[NOTE: These minutes are made available to the public prior to Advisory Committee for People With Disabilities acceptance.]
The Board took a moment to remember Louise Ryan, a member of the Wethersfield Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities who recently passed away.
Kathleen Sullivan read a letter from Dick Lasher to Mr. Paul Hutcheon of the Central Connecticut Health District regarding the new CVS building. The letter addressed several concerns with the site including the lack of accessibility for walkers and wheelchairs, the absence of curb cuts, and the presence of hazardous concrete barriers. Carol Keenan said she visited the CVS location to look into these problems and noticed that where there is handicapped parking there is no overhead covering. The store manager said they needed the concrete barriers to prevent drivers from hitting the building. He said the Town of Wethersfield had approved the site plan for the walk and curb cuts. Carol also talked to Town Manager, Bonnie Therrien about the lack of a curb cut and a covering over the ramp to the new Library. Bonnie said the town did not have the money for a covering over the ramp. She plans to ask the Town Manager to attend a WACPD meeting so they can discuss these problems.
Kathleen Sullivan suggested that the Town and Business owners should consult the Committee for input before finalizing building plans. The have more knowledge about accessibility issues that may be helpful to the building committee. Steve Kirsche suggested that the Committee develop a resident expert to assist in this process.
A MOTION was made by Christine Taylor to accept the minutes of the January 17, 2007 meeting. Seconded by Joan Haines. All were in favor, MOTION CARRIED.
The Group Home liaisons should be visiting their Group Homes if they have not been. There are 15 group homes in the town, a list will be provided at the next meeting.
The Seniors met last Thursday. They are redoing their brochure. The new judge Robert Brandish attended.
The Friendly Driver Program is looking for volunteers. Volunteers must rely on their own auto insurance first and then the Town's insurance would be used as a secondary insurance. Service hours will revolve around the current transportation hours.
The Basketball and Bowling programs ended with a State Tournament in November. Snowshoeing began in December and ended with a State Tournament in March. Five officers from the Town and the Wethersfield Special Olympics coach plunged to raise money for the Special Olympics Wethersfield Team on March 3rd. The Special Olympics soccer skills program began indoors this week.
The November Thanksgiving Dinner and Holiday Party went well.
Lee Sekas attended the Friends of the Nature Center meeting. He suggested that the town consider purchasing wheelchair accessible picnic tables when they need to be replaced.
The January WACPD meeting focused solely on transportation issues and was attended by the Mayor and Nancy Stillwell. The new Friday transportation service is for medical trips and lunch only. Twice a month it is used for trips to West Farms Mall.
It was noted that the ParaTransit and ADA might be going up to $3 a ride.
Three Braille copies of the Resource Booklet should be available by the next WACPD. These will be given to the library. Kathleen Sullivan suggested finding out the cost to have additional copies printed. The Social Services Department for the Town of Berlin asked for a copy of the Resource Booklet to help them create their own resource booklet.
None.
Last fall the Town put in some inserts with raised bumps in designated areas around town. These are to assist handicapped residents at intersections. These types of surfaces have been used effectively in other states.
There was a discussion about snow removal this past winter. Some businesses did a good job of snow removal but others did not. Mr. Sekas said he took photos of areas that were not cleared sufficiently and will send them to the Town Manager. Businesses are not being fined even thought they have been told by the Police Department that they need to have the sidewalks cleared. There were complaints about the Wethersfield Healthcare, CVS, Wethersfield Pizza and the Sunoco Station on the corner of the Silas Deane Highway and Maple Street.
A MOTION was made by Jim Grise to adjourn. Seconded by Joan Haines. All were in favor, MOTION CARRIED.
Meeting adjourned at 8:53 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Eileen A. Knapp
Recording Secretary