body,date,page,text,path CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,1,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. 1. ROLL CALL Beth Kenny: I'd like to call to order the meeting of the Commission on Disability for Wednesday, February 14th, 2018. Can we start with roll call? Beth Kenny: Present. Jenny Linton: Present. Jenn Barrett: Present. Lisa Hall: Present. Arnold Brillinger: Present. Laurie Kozisek: Anto Aghapekian Susan Deutch Tony Lewis - he has resigned Jennifer Roloff We have a quorum. [Note: Jennifer Roloff arrived at 6:40 PM.] 2. MINUTES Beth Kenny: Great. So let's get to agenda item number two, approval of the minutes from the December 13th, 2017 meeting. Does anyone have any changes they'd like to see to those minutes or things that were transcribed incorrectly? Then I move that we accept the minutes as they are. Do I have a second? Jenn Barrett: Second. Beth Kenny: All in favor? All: Aye. Beth Kenny: Opposed? Thank you. Passed unanimously. 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS/NON-AGENDA (PUBLIC COMMENT) Beth Kenny: So item number three on the agenda is Oral Communications, non-agenda. Do we have anybody who would like to make a public comment, any speakers tonight on non-agenda items? Laurie? Okay. 02/14/18 Page 1 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,2,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. 4. NEW BUSINESS 4-A. Alameda Transportation program Plan for Seniors and People with Disabilities (City Staff) Beth Kenny: Then let's move on to 4A, we're excited for this. Alameda Transportation Program Plan for Seniors and People with Disabilities. Welcome. Victoria Williams: Thank you. Hi. Honorable Chair and commissioners, I'm Victoria Williams, I'm the Paratransit Coordinator. My office is at Mastick Senior Center and thank you very much for giving us your time tonight. I'm here to discuss the If I can read in the dark, ""The City of Alameda's Transportation Program Plan for Seniors and People with Disabilities for the fiscal year of 2018 and 2019."" And with Measure B and BB funding, the county wide sales tax that's set aside for transportation, the city provides supplemental transportation services for Seniors and People who have disabilities. It's beyond the mandated service of East Bay Paratransit. And our funder Alameda County Transportation Commission, Alameda CTC, requires that all cities, all jurisdictions review the plan, the Annual Program Plan. So we come here every year and we bring our plans and we ask for your input and we ask for your buy-in and your support as we go forward for funding. Our funding application is due at the end of March, so we come to four different commissions and boards prior to that to get some of your opinions. Victoria Williams: So thanks for letting us do that. Our agenda for this evening is a service overview, recommended program, a budget, and a planning process overview. And our service overview, you might see one of your commissioners there on the bottom, by our new shuttle there, commissioner Brillinger. We have a great bunch of services. Every city gets to choose the services that would meet the needs of their population since every Alameda County city is different. We don't have the same needs as those living in Fremont might. So the items that we've chosen to fund are the Alameda Loop Shuttle and you'll hear more about that, and the subsidized taxi services. We have two services that are subsidized. Victoria Williams: We've got scholarship programs, several kinds of group trips, capital investments, customer service and outreach and then management of all that. In 2010, there was one shuttle bus put on the road and it's been running well for all that time. However, in 2017, just the end October 31st, we were able to replace that one vehicle with two brand new, as you can see they're brand new, shiny. We were the first people in that vehicle. It's not a used car. And they're beautiful, they're accessible, we've got wheelchair lift and Commissioner Brillinger can tell you that in his wheelchair, he can do 360 degrees in the back of that vehicle. There's room for two wheelchair users in there at a time, so it's a good sized bus, nice big windows and the front has bike racks for two bicycles. Victoria Williams: Adding a second shuttle to the road means that our headways are 30 minutes each. So while the loop takes an hour, if you get on the bus and ride to your destination and come back to where you started, that loop takes one hour, but there's another bus 30 minutes later. So that makes it better for those who are doing their grocery shopping and want to get their frozen food 02/14/18 Page 2 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,3,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. home before it melts. You might have other things to do in your day than just ride the bus. So it's another good reason for that. But that's because of the wait time that we thought that would be important. And there was a survey done. And the name that got the highest number of votes was Alameda Loop Shuttle. So we've re-branded as the Alameda Loop Shuttle. Victoria Williams: We've made it very visible. I don't know if you could miss it. It says free on every side because we want that to be known, thanks Commissioner, and it's open to all. So while our funding offers priorities for seniors and people who have disabilities, because an empty bus is really not a good way to spend money, the funder has said, open it to everyone. When we get full, then we'll have to have those who are not seniors or people who have disabilities find another way to ride. But right now, we're not. So, it's open to all and it says that on, I think, on every side of the bus. It says it on our schedules. Because we want everyone to know anyone can ride the bus. You don't have to make a reservation. You just get on and ride. Victoria Williams: This is a picture of the monthly shuttle boarding starting back when the shuttle started in 2010. And we started with about 350 average boardings per month. And then service got better, and then it got down, and now it's back up again. And as it's noted there in 2015, there was an average of 424 boardings a month; 2016, 449 boardings a month; 2017, 451. And if I'm not mistaken, January, there were 600 boardings. Yeah. So we're going in the right direction. It takes more people to fill two buses. Victoria Williams: So in the past, when we had one hour frequency, just one bus, our cost per trip was $16 which is a really good cost. Now with two buses, we have more seats to fill, so the price is higher. It's $27. That was in 2017. We're going to make that better in '18. And our funder's really okay with this because they give us two years to get to where they'd like us to be. They would like for our rides to cost $20 a ride or less. But they give us two years to meet that goal because it takes a while to ramp up business, in any kind of business. And with shuttles people have to see it coming a lot of times before they really know they can trust it and they want to ride on it. So the funder's fine with that. And we're working hard to try to improve the cost per ride and the ridership. Victoria Williams: We also have a taxi service. This is the taxi service status. In the past, there was a 50% discount to ride the taxis. Now it's increased to 70%. And to qualify to be a rider, you need to live in Alameda, and be 70 or over, or be enrolled with East Bay Paratransit. So it doesn't require a disability. And a lot of people use it to go for cataract surgery or to the airport, things like that where they don't want to drive, those who still drive, who aren't allowed to drive maybe at that point. So a person can buy a voucher that's worth $5 for $1.50. So it's a huge discount and you can go anywhere in Alameda county. It is a regular taxi with a meter. We do have a couple of ramp taxis, so those are accessible. The service is provided by a local Alameda taxi service, and he's very happy to be providing service here. Victoria Williams: You can see this from the blue line on the graph. The blue line is the premium taxi program. Now that's the one that you can go anywhere in Alameda County for any purpose at all. And in 2009, we had 68 trips per month was the average. And you can see, that's the blue line. We've gone down a little and now we're headed steadily up. Our average trips per month are about 140. It was more than that in January, and I cannot remember the number, but it was more than that. 02/14/18 Page 3 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,4,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. And then the red line is MR. TIP. That's a different taxi program, which stands for medical return trip improvement program (MRTIP). And that's primarily for folks who use East Bay Paratransit, and that is the qualifier for it - if you live in Alameda and you are enrolled with East Bay Paratransit of any age. Because when you use East Bay Paratransit, it's a big service. You have to reserve your ride, going to your doctor's appointment and your pick up afterwards, at least a day in advance. Well, I've never been very accurate at guessing how long it's going to take my doctor to see me because sometimes they send you to the lab or the pharmacy or somewhere else, x-ray, after you've been there. You could miss your East Bay Paratransit ride. Victoria Williams: And even if you don't, you can get on the bus and ride, because there are many buses, you could ride through a couple of other towns before you get home. I heard a story just today, of someone who went to Kaiser, in Oakland, and before she got home to Alameda, she went to El Cerrito. And she was exhausted. Already she'd been through physical pain through her appointment, and she said, ""I love this program. It is so helpful. It saved my life because, I don't have to ride around. It's great when you feel well and you have plenty of time and you don't have to go to the bathroom, you can be on the bus a long time,"" but that isn't always the case with our riders. So you can see that with the red line we had some problems and now we're coming back up. And that's primarily due to the local transportation provider again, now we have that local transportation provider. So the MR TIP program (red line on graph) back in 2009 had an average of 100 boardings a month, went up to 136, came all the way down to six boardings a month in 2016 when there was a problem and now we're headed back up with 28 boardings a month and that was last year. This year is going to be better. Yes? Lisa Hall: What's MR TIP again? Victoria Williams: MR TIP stands for Medical Return Trip Improvement Program (MRTIP). It was started in Oakland and several cities got on the bandwagon and provided in. I believe we may be the only city still doing it. Berkley may still do it but Oakland doesn't. I don't know why that is but it works really well for those people who use it. You can see there are not a huge number of people who use it but the same provider is doing both services so there's not a problem if they're not driving one client, they're driving another. Jennifer Roloff: So for both graphs, the red and the blue, it's the same provider? Victoria Williams: That's right. Jennifer Roloff: And did it start that way? Victoria Williams: I don't know. There were two providers at one point and now we're down to the one provider. Jennifer Roloff: Because you had mentioned that there was provider issues, which was part of the dip. Victoria Williams: There was a provider issue and that was the problem and that's been resolved. 02/14/18 Page 4 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,5,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Jennifer Roloff: Okay. Arnold Brillinger: Now, I just want to say that this is a boon for those people that are in dialysis because they can get there on Paratransit but they can't always tell when they're going to get back and sometimes they're still in having the procedure done and Paratransit comes says, ""Oh, if you're not out of here five minutes you stay here we'll come back later when we want to."" If they can get the people at the dialysis place to give a call to the provider, say, ""Hey, we need someone here at 2:30 and it is a good thing."" We just need people to understand how it works. Victoria Williams: That's right. Thank you. Jennifer Roloff: And is that's way it's called ""return trip""? Victoria Williams: Yes, because that's the only purpose of that trip. No other kinds of trips are funded through this program. It's just to return home from a medical trip that you've gone to on some other way, generally for East Bay Paratransit and that's why it was created because it can be cumbersome. And Commissioner Brillinger is right, East Bay Paratransit they can only wait five minutes for you. So if you underestimate or overestimate your pickup time, they'll give you a 30 minute window and they can come five minutes of that 30 minute window and if they don't see you they have to roll because they've got other people to pick up. So if you've already been through an exhausting treatment like dialysis that can be very frustrating. Arnold Brillinger: So this is something that we need to spread around to let people know. If you're working with another group and there are some dialysis patients there let them know. They need to sign up with Victoria but once they do, it works pretty good is what I understand, especially with our provider now. Victoria Williams: Right. Any other questions at the moment? So, then we also offer some scholarship programs. One scholarship program assists with the taxi vouchers and a family can qualify for $50 of free taxi vouchers once a year if they're within the guidelines and it's a very generous guidelines. And then we also have a new program that we started in March of 2017 working with AC transit, we offer bus passes, the easy passes for people who live at Alameda Point Collaborative. So it's affordable housing there. And so people who are trying to stretch their dollars as far as possible and we can help them get to where they need to go with this program. Victoria Williams: And it started as you can see in March with 1500 riders a month, that's a good place to start and we're up to over 4000 riders a month now. Now, those folks go anywhere they want. It's the regular AC transit bus, so it's not a special bus, it's not a special program. The program is the funding for them to travel but it's not noticed by anybody on the bus that they have free trips or anything like that, so there's no stigma attached. You live here, you can qualify and it's being really well received. People who weren't going out because it was so expensive can get out now. Jennifer Roloff: Are we able to track ridership, with that Easy Pass? 02/14/18 Page 5 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,6,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Victoria Williams: AC Transit does that for us. So yes, we do have that information and I didn't bring it but we can get it to you. Jennifer Roloff: Because you could get a pass and theoretically not use it, right? Victoria Williams: Right. Jennifer Roloff: So do you scan on now? Victoria Williams: Right. And we're capped at 167 clients. That's how many we can afford to fund. That's a good number of people being served. And you can see, if 167 people are using it 4,000 times a month, they're going places. So that's good for them. Jennifer Roloff: Okay, so that number is how many rides? The number on the graph is how many rides? Victoria Williams: Boardings? How many boardings? Jennifer Roloff: How many boardings? Victoria Williams: Average boardings per month. Jennifer Roloff: Okay. So that answered my question of how often it's being used, and that's within 167 passes. Are they all getting distributed, all 167? Victoria Williams: Yes. Jennifer Roloff: So we have a wait list? Victoria Williams: I don't think so. I think that covered most of the people. We started with one, with Alameda Point Collaborative and I think that was enough to cover the households in that complex or in that area. But you'll hear more about that in just a minute. Victoria Williams: So this is what we recommend for our program for 2018 and '19. We'd like to continue marketing the rebranded and more frequent Alameda Loop Shuttle. And we'd like a smartphone app for real-time shuttle location. We're really pretty accurate. It takes a little bit of extra time to secure a wheelchair, and if there are two wheelchairs on there, that'll take a little bit more time. But we're really within 10 minutes and we allow 10 minutes. It's not like the AC Transit Bus that has to be there at exactly on the dot, because we allow for some of our riders who are slower getting on and off than other riders. Victoria Williams: So a smartphone app for those who use a smartphone, not all of our riders do, but some would, would show those folks just where the shuttle is at this time. So we'd like to add that. And with the taxi service, of course, we need to do more marketing and outreach. And then, again, we'd like to have a smartphone app for the real-time of that taxi. So they're very accurate 02/14/18 Page 6 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,7,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. time-wise, but sometimes you really need to know if it's getting close to your doctor's appointment and your heart starts pounding a little faster. It's nice to look down and say ""Oh, they're turning the corner. Let me grab my purse and meet them up front."" So those are the kinds of things we'd like to add. Jenn Barrett: For the loop shuttle, is there a sign with the times on the street? Victoria Williams: Thank you. It's in the process. Those signs are on order. And underneath those signs, there will be timetables and a map that says, ""You are here."" so people could really use it. We have the shuttle schedules that you've all got a copy of there. We have those distributed around town, but we don't have them at the stops yet. So we think that'll really improve business. Victoria Williams: Okay, next slide. So for the scholarship program, we'd like to continue doing the taxi subsidies that we're doing now, the 70% discount. We'd like to continue with the Alameda Point Collaborative bus passes and we'd actually like to expand that to have free bus passes for other Alameda Housing Authority properties. It's working so well. It's such a great way to spend a little bit of money to get so many people out on the road that we'd like to offer that to more people. And we currently offer group trips. We'd like to continue doing those. Mastick Senior Center has one senior trip a month. There's a great annual barbecue at the park where all the skilled nursing facilities in town take their residents there. We help fund transportation for that. It's a wonderful event. And we also have a leisure club, people with disabilities who are 18 or over, and they take two trips a month. So we'd like those group trips to continue. Victoria Williams: And then we have a capital improvement program. The Cross Alameda Trail project has been under funded. We actually have funding that we need to spend. We can help our riders by contributing to the Cross Alameda Trail project for a couple of ways. It would be adding separating lanes, so a bike lane and a pedestrian lane would be separate. So those of us who are riding bikes wouldn't be running into people who have a wheelchair or a walker. And those of us using a walker wouldn't be frightened that a bike was coming up behind us and we couldn't hear it in time to scoot over separate lanes. That section intersects with a couple of shuttle stops. And it would also create a mid-block crossing between Independence Plaza, Affordable Senior Housing and the drugstore Walgreens and Starbucks across Atlantic. Victoria Williams: So people cross there all the time. We want to make it safer for them and they are our clients. And so we think that would be a really helpful way to spend some money that needs to be spent and to make it safer for those folks to come across to their drugstore and get their Starbucks and not be in the mid-block because they just don't want to go to the ends where there are crosswalks. We'd also like to add some benches at shuttle and bus stops. We do share some stops with AC Transit at a couple of places, but we'd like to add benches. And we were hoping to add a flashing beacon at Mastick Senior Center, but a study has been done since we created this report here and we don't really qualify for that. Victoria Williams: We do qualify for a paddle sign that can be put up there to slow traffic. So we'll be getting that. But we were hoping for a flashing beacon. And then of course, we need to increase the outreach and the marketing. We've got a website and we send out regular press releases. We do 02/14/18 Page 7 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,8,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. presentations. And if you know anyone else we can present to let us know. We're included in orientations at Mastick Senior Center. We have advertisements and banners. We're in the process of ordering a new across the street banner which will look much like our new signs there. The same colors as the old sign. So most of the stops are the same as the old sign. Victoria Williams: So we don't think people have really noticed. They don't jive yet. They're really going to notice when these go up though. And we need shuttle schedules, we get those printed on a regular basis to get them out so that people know when and where to catch the shuttles. Brochures and mailings cost money and then we were going to offer some program incentives. And that brings us to our budget for 2018-2019. Our funding is decided by a formula that Alameda CTC uses based on the number of people that are aging or have disabilities in a community. Victoria Williams: And it's all based on sales tax. So if the economy isn't good, this will change. If it's great, this will change. So we're projected to receive $357,109 in Measure B & BB funds next year. We already have a $700,000 balance. We anticipate East Bay Paratransit tickets, which we also sell at Mastick Senior Center to bring in about $6,000 and the taxi vouchers I mentioned earlier to bring in about $12,000. That would bring our total revenues to $1,075,109. The expenditures that we project are management at $43,666. Customer service at $46,020, trip provision is estimated at $295,423 and the capital improvements that I mentioned at $590,000. That would equal our total expenditures at $975,109 and that would save $100,000 in reserves for times when that economy does dip and we need more funding. Arnold Brillinger: The East Bay Paratransit tickets, now do you sell them for East Bay Paratransit or do they give you a block of tickets that you sell $6,000 worth and that is for this bucket of money? Victoria Williams: We sell them for them. So we don't make any money off of that. That money comes in and goes out. Arnold Brillinger: In and out. Somewhere there's an out of 6,000. Jennifer Roloff: Same with the taxi vouchers? Victoria Williams: No. The taxi vouchers are all ours. Is there more to add on the taxi voucher? No. Those are our own, so everything that comes in through that taxi voucher program goes here. Jennifer Roloff: But then we have to reimburse the taxi companies? Victoria Williams: Oh yes. And that's included in trip provision. Jennifer Roloff: Okay. And then where's the in for East Bay Paratransit there's an out, is that in trip provision also? Victoria Williams: Well, the revenue is coming in and the expenditure is going out so that would probably go under trip provision also. Comes in and out. 02/14/18 Page 8 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,9,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Jenn Barrett: And this is just for 2018? Victoria Williams: Yes, '18-19. Jenn Barrett: Okay. And you have $700,000 balance but you're only going to have $100,000 remaining afterwards? Does that mean we're going to have an issue with the next? Victoria Williams: The Measure B & BB has been extended to 2045 I believe it is. So every year there will be more Measure B & BB money coming in. So if our trip provision stayed the same at 295,000, well, there are other expenses too. But that should be enough to cover because we won't have any of those signs or there are a lot of things we're doing this first year that we've rebranded. Jenn Barrett: With the capital? Victoria Williams: That we won't need to do again. So we think that should work out okay. Now that's if everything gets approved by the funder. This is what we're asking for. We don't know that they're going to say okay on everything. We're hoping so. Lisa Hall: Taxi vouchers are for seniors and people with disabilities? Victoria Williams: Yes. Lisa Hall: But not to the general public? Victoria Williams: Correct. Lisa Hall: Like the free shuttle? Victoria Williams: That's right. Lisa Hall: Okay, but how do people know about taxi vouchers? Unless they're senior or disabled? Is that the only, if they would know if they heard maybe from the senior center? Victoria Williams: Primarily at the Senior Center. I had two people that came in yesterday. They learned in their yoga class from someone else in the yoga class who had it. We've done several press releases. We have a marketing committee. Commission Brillinger sits on our marketing committee and one of the things on our agenda coming up is also to make a new brochure for the taxi program. We have those new schedules that you have for the shuttle that have the map and everything, but we don't have a real new, concise one. Our taxi company has also changed names, so we need something that's updated. So we'll be in the process of that. Lisa Hall: I think plenty of the seniors know, but, besides Arnold of course, I think the disability community needs to know more, where many disabled people are on a fixed budget. 02/14/18 Page 9 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,10,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Victoria Williams: Absolutely. Lisa Hall: And it would be really helpful to know this. Victoria Williams: Absolutely. And so we have connections with CIL [Center for Independent Living], and we've talked to people there and several other organizations, that's not everybody, of course. We do a survey and I'll mention that in a minute, we do an annual survey, but it goes out to people who use East Bay Paratransit and live in Alameda, and it mentions these things in there too. So we're hoping that that's another way. And quite a few of them have come back saying, ""I don't know anything about it."" So that tells us we're not doing a good enough job. There's a paragraph at the beginning saying if you need any information, call Victoria at this number about these programs. And my phone number is on the bus and on the signs and everywhere you can think of. That's the one at my desk. Lisa Hall: And have they done plenty of brochures and information? Victoria Williams: I walked into a large room full of people and left information at the Food Bank just today. I'd sent over some brochures earlier, but it wasn't enough. But we're still trying to find other places. And when we get this brochure, I get calls because my phone numbers on the shuttle bus, and people will call and say, ""What is that that just went by?"" But I had a call from one doctor in town and he identified himself and he said, ""I just saw a bus go by, tell me about that.' And then I thought as we're talking about the brochure for the taxi programs, every doctor's office in town needs those taxi brochures because potentially lots of people will be going to their doctor on those. And if they're going by East Bay, they can use the MR TIP program to come home. Doctor's offices and churches, and there's so many places still, we just haven't had time to get to every place yet. Gail Payne: I'm Gail Payne, Transportation Coordinator here, and I don't think Victoria's adequately tooting her horn. Victoria, we are so lucky to have Victoria, she's been on staff part-time for one year now. And one of the reasons why we're so lucky to have Victoria is she focuses only on this program. That's what she spends her time on, is reaching out to the community on this program. Before we didn't have that level of outreach and on page two of your staff report, it talks about the enhanced outreach that we've done this year because of Victoria. She has presented at eight transportation orientations to 69 community members, hung the banner, the cross street banner for 21 days. Gail Payne: We've advertised in the Alameda Sun, Mastick Senior Center newsletter, and in the recreation guides, issued five press releases, tabled at three events and presented at 14 locations. So she really is doing a great job and she was saying how all these things she still needs to do because she's a perfectionist and that's fine. But we are so lucky. Victoria Williams: Thank you, thank you. It is a busy 18 hours a week, I will tell you that. Any other questions about this? Did I get all the way through? I got all the way through that one. Jennifer Roloff: Can you just go back and tell me a little bit more about the Cross Alameda Trail? 02/14/18 Page 10 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,11,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Victoria Williams: I'm going to ask Gail to do that. She's much more knowledgeable about that. Jennifer Roloff: I don't know anything about it. Is it part of the loop already? Is expansion of the loop, I don't know. Gail Payne: Okay. So the Cross Alameda Trail, is a trail that is proposed and it's a path. Jennifer Roloff: Okay. I am familiar with that outside of this commission. How does that fit in with this? Gail Payne: Okay. So it's a path that will go from Alameda Point all the way to the Fruitvale Miller-Sweeney Bridge and it'll be almost four miles long. And the part that this program is helping to fund is the part from where Jean Sweeney, Cross Alameda Trail is already basically built, west to Alameda Point Main Street. So that is an underfunded project. And the original part that was funded was just a multi-use trail that would have been shared by people bicycling and walking. When we did the outreach for that effort, people really said, ""Look, we don't want a multi-use trail. I'm blind, I want to walk and I don't want to have bicycles near me, bicyclists say, ""I don't want to be near pedestrians,"" that this is what we heard time and again. Gail Payne: So we expanded that project and created not just a bike-way from the Jean Sweeney to Alameda Point, a separate bike-way. We also created a path, well, a walkway as well as a jogging path. So now that cost more money. So now it's underfunded. So that's why we really are looking at other sources and this is a perfect source of money because people who are blind or disabled in whatever way will benefit, and people who are moving slower, seniors will benefit from having a separate path. This is a crown jewel project for Alameda that I don't think Alameda's ever had such a great project come to us. I feel like it's worth it everyone to contribute a little bit. This is a small thing that we can do for this project. Jenn Barrett: Is this kind of like how we have on Shoreline Drive, where you've got the walking and then the bike and then the cars? Gail Payne: It's mainly a path that's in the dirt path. Jenn Barrett: Okay, so it's not connected, it's not near the road? Gail Payne: No, only for a very short time, right by where Starbucks is, because it's a constrained right of way. But the majority of it, from Webster Street to Alameda Point, is in that dirt. It's just a path. Three different paths, jogging path, a bike-way path, and a walkway path. Beth Kenny: When you say ""dirt"", is it going to stay dirt, because it would mean, for accessibilities reasons, we'd want a paved Gail Payne: Right, I see what you're saying. I was not being clear. Right now, it's that dirt patch that's on the other side of the College of Alameda, on Appezzato Parkway. And right now, it's just nothing except dirt. So we will make it an asphalt walkway and an asphalt bike-way, and then a 02/14/18 Page 11 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,12,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. decomposed granite. Is that what it's called? DG. For the jogging trail. So, yes, absolutely, we'll make it accessible. And that's part of what this will fund is accessible curb ramps and all that. Beth Kenny: And one thing that we hear from the community quite often is about accessible parking near things like this. So please keep that in mind as you're doing this trail. Gail Payne: We will, definitely. Thank you. Jennifer Roloff: And I'm sorry, one more question on that. So in this slide, The Recommended Program, does this Cross Alameda Trail, the bus benches and the flashing sign, is that in the capital portion of the budget that you showed us? Gail Payne: That is the capital portion. Jennifer Roloff: Okay, thank you. So if it's approved, then we go for it. Gail Payne: Yes. Arnold Brillinger: And I think also that when you say the ""dirt part,"" it used to be the railroad right-of-way. It goes along there by Alameda College and then it continues on, and it goes through the middle of a block. And I've seen them doing a lot of construction in there on the trail. So, when she talks about the dirt path, that's what's left from the right-of-way and now it's being concreted, blacktopped, whatever. Victoria Williams: Thank you. Any other questions at this point? Jennifer Roloff: The taxi vouchers. The city only has to or they're only paid for as they're bought and used, right? Victoria Williams: That's right. Jennifer Roloff: So essentially, it's hard to budget for them because we don't know how many are. Like I know my mother buys them, for example, but then she says she never uses them. So they sit in a stack. So it's probably hard to manage the budget based on how that works. Victoria Williams: I guess yes, I think it is. Having been here one year, I haven't seen how that quite works out yet. Jennifer Roloff: Okay. Because the shuttle is a fixed cost, right? Gail Payne: No, it's true, we've always really been very conservative. And we've always overestimated the budget, which is one of the reasons why we have reserves always, because we haven't wanted at the end of this fiscal year, at each fiscal year to say, ""Sorry, we ran out of money.' So we're always very conservative with that. And then we also have the vouchers expire after one year. That's why we started doing that because we didn't want people all of a sudden to have years 02/14/18 Page 12 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,13,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. of stacks and then all of a sudden, use them for whatever reason, then we would run out. So we needed to control the supply and demand. Victoria Williams: And we do have limits on the number of vouchers a person can buy. So if it's the MR TIP vouchers, a person can buy 10 per month and the other, the Premium Taxi program, a person can buy 30 in a three-month period. So it's not endless, they can't buy hundreds of them and save them for years, and they do expire in one year, each of them. Victoria Williams: So here we are in the planning process. We did a survey in December and January, I now have 110 in. They are not all logged yet. Oh, and that doesn't include the ones that have come through electronically, those are the hard copies, and we come to four commissions. I want to apologize because we sent this off before your name changed. So we see the Transportation Commission, the Commission on Disability, the Recreation and Park Commission, and the Social Service Human Relations Board. We take all of your input and put it into our plan, and then we take it forward. Our program plan will be due the end of March. This is a picture of the cross street banner, the old cross street banner that we've had out for several years. We have a new banner, we're ready to order as soon as we figure out the weight of it. But we've got the design, we're ready to go, and so we're very excited about that. You'll see it, it's really visible. I say that. I don't mean to sound apologetic, but it's very visible. We want it to be seen. And now we're here at my contact information. Victoria Williams: Again, I'm Victoria Williams, Paratransit Coordinator. My telephone number is 510-747-7513 and my email address is vwilliams@alamedaca.gov. Any other questions or comments, please? Beth Kenny: Thank you very much. This is a wonderful presentation and I can't believe you even caught that our name has changed, so good on you. We're trying parliamentary procedure in a different way where we're each going to go around and ask, see if anyone has any question. So I'm going to start with you, Vice Chair, Brillinger. Arnold Brillinger: No, I don't have any questions. Beth Kenny: Okay. Commissioner Roloff? Jennifer Roloff: I've asked many questions, thank you. Victoria Williams: Thank you. Beth Kenny: Commissioner Barrett? Jenn Barrett: Thank you so much for speaking. We really appreciate it. I don't have any further questions. Victoria Williams: Thank you. 02/14/18 Page 13 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,14,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Beth Kenny: Commissioner Hall? Lisa Hall: That you Victoria. Just a ballpark on the financial on the taxi, that it's very liberal as far as the 70%. So people have to qualify by what kind of income on the taxi? Victoria Williams: For the scholarship? Oh, there is no income qualification on the taxi program, none at all. Lisa Hall: There's none? All you have to be is senior or disabled? Victoria Williams: For the MR TIP, you need to be enrolled with East Bay Paratransit and for the Premium, you need to be an Alameda resident and 70 or older or enrolled with East Bay Paratransit. We do have a question about income on our application, not everybody chooses to complete that question and it doesn't matter. Income is not a criteria that we count. Lisa Hall: Okay, so for the taxi then, so you have to be 70 or over, or enrolled in Paratransit. You could be disabled and be under 70. Victoria Williams: Right. As long as you're enrolled with East Bay. And we have those applications and I help people with those too. And we're working on trying to get the recertifications and certification appointments done in Alameda. So far it's in Oakland, but they do provide transportation and I help people with that too if I can. Thank you. Beth Kenny: Commissioner Linton. Jenny Linton: I just want to thank you for coming in and presenting. I was here last year and it's nice to see over the course of a year ridership increasing as well as the number of bus services per day increasing. So, congratulations. Victoria Williams: Thank you. It's been fun. Beth Kenny: And thank you again. You're very right on Commissioner Linton. Transportation has been so willing to work with this commission and it's been something that I've enjoyed my entire four years on the commission and seeing you added to the team has really given it an extra boost. Victoria Williams: Thank you. Beth Kenny: So I want to thank you for all you're doing and I wanted to ask a little bit more about MR TIP being connected to the East Bay Paratransit. Because when Vice Chair Brillinger was talking about people going through dialysis, well, I went through dialysis myself, but I wasn't hooked up with Paratransit when I went through. And so I would have definitely liked to take a taxi. Victoria Williams: Certainly, certainly. Beth Kenny: So I'm wondering, is there a way to broaden it beyond East Bay Paratransit? Could 02/14/18 Page 14 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,15,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. we connect it to like the Regional Transit Card? Victoria Williams: I recently went to speak to the Managers at East Bay Paratransit and explained to them the MR TIP program. They are a huge service. They cover the whole county and you've probably heard some horror stories because they have lots of people to transport and huge service areas. So we think that it would be a win-win-win situation, as do they, if they refer riders to us, if people are scheduling their return ride and say, ""Well, I really don't know."" ""Well, do you live in Alameda? Go do this."" So I took information and I'm working with someone who's the new Recertification Manager or Certification Manager and we're hoping to get that news spread through East Bay because we can meet those rides, and they can't always do it. Victoria Williams: They do their best. I've used East Bay Paratransit a couple of times in my life with broken bones and I couldn't drive and they do their best, but it's a big service. It's really hard to keep accurate when you're that big. And so with our little service, we can be much more timely. So your points are well taken. We'll look further. It's for Alameda residents, we go anywhere in the county. So if someone had to go to Fremont for a special medical trip, we can bring them home. Beth Kenny: Yeah, or people going to Oakland to receive treatment. Victoria Williams: Right. We have a lot of that. We have a lot of Oakland riders, and we don't have dialysis, I guess, on the island. Lisa Hall: Or chemo. Victoria Williams: Yes. That's right. And some people are going to Berkeley. That MR TIP program is great because after those treatments, the wherewithal to ride, to watch someone else go home, it's not as pleasant as it might be another time. Beth Kenny: I would love to see MR TIP expanded because that seems invaluable, and echo the comments that are reaching out to the disabled community, anyway that we can help, we want to. Victoria Williams: Thank you. Beth Kenny: And on the Cross Island Trail, again just if we can make sure it's accessible and that people with disabilities can use it and get to it and all of that good stuff, it sounds like a very exciting project. Victoria Williams: Thank you. Thank you. Lisa Hall: We just had a presentation in our church from the wonderful Mr. Kaufman with Meals on Wheels. And Meals on Wheels is part of the program, and Friendly Visitors, go visit people that are kind of home bound. But I think it's also good that they also know that, ""Hey, this is out there for you. If you want to actually get up and possibly get up and get out and try to get out in the world, there is this. "" 02/14/18 Page 15 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,16,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Victoria Williams: I did two presentations for their volunteers. I've started a couple of Friendly Visiting programs and been a Friendly Visitor myself in the past for many years. So I've spoken to their last year's group. Last year I spoke twice to the volunteers and their office is right next door to mine. So we have a really good policy. In fact a Friendly Visiting volunteer who thought the program was so great has offered to distribute some schedules for me. So she's become a schedule distributer too. So, you're right, that's a perfect match for us, thank you. And we need to work closer with Meals on Wheels. They know about us too. We haven't talked to their volunteers in a group. The director knows about us, but we haven't really talked to them as a group. So. Lisa Hall: Because they're the ones out there with the eyes and Victoria Williams: Exactly. Lisa Hall: And they will see and know some people that maybe can use some help. Victoria Williams: Thank you for that tip. Jenny Linton: Other groups that reach the developmentally disabled community in the area are The Regional Center of the East Bay, as well as Alameda Special Olympics. Beth Kenny: Are you at Mastick Senior Center? Is that where your office is? Victoria Williams: That's right. So, if we could have a hip hip hooray. What do we need? What do we need? Something that recommends what we're going to do? Support, I don't know what we call it. We've heard your support and we thank you very much. Beth Kenny: So, at this time, we can do a few things. We can vote to endorse this plan. We can vote to endorse it, asking them to take into consideration our comments, and that's what I would like to move to do is, this is a very well thought out and thorough plan, and I really like seeing those graphs going in the opposite direction because they weren't when I first started. Victoria Williams: We're happy about that, too. Beth Kenny: I move that we endorse the Transportation Plan presented to us tonight. And ask that our comments be interpreted and included whenever possible. Arnold Brillinger: Second. Beth Kenny: Alright, all in favor. All: Aye. Beth Kenny: Any opposed? It's unanimous. Victoria Williams: Thank you very much. 02/14/18 Page 16 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,17,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Beth Kenny: Thank you. Victoria Williams: Thank you all. And we'll be at Earth Day with the shuttle bus, so come see the shuttle bus Earth Day. You can ride the lift. Beth Kenny: Oh, that is one other thing that I did want to ask. I know Commissioner or Vice Chair Brillinger in the past has wanted to get the shuttle into the 4th of July. Victoria Williams: I've volunteered to work that this year and the boss said yes. So we will be in that. Maybe you could join us. Lisa Hall: We would love to join you. We would love to join forces with you guys. Victoria Williams: That would be fabulous. We would like a full bus. We would like some people in the bus. So I'm going to write that down, you'd like to join us. Thank you. That would be great. We'll have a great time. Thank you very much. Arnold Brillinger: Also, at least one of the street fairs they have the bus there so that people could see it and give out information and I think there are various things that the Transportation Commission can do, that we could probably help them if they need the help. Victoria Williams: Thank you. Thanks a lot. 5. OLD BUSINESS Beth Kenny: Now we move on to item five. Old Business. And I'm going to start with the meeting date. We are going to go forward and look at changing those to the odd number of months at the April meeting, if we can have that to vote on a couple of different options, that would be great. If we can put that on the agenda for that meeting. Item 5-A Commission and Board Liaison Reports Item 5A is Commission and Board Liaison reports, which, at this point, we need to vote to give each person the right to speak on behalf of the Commission at their assigned Board or Commission. So I move that we empower individual commissioners to speak on behalf of the Commission at their assigned Board or Commission liaison spot and they must report back anything to us during Section 5A Old business at each regularly scheduled meeting. Jennifer Roloff: I'll second that. Beth Kenny: Thank you. That was a mouthful. Beth Kenny: All in favor? 02/14/18 Page 17 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,18,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. All: Aye. Beth Kenny: Any opposed? Jenn Barrett: Sorry, will there be, in the notes maybe a written list of who's assigned to watch us, so we know for reference? Beth Kenny: Yeah, I can send that out tomorrow to everybody via email. Jennifer Roloff: This is what we've put up at the retreat. Beth Kenny: Yes. Arnold Brillinger: Right. Beth Kenny: We'll get that out to you guys and, there's probably nothing to report because we're switching over. I'm going to move on to talking about our sub-committee and let you all know that Tony Lewis has resigned. He said he's just over-committed at this point. He is going to be getting a service dog, so that's another commitment. It's an exciting commitment but, he just felt like he wasn't able to attend enough. He does want to still be part of things and volunteered to work any fairs that we're doing and is interested in working on the sub-committee that is going to be looking at businesses in Alameda to see how they can be more accessible. We'll miss Tony but, he'll still be part of things, so we won't miss him that much. Item 5-B Election of New Commission Chair and Vice Chair Beth Kenny: Item 5B, Election of new commission Chair and Vice-Chair. If anybody would like to be Chair or Vice-Chair, I'd ask that you speak up now. I would ask that if anyone has specifics they nominate anyone. Commissioner or Vice-Chair Brillinger, you have been Vice-Chair, is it something that you are interested in continuing to do? Arnold Brillinger: Yes, I am at present. Is it like you can be a certain thing for two years or is there some kind of a limit? Beth Kenny: No, we do not have any limits in our by-laws as far as how long you can be Chair or Vice-Chair. Personally I would like to see somebody else be interested in being Chair. I am willing to do it, but I think it's good for everybody to kind of get the flavor, so I'll put that out there. Jenn Barrett: I'm fairly new, but I would be interested in maybe a Vice-Chair if you end up If you want to be Chair or. Beth Kenny: Great, yeah. I would like to nominate you as Vice-Chair then. Do I have a second? Jenny Linton: Second. 02/14/18 Page 18 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,19,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Beth Kenny: All in favor of Commissioner Barrett as Vice-Chair, say, ""Aye."" All: Aye. Beth Kenny: Any opposed? Welcome Vice-Chair Barrett. So, for now we just need a Chair. Jennifer Roloff: Are you interested in continuing as Chair? Beth Kenny: I'd be willing to consider, to continue. I want to put it out there that I would like other people to think about it as well. Lisa Hall: I'm sorry, Arnold do you not want to be Chair? Arnold Brillinger: Yeah, I've thought of possibly doing that if Beth's were to say, ""Hey, the little guy is giving us a lot of things to do."" But, it's not that I need to do that because I'm the Chair of the SRAC committee for Paratransit. But, I'm still involved very much in Alameda as you heard with the transportation things, even though I'm not on the commission. But I would consider if that's the way that the group thinks. Beth Kenny: So, at this point somebody should nominate. I don't know how else we would do this other than nomination. I will nominate Commissioner Brillinger as Chair. Do I have a second? Jennifer Roloff: Would you prefer to continue as Chair? And, Beth would you like to be Chair or. If you're interested in stepping down. Beth Kenny: I am fine continuing Yeah, I'm fine either way. I'm fine stepping aside and I'm fine continuing. I would, if I do continue this year though, I would like it that next year somebody else definitely become Chair. That's all I would say. Lisa Hall: I'm sorry if I missed something because you're Vice-Chair but you're stepping down from Vice-Chair, right? That's what you had said. Jenn Barrett: Do you want to be Vice-Chair still? Arnold Brillinger: Not necessarily. I welcome someone else wanting to go into that position. Lisa Hall: You have some of these other positions Arnold Brillinger: I've got other positions. Beth Kenny: So like I said, I would be willing to stay on, but I would not be willing to be Chair next year. Jennifer Roloff: And just, and I'm very interested. I'm so new, but for next year I'd be very interested in a position as well but for this year I'd stay out. 02/14/18 Page 19 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,20,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Jenn Barrett: Is anyone else interested for. Lisa Hall: [inaudible] Jennifer Roloff: Right. And Arnold, I welcome you to be Chair, but if you have a lot going on and feel like Arnold Brillinger: It's fine with me. Jenn Barrett: Would you be interested, Jenny? Jenny Linton: No. Beth Kenny: So, is there a nomination out there? Lisa Hall: I nominate Beth stays for another year. Arnold Brillinger: Second. Laurie Kozisek: What about the nomination for Arnold? Arnold Brillinger: There's no second, so it died. Beth Kenny: All in favor? All: Aye. Beth Kenny: Anyone else? So, that awkward business is over. Laurie Kozisek: That was a nomination, not an election. Beth Kenny: Yeah. I'm sorry. We did vote Jenn into office. So we asked for a second and then we all voted. We were voting for the person the second time, the nomination became a vote. Jennifer Roloff: Are we legal on that? Do you want to double, do you want to present a slate and vote on it just in case, so we're legal? Beth Kenny: Sure. So, the slate before us is to have Vice-Chair as Commissioner Barrett and Chair as Commissioner Kenny. All in favor? All: Aye. 6. STAFF COMMUICATIONS 02/14/18 Page 20 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,21,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Beth Kenny: And now, for staff communications. Laurie Kozisek: Thank you, Madam Chairman. Can you hear me? Beth Kenny: Yes. Laurie Kozisek: I can either talk or I can see you. I can't do both. I have two items, one is the email blast that I sent out this time about the meeting, I don't know if you noticed but I put a bunch of links in it, of alternate ways that you can see this particular event that we're having here, that you can do it by video live or video on TV or video tape delayed or a verbatim transcript. And I got feedback from one person who said, ""That's great because of my disability I'm too tired to come in person but I would like to see what went on."" And so, I would like to continue to do this. Laurie Kozisek: If anybody is out there, we'll put it on the website, and we'll try to do it in the next email blast. If you're not on the email blast, give me a call at 510-747-7930, ask for Laurie and I will put you on the email blast and then you'll be able to find out all the different ways that you can get this in an alternate way. The other thing I have to say is, the Public Works has a request to put a bond on the ballot coming up February 20th. And it's already in the agenda so you can go. Laurie Kozisek: You know how to go to City Council website and look at the agenda, you can see the whole program - it's already up there. We want to take out a bond so that we can do many millions of dollars-worth of projects for our infrastructure, some of which are kind of crumbling and need this extra help. That will include sidewalks, curb ramps, better streets, less flooding at intersections, and very importantly more ADA improvements inside of city buildings. So just keep an eye on that. The Public Works will be presenting it to the Council and if we get four out of five votes from the Council then it will be put on the ballot and voted on by the members of the public. So if you have any strong feelings about wanting better ADA compliance in the city buildings and on the streets, talk to your council member or, however it is you want to voice your interest. Can't really do it as an agenda item here because I forgot to put it on the agenda. But, take a look at the presentation and then let your council member know. Jenn Barrett: Would it go out on the November ballot if it passed the council? Laurie Kozisek: Yes. And so you'll have more chance to discuss it then but first we have to get it through the council members. 7. ANNOUNCEMENTS Beth Kenny: Next we'll move on to announcements. Does anyone have any announcements they'd like to make? Jennifer Roloff: Can I ask just a question to Laurie? Beth Kenny: Yes 02/14/18 Page 21 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,22,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Jennifer Roloff: How many people are on the listserv on your email blasts? Laurie Kozisek: It's not very many. Somewhere between 30 and 50 I haven't really counted, but it's just anyone who has shown an interest in that. I send them the agendas but I also send them, like if there's a meeting about, say, some particular kind of disability, some sort of a presentation or whatever, I'll send that out and I would love to have more people on that list. I try not to bother them with too many emails but I might do two a month on topics of interest. So, maybe you can spread it around and we'll have more people on the list. Jennifer Roloff: And do you have the right kind of email software that supports hundreds, for example, or are you just CC-ing? Laurie Kozisek: I'm BCC-ing. And it's just going out with the City email, so I think that's a pretty powerful email function. I've never had a bounce. Jennifer Roloff: Okay. I know sometimes if it goes over a certain number it'll go to spam folders. Laurie Kozisek: Yeah. I could break it up into two chunks. Beth Kenny: And the people on the listserv also get everything that you send to us as a commission, is that correct? Laurie Kozisek: No the commissioners are all on the email blasts, BCC'd. Occasionally I will send stuff to just you in which case you're in the ""To:"" because I figure you guys can email each other but, when it's going out on the email blasts it's all BCC so you don't see everyone else's. Because I don't want everyone to have your email addresses. Beth Kenny: Thank you. Commissioner Brillinger, you had an announcement. Arnold Brillinger: Yes. I went to the Commission on Disability in Berkeley, I think it was last week, and they had a program, they had a professor from UC Berkeley. They've got special chairs that are funded by philanthropists, and she's the Chair for the Disabilities, and she's from Japan. And it was very interesting hearing her, and I was thinking maybe we could ask her to come and give a presentation and also invite some other, like the Oakland group so she doesn't have to do it here for six people and there for eight people and so forth. But it was very interesting because she talks about that handicap is part of the diversity of human beings. Arnold Brillinger: And it's not a special group, it's just like there's a whole lot of people that are short, a lot of people that are tall but there's, most of people are medium-sized and so forth. And the same kind of things happen with disabilities. And she's got some insights into what they're doing in Japan for various things, and she said that the universal design, the word ""universal"" should not be there because universal means everybody. And no matter how many you want to include there's still some people that are on the fringes. They can't be helped by either visibility or special things. And so she's got some insights and I'd like to hear her again and I thought maybe we could invite her. Her name is Karen Nakamura. 02/14/18 Page 22 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,23,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Beth Kenny: And do you have any contact information for her? You said she's part of the Berkeley Commission? Arnold Brillinger: No. She gave a presentation at the Berkeley Commission. That's where I heard her. And also at the Berkeley Commission they had Eric, you remember Eric? Who came with us, to the sub-committees. And then I went to the Transportation Commission last week and I don't have a whole long list like I did last month, or last meeting. Because, mostly they had the same presentation from Victoria after a whole lot of other discussion on things that I didn't understand, that didn't really have to do with transportation. So their commission saw pretty much what we saw today. Beth Kenny: Great. Thank you, Arnold. I wanted to make an announcement. I don't know if any of you have been following, there's so much going on right now but, what's been going on in Congress with the ADA. Right now there is an attempt to undo parts of the ADA and make it so that the onus is not on the business to become compliant, it's the disabled person will have to let them know they intend to come to their business and give them sufficient time before any sort of claim can be filed for them not being accessible, or in compliance with the ADA. Beth Kenny: It would be a severe gutting of the ADA and I just want to keep it on everybody's radar. I read an excellent piece in The Washington Post, written by Tammy Duckworth, who is a disabled veteran congress person. I want to keep it on everybody's radar, and I think that it also made me really glad that we are getting the sub-committee going to look at making the businesses in Alameda more accessible and how we can go about that. That's my announcement. Anyone else have anything to say? Arnold Brillinger: Could you give us a little bit more information on what you just said about businesses in Alameda? Beth Kenny: Oh, I said that, after reading that article, what made me feel a little bit better was that we had already been talking about the issue of focusing in on how to get the businesses of Alameda to be more accessible. We were already thinking about that before reading this upsetting news. Jenn Barrett: Yeah. And I'm definitely excited to start working with our sub-committee on that. Jenny Linton: I have an announcement. Next month David and I will be going to a conference sponsored by The Arc of California, called the Developmental Disabilities Public Policy Conference, it's March 11th and 12th, Sunday and Monday. Followed on Tuesday morning by a visit with our legislator, so we'll report back after next month. David's my son. It's in Sacramento. Look forward to meeting our legislator. Beth Kenny: Yes, I look forward to hearing about it. Jenny Linton: Did we decide on whether we're going to even months or odd months for meetings? 02/14/18 Page 23 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities,2018-02-14,24,"ITEM 2-A COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, February 14, 2018 6:30 p.m. Beth Kenny: Laurie didn't have a chance between our retreat and today to work out that schedule, so we're going to look at that at our April meeting. 8. ADJORNMENT Beth Kenny: If there are no other announcements I'm going to move that we adjourn. Thank you for a great evening. Happy Valentine's Day, everybody. 02/14/18 Page 24 of 24",CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-02-14.pdf