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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-07-16, 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, July 16, 2014 The County of Hawai‘i Mayor’s Committee on People with Disabilities met at 10:40 a.m. at the Aging and Disability Resource Center at 1055 Kino‘ole Street, Hilo, Hawai‘i. MEMBERS PRESENT: Wesley Tanigawa, Vice Chair; Pauline Aughe, Chris Cholas, Janice Mancini, James Souza, Laura Tobosa. ABSENT: Paige De Lima, Jessica Arruda, Raelene Souza. OTHERS PRESENT AND GUESTS: Teri Spinola-Campbell, P&R; Sandra Arriola, Aging; Teri Spinola-Campbell, P&R; Jesse Floyd, DD Council; Polly Brook, Interpreter; Kauila Haumea, Gail Yoshishige, Sada Anaud Kaur, Martin Hodapp, Marianne Hodapp, Joyce Imaino; (Vicky Nelson and Fukushima group – Keitaro Kawase, Tatauhiro Shigeoka, Mikiko Miyashita, Shin Yamadera, Norihide Yamagiwa, Kiyoharu Shiraishi, Michiaki Wada, Makiko Arakane.) CALL TO ORDER (Before the meeting started a group from Fukushima did a presentation.) W. Tanigawa, Vice Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:40 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE JUNE 18, 2014 MEETING W. Tanigawa called for a motion to accept the minutes of the June 18 meeting. L. TobosaJ. ManciniJ. Souza moved to accept the minutes. and seconded. All were in favor. Motion passed. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC (Agenda Items) There were no statements from the public. OLD BUSINESS Invitation to Stephen Arnett, Hawai‘i County Housing Administrator C. Cholas stated that he has not been able to meet with Raelene so the committee should just go ahead and invite Mr. Arnett to the next meeting. Chris offered to draft an invitation letter and send it to Wes and Paige to be sent out Reports of Ad Hoc Committees There were no reports from the other ad hoc committees. NEW BUSINESS Nomination and Selection on Committee Secretary W. Tanigawa called for the nomination and selection of a committee secretary. C. Cholas inquired if this was for the vacancy left by Dr. Ron, and also wanted to know if the committee would be accepting applications for those interested in serving on the Mayor’s Committee. He was told anyone could fill out an application and submit it to the Mayor’s Office. Wes informed him it was still unclear if the vacant positions would be filled because one of the challenges of a large committee is getting a quorum which we’ve had difficulty achieving. Maybe having a smaller group might be easier. Wes will discuss this with Paige and Renee to see when a decision will be made about restructuring of the committee. P. Aughe suggested agendizing this for the next meeting – number of members in the committee. C. Cholas nominated Laura Tobosa for secretary, and she has accepted the J. Souza nomination. seconded it. All supported Laura as secretary. None opposed. REPORT OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘IEQUAL OPPORTUNITY OFFICER AND ADA COORDINATOR, TERI SPINOLA-CAMPBELL See Attached Report REVIEW FROM COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I ADA RECREATION SPECIALIST, ALISA MITCHENER (No report) ANNOUNCEMENTS C. Cholas informed everyone that Saturday is the annual Abled Hawaiian Artists Program. They have moved to the East Hawai‘i Cultural Center this year and it is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. If there were no more announcements, Wes wanted to move to Next Meeting. It was decided to schedule the next meeting for September 17, which is the third Wednesday in September. Chris wanted to know if it was good for the interpreter too. Polly didn’t know what her schedule at the university was going to be until the end of July Vicky Nelson inquired about what the Mayor’s Committee/Mayor is doing in helping people to get around. She could only find one van that could accommodate her wheelchair visitors and that was in Kona. 2 Marianne Hodapp wanted to add that there is still no way that a disabled person in a wheelchair can get to and from the airport. She shared a European magazine where it was reported that everywhere in Europe they make barrier free possibilities for visitors and accommodations for disabled people. There is no need to come there on a special day to get a wheel chair. It’s easy to visit a city and go to a companion bathroom. There is nothing here in Hilo and the companion bathroom in Honolulu is a disgrace. J. Floyd stated that there is no place on the agenda for suggestions about agenda topics. Wes informed him that because the agenda has to be posted one week before the meeting date, any item for the agenda would need to be turned in by then. J. Floyd suggested one item for the agenda would be public accommodation. He also suggested something like Friends of the Beach like Friends of the Highway. (Adopt a Highway) W. Tanigawa stated that some of it will probably come about when different departments of the County are invited to the meetings to address the committee’s questions and concerns. Jesse felt that sometimes it would take a little too long to wait for the departments to come to the meetings. C. Cholas responded to that – “We are only an advisory committee - we advise, we send recommendations.” But the other avenue is to go straight to Mass Transit and say I cannot get around, I’m in a wheel chair - whatever the problem is. Let them know so they keep getting hit with people needing their services and they’re not getting them. And the other way is to go to Council members and say, I live in your area, this is a serious problem for me. I can’t make appointments, I can’t do this, I can’t do that, whatever it is. But start using the people that are actually the change makers because this committee is just advisory. J. Floyd announced that the County Council meets the first Wednesday of the month, and it will be 9:00 a.m. at 25 Aupuni Street. V. Nelson spoke about the difficulties and expense she had trying to find transportation for her group from Fukushima (3 adults in wheelchair). She said she called everywhere. Roberts of Hawai‘i sent her next door to the school bus place, who would charge $210 from the airport to her home in Ainaloa. She was very thankful to Coordinated Services for transporting all of them. She stated that people with disabilities need to be taken better care of, and that she would like to help in this area. J. Souza stated that it is so ironic that Hawai‘i is “aloha,” but people are constantly after them to make it “aloha.” He stated that growing up disabled, he has seen where there is only one thing to do, and that is to survive. And they have. He would like to start an ad hoc committee for transportation and accommodations for the disabled. 3 Wes reminded the committee that if they had other ideas for the agenda, to let him know at least a week before the meeting. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be on Wednesday, September 17, 2014 in Hilo at the ADRC Training Room. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 11:10 a.m. Transcribed by: Sandra Arriola 4 ADA Coordinator’s Report July 16, 2014 I received a few calls regarding service animals: A consumer called because her guide dog was charged by a  neighborhood dog. I referred the caller to the Police Department. An individual was cited by the Police because his service animal was not  leashed. The service animal was not performing a task related to the individual’s disability at the time, nor was the individual unable to use a leash because of his disability. An individual called because he has a doctor’s note that authorizes his  having two medical companion dogs and had concerns about taking them to parks. After some discussion, we determined they were psychiatric service dogs. An individual came to see me because she was being charged $10.00 extra for an airlines ticket to sit in the bulkhead. She believed she was being discriminated against because she needed to sit in the bulkhead because of her disability. Her complaint would fall under the Air Carrier Access Act, not the ADA. The airline said that she had to purchase her ticket over the phone, explain why she needed a bulkhead seat and check in with a customer service representative so she wouldn’t be charged. A vision keeper for the “Envision Downtown Hilo” Plan met with a representative from the Department of Public Works, Planning and me to discuss one of the plan’s goals: accessibility. This came up in the context of obstructions being placed in the public right of way and creating awareness of the requirement for at least 36” of clear space on a sidewalk. We will be working on some educational materials to distribute downtown. 5