##VIDEO ID:6peS-0p92Bs## good even to the November 12th Commission on disabilities meeting if we could do we could salute the flag I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all if um if Caren perno cooch you could do a roll call of the members absolutely so Ralph too present paan perno is present Jason Baron not yet okay uh Mario ganis present thank you Ellie Vargas present hi Ellie and Ann Mar pres hi okay um so we have uh our call the members is done item number one is a motion to approve the meeting minutes from the October 8th 2024 meeting it sent everyone the minutes um from last month's meeting on Friday hopefully everyone's able to uh take a look at them and if there are any questions on that um if you could let me know uh if not I would like to take a recommendation for a motion to approve I approve no second okay um I motion motion is approved all in favor say yes none all opposed say nay um yes okay and um next item on the agenda we have a guest speaker this month who is Terry cman who's the Outreach specialist at the the mass department for conservation and Recreation uh which is the DC's universal access program Terry thank you for for joining us and greatly appreciate it you taking the time um for all you that do not know Terry um she was a tremendous help with our all abilities day out at Rivier Beach this year um for the first ever day out at Rivier Beach uh we had a great time and without her and um Rachel we wouldn't have been able to have uh the equipment and be able to put it together so thank you and thank you for joining us and uh I will uh let you speak and you can take over uh and uh tell a little bit about yourself in the program and I know you have a presentation for us well Ralph thank you very much I greatly appreciate the commission inviting us to present and um I have worked with the universal access program for about one year um so if you have certain questions I may have to take it back to the team um but I am um a white female uh use uh pronouns she her and um I've got green hair and that's probably um it nicely but uh let me get going with um the presentation and let me try sharing my screen did that work yeah awesome okay so uh this is the first slide of it's of GCR universal access program um we basically have I have a lot of photos on these slides so I'll just try and describe them briefly um we've got a top photo of two people in a tandem kayak out on a pond and the bottom photo is two people writing a tandem bite basically most people know about DCR um but DCR is a department of conservation and Recreation it's the state department that oversees the state parks throughout Massachusetts universal access program um is a department with n DCR and we help provide outdoor recreation opportunity and this slide has a logo of DCR and a logo of um universal access program this next slide tries to summarize ways that universal access program assists DCR in providing accessible Recreation opportunities really there's three different ways we do that one is through side improvements um such as advising about ramps trails and beaches um another way is through uh equipment so for example placing equipment at DCR sites for people to use on their own and the Third Way is through adaptive Rec programs um we fund adaptive Recreation programs such as adaptive hiking cycling kaying rowing goes on and on um this slide has a couple different pictures um one is a picture of uh a yur at a campsite an accessible y um another picture is um one that Ross familiar with the floating Beach wheelchairs uh that we have at um many of the DCR beaches and the picture is of a trail wheelchair um and someone is being assisted with a chariot so the first thing I want to talk about is just an example of the site improvements um online we have this really cool list of accessible Trails um and it will uh talk about the park name list the city Trail name talk about the distance and the type of surface that it has whether it's PVE found us Etc um also talks about whether something's Urban rural whether's anything to see um and so that is on our mass.gov website and um these are just two pictures of a couple accessible Trails um that are listed on the site one has uh the stone dust um on it and the other one has a ramp ladyy down to a pond we also Place equip at sites for people to use on their own so it creates independent opportunities so some examples of that are um Beach wheelchairs uh Beach mats pool lifts ice sleds uh we also have ice Walkers and adaptive golf carts um the we also Place adaptive equipment um with the recreation providers that we fund um so that would include Trail chairs adaptive bikes kak canoes and that sort of thing um so it's two ways that we use adaptive equipment to provide um accessible opportunities and these three pictures um the top left one is of someone on on a beach in a what we call a sand beach wheelchair which is different than the floating Beach wheelchair um then there's someone using a parag golfer and then there's an example of a three people with um the Adaptive wheelchairs U out in the trail and and now we're gonna Terry yes one second on your slide top portion of it there's something being blacked out um there's like a bar going across it I don't know if you can see that on your screen there's like a gray out box in the top of every slide is that better no it's now it's it's very small now at the top of of the pictures okay okay all right let me find where I was sorry if not if not I me to get rid of it it says you're screen sharing okay yeah sorry [Music] okay okay um so our ctive Recreation programs uh we primarily fund we have P we have primary partners and we have supportive Partners the primary partners are the ones that we um fund to run the Adaptive Rec programs and that would include all out Adventures polio Groves Easter Seals and Waypoint um and then we also have a supportive partners and the supportive Partners we don't uh fund directly but we they do offer adaptive programs at DCR sites and we support them um like through uh providing accessible toilets or adaptive equipment and uh on this slide there's just uh four different uh logos of the partners there's um Spalding rehab all at Adventures hoolio grow Easter Seals and Waypoint now our adaptive program schedules we publish uh seasonally there's spring summer winter and fall um this slide shows and we just published our winter adaptive program so this is an example of what that schedule looks like at least at the top um we will send these out to our contact list and it's also available online on our masterg universal access site in general our spring summer and fall programs we offer adaptive hiking cycling rowing kaying and canoeing um swimming and golf so this slide shows you some examples of those again we have someone using a parag golfer uh we have two people riding a a recumbent uh tandem trike we have a group of people out hiking and then we have a group of people out uh kayak for winter programs uh we have a variety of offerings including ice skate skting sit skiing outdoor skating if the weather cooperates um Snowshoe hick sliding and a CrossCountry scheme and uh these are some examples of um these photos are examples of those uh one is showing the outdoor rink there's some people using ice sleds um we have another uh slide of someone sitting in an a ice sorry ice Leed out on the ice we have someone um going along a trail uh being pulled and then we have some people of cross country skiing I'm highlighting just the supportive program we have for winter that was um would be with spaling adaptive Sports and they offer um sled hockey uh in ever at Allied Veterans Memorial Rink and they also run downhill skiing at WUSA and then this final slide is just I went through our winter program schedule and tried to identify some things that are in the Boston area um some of these things are only being offered once um this winter and some things are being offered throughout the winter so it it varies a great deal um but these are some examples of uh adaptive winter programs available in the Boston area um we've got adaptive ice skating going on in East Boston at prazo we've got outdoor winter Recreation going on in Weston we have sled hockey going on in Everett uh we have U adaptive hiking going on at middle sex spells Blue Hills reservation also has some adaptive hiking and we have tandem cycling going on um at wa and this is my last slide of it has uh my email address and my cell phone number um if anyone wants to be added to our contact list just let me know and I will add them um we've got a picture of from our East Boston skating ring this is one of our volunteers with someone um using an icel they were making funny faces and laughing hysterically and there's another picture of a wheelchair uh tandem bike um being used in uh Hadley and uh the person in front has Daisy glasses on and that is my presentation I'm sorry if there were things blocking I apologize I got a question yes how um do people access the that program like if like um people wanted to participate in those activities um how would they um go about that is a good question if people are interested in participating in our our adaptive Recreation program if that's what you're talking about yes um then on the winter program schedule it will list um an instruction for who to contact to register for most of programs if um you would contact the partner that we contract with I'm saying that but it's now winter and I actually do the registration for four of the uh adaptive skating program so that's kind of unusual but normally you would reach out to the the provider and um again in the uh winter program schedule it will list what costs are associated with the program how to register and maybe some other things like some of the programs there might be um you have to register by a certain time but you do have to pre-register for all the Adaptive Rec programs there any any other members yeah any other members have any questions hi yes I have a uh question so I know you mentioned that the site's just been updated um to identify the trails and spaces that are accessible um is there any place to find where the adaptive equipment is available what different sites the adaptive equipment is available like for example a good question like there's um there so there is a a list it's not one site all right so so that that that would that's actually a good idea but we don't have that there's a a list of um like beach Wheelchairs and where they're at there's another list um that has uh the ice sleds and where those are located um and that's Mo we don't have a lot of other equipment um that is available for people to use independently and part of that is just because of cost and maintenance um but we do have posted on online the um ice sleds and the beach wheelchairs um and if you can't find those I have the list and I can share them great thank you and I know that there's a new initiative the trails for all um that's being rolled out is that correct with the that is being rolled out and I'm sorry I didn't participate in that first meeting but I do have two of my colleagues like Rachel um and uh we have a program manager that participated but yes that is rolling out and um we were included in that that's great that would be great thank you so much thank you Emory now I have a question that some of that you have certain dates and times for some of these programs and locations is especially with the adaptable sleds uh is DCI universal access program are they open to host any other types of independent programs such as how how they did the all abilities wheelchair all abilities Beach day there is there any types of um ways that um commissions or groups could be able to create an event and use the universal access group for the sleds to be brought to a location to host an event or is it just basically just at that one location I know they they basically do it out of the um for certain times but is there a way to do a a program specifically ped for a specific event onetime event is that something that's available or something that DCR universal access program is looking at possibly doing or is it some an idea that's being brought up well you know we have a a limited number of sleds that are available at quite a few ranks but that is different than if you want like when we run our programs we bring out a lot of additional sleds and Equipment um I would say that uh basically would have to ask um our program manager um to see if we have the staff um who would be able to provide that there there's a chance I'm just we just have the small staff right so us sometimes the limitations is just we don't have many people and sometimes we are making like a list of people who are making requests um so that we can bring it forward and let people know we need more staff um and that being said sometimes they are able to accommodate um so we were able to assist with uh your event this summer um sometimes we have to uh direct people to the uh partners that we contract with if they want to set up something and they need um some additional supports the other complication with our equipment is everyone's got to sign a release form right um so it it kind of depends on Staffing supports and and that sort of thing but they I would say Bring It Forward and we would run it by management and see what they say it's not something we do regularly because we're short staff now the the like the the sleds at at the skating rinks um I know that they do they do it at the the rink in in East Boston is there a certain is there a set amount of sleds that are there that are always there for that are they are they brought in for that are they housed there or for that program that you're running there we have some that there's a list of ice sleds um that is available online and it'll say how many sleds are available where okay but uh for those like the East Boston program we um load a bunch of sleds and a bunch of of Walkers and a bunch of of helmets and that sort of thing um in ammer and we uh bring it all the way down we hul it all the way down to East Boston we unload it um set up everything and then we pack everything back up and take it they're there're again there's some sleds that are um available in East Boston all the time um but not like what we bring for the programs because for our programs we can have up to 125 people so we bring quite a bit okay thank you any other questions how can I get uh onto the contact call or whatever list you were doing earlier I'm I'm interested okay cool then uh basically you can uh if you want to email me and just give me your email address okay and I I when I'm back in the office because I'm clearly at home right now but as soon as I'm back in the office I can add you to the big contact list and we send out the uh program schedule as an accessible Word document and a PDF um and if anyone my email address is my name so it's t r dot and then my middle initial l dot and then my last name k o o p m an that's mass.gov m.gov thank you add you any other questions any other members have any questions I just have a a real quick one what happens like if if there was an event that was going on outside and then the weather turns like what do you do do you reschedule that or is it called off and then I mean how far in advance do these things get booked up so that because we all know what winter is like in h New England all right well as far as how quickly things get booked I want to say it it sometimes it varies by program I will say our things that are out east in the Boston area tend to fill quickly um some things like uh well so some things fill very quickly I opened up um ice skating like when the program schedule came out last week and I'm surprised I'm getting slammed by people who are interested which is great it's just that so things can fill up um some of the things may already be full depending on what um you're interested in so again it varies but particularly how these things um fill up quickly as far as whether we generally the if the people who are contracted to run the program is the one who makes the call and whether something goes on or not okay and um their response to it varies it depends on the situation we had situations where it wasn't cold enough to run anything wintry and there's a few locations they can move it to an ice rink because there's an ice rink nearby um there's other ones where if the weather is not conducive they'll notify everyone um the morning of maybe the day before depends on um how much information they have to go by right we last year since I've only been here a year last year we've had a relatively easy I had more experiences hearing about winter um WEA not holding up so you couldn't Snowshoe and you had to just go out and Hike versus having to cancel something because it was too snowy but um yeah whoever is contracted to run the program is the one that makes the call thank you and Terry I put your last um your last uh page up for your presentation to add your contact information if anyone wants to added to the to the contact list but if anyone does if uh since no one else has any other questions uh Terry I just wanted to thank you for your time uh with this presentation hope hopefully um a lot of people now know about all the different programs that the uh universal access program does have and they can uh also contact you I'll go right to the dcr's website uh absolutely yes please contact me if you have any questions or or you're interested in registering for something and I can direct you or if it's skating I may be able to even register you right thank you very much Ralph but I appreciate it thank you so much thank you so much for your time bye bye now thank you okay um Jason's been having been trying noticed him trying to communicate with them he's having trouble trying to get in um I don't know he couldn't find the email but it's the same email and I resend it on Tuesday morning so I don't know um what the issue that he's having uh trying um but I'm going to go on to item number three is which is updates and next steps from our October 8th U meeting I'm trying to see if um what it is is any updates from Paul and Marie regarding the calendar for future monthly guest speakers and I'll open it up to uh both of you for for any updates on that no updates on my end um no one in the pipeline yet I hear you on that um okay I did not hear back from the r fire department however I have reached out to an organization called partners for youth with disabilities and they target that adolescent going into the early 20s Etc and they've got a number of different programs so I've contacted them and I'm waiting for one of their um resource people to reach back out and hopefully I can get them in for our December meeting it sounds like it's almost I I've seen some work that they've done but they do like a conglomerate they have um an arts program where it's not just like painting Arts it's art um poetry and um mini plays and things like that so Performing Arts as well as um some sports type things music type things so it's kind of an allinclusive um and I thought that maybe you know seeing as you know we've had um the Federation in here to Target the kids in the school system you know preschool and school age that maybe we need to try reaching out to that next G general population of that once they've aged out of the school system what happens then so I'm waiting to hear back hopefully I'll have some good news for our December meeting okay appreciate it okay um item number four uh is as a continuation there a discussion regarding the Community Music Center of the Boston proposal as a commissioner we always seek programs we can Implement and R to benefit children and young adults with disabilities I know um Amar you had emailed me some information um that we were going to uh possibly discuss um at our meeting here so I didn't know if you you wanted to take take that on now or if you wanted me to pull up that information um since I know you got most of the questions answered sure if you could pull up the information that would be great me just give me a second I know we haven't had a chance to discuss it but I I don't know if it's [Music] possible for okay let me try and share my screen just give it a second to pop up onto is there everyone able to see this yes yes so this is um Emory had reached out um so I'll let you talk about it Emory since I popped it out sure so um to bring it to the community there are two different options that they offer um one is a workshop for caretakers um family members caregivers to give them knowledge of how to support um developmental Milestones with music and the second option is for the actual classes um for the children so I think that um it looks like Rachel gave us a breakdown for the classes but I don't think that she gave us a cost for the workshops um she mentioned that would be one or two um that they would do like per group per family so I think I don't know if it's feasible but in my opinion I think if it's possible it would be better to do both um a workshop and the classes just so the family members could have support um and knowledge of what of what's actually happening um in the classes and after how to implement it at home um you know to carry on with the therapy um so I don't know Ralph do we have a location that we could well what yeah that's what I was going to talk about after um that I would what what what my feelings are is if we were to implement a program such as this I would want to partner with the Rivera Recreation Center um and possibly see about bringing um this type of a program into the gothi community center uh the George V Cola Community Center which is house in the Garfield School um to be able to bring this type of a program into there um because I also on my um on my uh commission member late items I'm going to talk about something else in conjunction with this but that's what I want to discuss with this commission is um that is my um my thoughts on doing something like this is we would try and partner uh with the um Riv Parks and Recreation Center um we would help fund we would fund this through the commission on disabilities um because it is a it is a program for for for for children uh Young young adults with disabilities we can be able to use the funds that we collect for the handicap uh handicap funds that we collect because we are uh are able to collect this through um chapter 40 uh section 22g um so we do receive those funds and they're allocated to the commission of disabilities to use for programs such as that um for as long as they're being used for people with disabilities in our community or for uh any type of um infrastructure work that um benefits people with disabilities um so that is my my thoughts on that so I wanted to see what the commission felt on on that of course we would probably have a a a minimal fee for the families um to to help en curse some of the costs but majority of the costs would be would be handled from the commission on the abilities to pay for it I think my only thought also is Rachel mentioned that they like to cap it out at around 15 per class so I mean would we do a first come first serve Bas would we yeah it would be a first come first serve this is the type of program that I would want to run um I would probably want to run it you know not just on a one-time basis is something that I probably want to run seasonal um or more than one one more than one time a year what I'm saying one time I'm meeting the full entire session uh as many weeks for the entire program um so they're basically in this proposal she was saying how many weeks it would be per per program if the work workshop the work if it was either a workshop or um oh the weekly programming price so that's something that I need to get more clarification for for each session how many how many weeks do they think the session should be I I don't know the answer to that but I will find out yeah because I don't know if it's be like an eight-week session a seven week session but we would want to probably do you know complete sessions but do multiple complete sessions um this way we could be able to enroll uh numerous numerous people into this type of a program uh and it all depends on um the amount of participation that we have along with the availability of space in the space in the location that I that I'm that I'm thinking that we could possibly use um and I believe the this we did get some answers at the space requirement that they would come to rever but I don't think there's um any spe specifications on what the what the space needs to be uh requirements and whatnot I'm assuming it just needs to be a l a large enough room to house 15 participants um probably like classroom size or or something like that yes and the only only thing she mentioned was um that there be one adult I think per class just one other adult in the class other than themselves right that's why I'm looking at Hope possibly partnering with the re Center but like I said they there would be no cost involved with the the PO Parx and Recreation Center um except for um one of their one of their staff that's hopefully at the Garfield School at the same time um to be able to do this but if we would have to um find some other means to do that then we would have to explore that um anyone else have any other input on this of course I'm going to be relying on amarie to and and Pauline to help facilitate this if we are to move forward on it sure I had a thought and it just fleed I don't remember I'm sorry um when they said 15 participants so because I'm I'm looking at this say seeing that like the first part of it where it's the workshop for the caretakers so would that just be one a an adult family member for each of the participants that will be coming to the actual class I believe so yes I believe so all right I was just getting confused when you said one other adult and I'm thinking wait a minute how does that how's that that was my thought it just came that would be for the that would be the the actual class with the young adults and the children right okay so the workshop is just for the parents and caretakers whereas the other one is for the children themselves so the workshop is just to to to teach the parents and caregivers on ideas and ways to to do this okay I was just concerned that I want to I'm not I'm not saying it is I'm just out to Maria if that's what her impression of it was yes I guess it's more so so once all of these classes are finished how do you then Implement that at home to continue you know to help with the therapy and implement it at home right okay that that makes a whole lot more sense I was just concerned that you're going to get a parent in there for that initial one and then you know are they going to be faced with being so over welmed are they going to you know then back out of it what do you do about you know you don't want to start off with having like everything all set and then having parents back out or caregivers back out because of the commitment to it because it is a commitment after you know that however many weeks that each program is right so that that's all I'm thinking of is that how do you let's look at retention how do you retain people you know is there another way that this this group could also support those parents in learning those techniques and and bridging that going from you know a community group into their home that would be my whole thought process yeah and one thing what we do is when we if we do implement this program once we would start it would be that specific that specific amount of children and parents would stay in that group we wouldn't be able to add people once that once that session started right so until we until we either did it again or there was a new session okay got it because what is is is my is my thought process on on on creating a program such as this well that would be wrong yeah I may be wrong um because I haven't had um a one-on-one with them is and I know amarie has done a lot of work on this so I may be misspeaking speaking out a term I think also the workshop isn't just solely you know for implementation at home it's also to educate the parents on the benefits of what the classes will be what the the children will be receiving um just just more of an educational tool for the parents to understand what these classes are going to be um and like anything else if they choose to implement it at home it's up to them but at least they'll have the skills and the tools to do so if they decide that that's something that they'd like to do am I correct by saying that it's more beneficial that if we run the workshop program first before we implement the student uh portion of it I was just think yeah I was just thinking that and interested in hearing feedback on what everybody else thinks um but I I would think that would be the best way to do it but I'm not sure yeah but the thing it is this way the parents can see uh if we can get parents to come and and and take part in the workshops um so that they can find out more about it and then they would decide if they also want you know something that they want to possibly do at home uh but also put their put their child um or young adults into the program for the next portion of it um and see how that goes and at the same time they'd be able to they would be able to take what they would learn at the workshop so continue that at home while their while their child or young adult is going to be attending the program right I would think yeah yeah okay all right I just want to make sure I'm on the same page as everyone all right so that that's my ideas on that anyone else W to add anything to that or um like I said I unfortunately I myself um don't have the time to um to be to be uh trying to uh follow through on getting all this information from them and I like I'm going to need to rely on Pauline and amarie if if that is okay with you um to do that both of you to do that or oh absolutely I just don't want to put I don't want to put anything on you that you you you you can't do or don't have the time to do no not at all I'm happy to and you can always send me a list of questions that you need answered or you know when I'm I'm happy to do that okay an Marie whichever way I can so I'm I'm good thank you Pauline all I have to say is I appreciate you guys putting that time and effort okay yeah so and like I said that's I'm gonna I'm gonna just we'll leave this open as an open item on the agenda um to keep going and I'm going to let you and try implementing this um what the next steps would be and uh once we can figure out uh on how to do this and then we would have to we would have to do an Outreach campaign to see if um if there is a a um a want in need from people to want to have this program and then you know I can have I've had a preliminary discussion uh with the rec center about this uh and when we move down to um late items I will be able to um to uh talk more about on that does anyone else have any other questions about this um I'm gonna stop sharing my screen unless anyone else wants to wanted to see anything else on this me stop sharing that very exciting hi Jason glad you were able to get in um no this is very exciting if we could try and start something like this uh it would be very beneficial to to this the the children and young adults and their families um so um something that I've been wanting to try I did run a program years ago through the rec center it was a small it was on a smaller scale I believe it was eight or 10 week um app program uh that uh miss Sally uh helped me with out of the rec center at night um but of course the the issue always is is retention um keeping the parents and the children engaged uh to want to keep attending so hopefully something like this will be beneficial to both and they'll want to be staying engaged in it um item number five was the Cota Commission on disabilities Alliance um as I mentioned there was no no meeting uh so there's nothing to report and the next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday December 4th via Zoom um item number six is the commission members late items and information and like I mentioned there was one uh one item well actually two but one item that I wanted to mention uh that goes um hand inand with the uh music program I was in in discussions with the um Rivier pox and Rec Center uh they're looking to implement an app program for um young adults uh teenagers and young adults uh with disabilities and um they they uh were looking to do something that was supposed to start I believe this fall um but because of some um some staff changes and turnovers uh it never it never was established came came to to fruition uh so now they're revisiting it and uh I had some discussions with them um that you know the commission of disabilities is has been always looking to implement some programs and this is something that we would be happy to partner with on on the financial aspect of it uh because since it is uh for young adults uh and teenagers uh with disabilities we will be able to fund a program like that um the rec center of course would be running it uh but the commission but in partnership with the commission of disabilities we would be able to to pay for this and this is something that they would be running out of the community center so I've had preliminary talks um with h Jen Dugen um in that has um been talking to behalf of uh the director Michael HOSA uh and gave them some ideas uh about that and they were G to uh go back and try and figure logistically figure a few things out and get back to me um so at that time that's when I had mentioned the music program um that is something that I would want to also partner with them and try doing that we're in the process of getting some more information on so I'm hoping that art program is something else that we can be a part of and help so I wanted to see what the commission thought also on that I think it's a great idea I think the more programs we can get the better yeah because as I mentioned as I mentioned to the box and rec center we don't have the bandwidth to do the programs ourself we do have um some Financial flexibility in order to help pay for or pay for programs like this um and the rec center does have the flexibility for being within locations but they don't have the financial means to do it so that's why it would be a great partnership with us because uh we' be able to help Implement uh programs tailoring uh to children and young adults with disabilities do they exuse me do they have anybody in mind that would be teaching I don't yeah they they do yeah I believe I believe so I believe they do and they have a cost for it and they have all that yeah so it's just logistically trying to put everything together um and do that um and you know what the cost associated with it would be there'll be of course there'll be there'll still be a minimal cost for the participants but the majority of the cost uh would be um would be hopefully will be able to be uh sustained by the commission on disability got it the um so hopefully is if anybody have any questions on that or any comments about about that or the the the other then there's also other things that I I have a whole gamut in my head that I'd love to see I'd love to see us be able to then if this all takes off you know I know this is not something that would happen overnight but possibly bring in some Partners out there to bring in um some sports programs for people with disabilities outside vendors to come in that we' be able to add those programs as part of the the rec center such as um wheelchair basketball for people with disabilities uh or uh uh on all abilities all abilities soccer or or things of that nature indoor soccer um with the Garfield so there's a bunch of different things that you know I want to have further discussions with the uh with the with the rec center on for trying to implement some of that type of programming a good idea yeah because I know it's usually not that much stuff for people with abilities so these activities more be good to get people engaged and involved yeah and this is all this is all type of program that you know we should be able to fund not only programs but as I mentioned before projects uh such as access accessibility um and structural uh Pro uh projects that the commission is going to when we can try and help fund um leaning into that the I know the um Council chamber uh has had discussions past and discussions with me to help them look at where they could find um an accessible um Podium for the council chambers um because right now a lot of you know when you go to the council chambers is the podium is just a standalone it's not accessible for everyone um soou years ago before I had funding um they looked at it but it was it was very expensive um and the city didn't have uh funds allocated for it um but I I had recently contacted um um appropriate people and let them know that if they you know got the found out the exact cost and uh went through the process that the commission on disabilities uh could possibly in would pay for that accessible Podium for the council chambers and that could be paid for through the funding that we received through um chapter 40 section 22g uh since that we benefit people with uh with uh disabilities going to the council meeting going to Council meetings or any other meetings in the council chambers um so this this we're trying to do as much as we can um and we're always uh we're always welcome to suggestions um and ideas um I was hoping and I'm not positive I'm not sure but I don't believe the accessible signs have still been put up in City Hall I'm not sure because I'm not there so I'm not sure if that so um hopefully if it hasn't been done is uh soon to be done um but there's a there's a lot that that needs to be done and hopefully will be done um because we are we are a community that really looks out for um people of all abilities and uh try and make this a lot friendlier uh Community for all um no no there any comments or questions concerns about that or everybody's quiet tonight no I'm I'm thinking um are there companies that build the podiums they they're right yeah yeah it's pre it's already it's a pre-made it's pre-made podiums pre-made yeah yep who knew I mean I didn't know I never there's all different types there's electric ones there's different there's all different types they R they can range anywhere from $6,000 to $20,000 depending upon the bells and whistles really yes huh good electric on so they can go up and down for uh for wheelchair accessibility and all different types of accessibility uh needs nice I've learned something tonight I love it um does anyone any other members have any late items or information that they'd like to include since we are on item oh well I guess the only thing I would say unfortunately you know and I hate to say it I'm going to remind everybody don't forget 2000 you know 2000's election when all that stuff was removed about IEPs and other educational items that are please go to you know the FED websites pull it up save it because you may not be able to find it going next year just put it out there for importance for those that might need it for their children because that can be very difficult um anyone else just a reminder note of Interest now that the time change has occurred and it's getting dark very early just keep an extra heads up if you are whether you're in a car on a bike walking um in a Mobility Aid whatever Crossing down on the beach it has become especially with the construction vehicles that are here and they're still here when it starts getting very very dark um the visibility down there is horrible again there's nothing lit other than the regular street lights but again I'd like to at some point see if we can somehow get a letter to I know it's not rever jurisdiction but maybe get a letter together and I will be happy to draft one about installing the flashing pedestrian um signs down on the crosswalks down on the beach because I've nearly been hit I've almost hit someone and I would hate to see anybody get put in that position where they become you know in any matter shape or form involved in an accident it's just a terrific there if you if you could draft a letter we could send that to our state delegation um representative um representative turo um yeah and then once the letter is drafted we can bring it up at we can bring it to our at our next meeting so that we can all um review it and then we can make a motion to send that to the delegation and we can sign it as a commission thank you okay just remind me when it's done to add that to an agenda item when it's done for whenever our next meeting is when I send out to everyone if you want to add something to the agenda great uh anyone else have anything they'd like to add um item number eight oh actually item number seven U Rance concerns issues there were none but I I just want to um review um for for the public the the process for anyone applying for handicap sign there is a process this is an application process for anyone in this criteria for anyone wanting to apply for handicap sign in front of their um please feel free to to visit the the commission on disabilities web page there is a need to know and what to do before you apply for a handicap sign then there's also uh a driver only application if you are the driver of the registered vehicle at that address applying for handicap sign or there is a passenger only if you are the resident at the home but the handicap sign application is for someone else in your home that you live with such as a child a parent or a spouse so that one would be the passenger only application and then there's also the medical application that has to be filled up by your doctor once that information is filled out that all gets sent into the commission of disabilities Along by by mail along with a copy of your driver's license a copy of your placard which you must have before you can even apply uh for a handicap sign and a copy of your vehicle registration if if none of that is submitted then we cannot even move on to the next step of the process which would be once that is received it all will then get sent to the traffic commission so that at their next scheduled monthly meeting they can ask to have a public hearing at their following month meeting um and I then send all the information that I received to them for that public hearing along with photos of your address uh letting them know if it does meet the criteria that is stated in the need to know that you receive such as not having an AC handicap accessible driveway uh the resident filled out all the paperwork uh and parking is allowed in front of your residents um and there is in this and there are no meters and so forth and so on um the traffic commission is the sole entity that makes the decision to Grant or deny a handy cap sign application it is not the commission on disabilities we are just a facilitator making sure that all the correct documentation eyes a dotted te's across and then get then submit it to the traffic commission um I know there's been some issues um and I've been receiving some phone calls from people that I sent in my application and there's still no sign at my house and I've you know we try and call the people and let them know what we're waiting for um sometimes there is language barriers that I I use um I use different uh employees from the city that speak their language to call and also leave them messages or speak to them so we try and do our best to uh get all the information for people because we do not want them to uh not have all the proper information in forms filled out in order to obtain a handicap sign um because we don't want them to wait any longer than possible and we want to uh have this process done correctly and as efficiently and as fast as possible um so I just thank you for thank you to the commission for allowing me to uh reiterate that and state that to everyone um I just wanted to get that out but like I said everything is under the commission and disabilities page under the city r on how to to apply for a commission for a handicap parking sign and what you need to know and what needs to be submitted um item number eight is next steps what we have for next steps is uh basically a carryover from item number three is that if we have any future monthly guests for the calendar and also um uh item number four is more information for the Community Music Center um which am and Pauline will be working on both item number three and number four as next steps for our next meeting and also um we'll keep it as a Next Step um for Pauline to uh is going to be working on drafting a letter to our state delegation so that we could uh bring it up at our next meeting uh regarding uh hopefully the installation and suggest the suggestion to install um flashing crosswalk signs on the boulevard did I think I I said everything that needed to be said you did it okay um item number nine um is our monthly reminder Pauline do you mind reading that I would love to not everybody has to keep hearing my thank you the commission on disabilities office number is 781 286 8267 residents can also call rever 311 directly and speak to their staff Monday through Friday they will answer most questions but if they cannot or if you want to talk directly to our department ask to be transferred to the disability office please leave a detailed message and someone will get back to you soon as always don't hesitate to contact us if you want some something discussed or added to our monthly meeting agenda you can also let us know if you want to speak about any issue or concern the commission is here to help and assist all of the disabled residents and families of rier and just to add the state's disability office the disability office is a virtual office I neglect to mention that all the time so it is a virtual office um so that's why we we ask you to leave us a detailed message and we will get back to you soon as we can um before I ask for a motion to adjourn uh our next meeting via Zoom will be on Tuesday December 12th uh 2024 at 6m um should I have a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn Second Jason all in favor say I all say no motion accepted motion I all right just want to take this time since we will not be meeting until after the Thanksgiving holiday to wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving um and uh as always I appreciate uh I appreciate the Cod members you all work hard and uh we we're a team here and without without all of you we would not get a lot of the work done that we need to get done um to help the the people of our community so thank you pleasure have a night everyone