COORDINATOR, TERI SPINOLA-CAMPBELL T. Spinola-Campbell’s Attached is report. DISCUSSION OF THE BEACH ACCESS EQUIPMENT AND HOW IT IS USED, BY THE COUNYT OF HAWAI‘I ADA RECREATION SPECIALIST, ALISA MITCHENER A. Mitchener clarified that Recreation does not currently have a mobi chair loan program but this is basically a discussion to share and discuss beach access equipment and how it’s currently used. It’s not the equipment that is important, but it’s the team. Alisa had a slide show depicting different kinds of equipment that people are using - mobi mats (purchased in 2008), surf day, different equipments and volunteers, new hybrid mobi chair, Richardson Beach Park, Kahalu‘u, Snorkel Day, access routes, all terrain vehicles, how nature is changing the shoreline. Manpower kicks in – volunteers recreated the pond structure. That shows the value of collaboration. Parks and Recreation was working with Deep and Beyond in Kona for Snorkel Day. She offered her assistance to the committee with any research or any more information about the programs that exist here. Each beach is different, each island is different. Each way that you solve beach access is different. So just because it’s happening in one area doesn’t mean it will happen exactly the same way. Thank you. K. Riedel stated that Paul really enjoyed himself – he was very happy with the chair. He could easily transfer in it and the staff was wonderful. He was able to get out to the water and float. ANNOUNCEMENTS Jesse - The East Hawai‘i DD Committee meeting is here on November 21, 10:30-12. Karin - Feeling Safe, Being Safe training is on December 6, from 10:00 a.m. to Noon at the ADRC. This is for emergency preparedness. 8 NEXT MEETING The next meeting is November 20, at the ADRC Training Room at 10:00 a.m. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 12:20. Respectfully submitted, Sandra Arriola Transcriber 9