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Mayor’s
Disability Council
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Minutes
of
the regular meeting of the
Mayor’s Disability Council
held
on Friday, 19 February 1999
City Hall, Room 400
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Members present:
Sergio Alunan, Vincent Behan, Edward Evans, Michael Kwok, August Longo (left
early), Susan Mizner, Walter Park (Chair), Damien Pickering, Grace Regan (Co-Chair)
Excused absent: Viola
Jackson, Frank Marone.
STAFF:
Steve Nelson, Director,
Department of Administrative Services
Richard Skaff, Disability Access Coordinator, Department of Public Works
Jose Caedo, Deputy Citywide Disability Coordinator
Kofo Domingo, Special Assistant, Administrative Services
The meeting was called to
order at 1:00 p.m. by Chair Walter Park. Request was made to modify the agenda
by adding a discussion on telecommunication issues to the agenda. The agenda
was approved as amended.
Council Member Damien Pickering
raised his concerns over the inaccessibility of the newly installed communication
panel used by Commissioners, Councilors, and member of the Board of Supervisors
at meetings in City Hall, including this Council and this meeting. The `touch
screen’ panels are not usable by individuals who are blind or otherwise visually
impaired. In order to be usable, they will need some kind of auditory feedback
for various screen functions like signing in, voting, requesting to speak, etc.
He inquired about what is being done to make the panels accessible.
Director Nelson informed
the Council that the City Hall project team are aware of these deficiencies,
and have a working group on dealing with the telecomm issues. He asked that
members of the Mayor’s Disability Council provide some input to that working
group.
Approval of Minutes.
Council member Susan Mizner
had some amendments to the January 19, 1999 minutes. She asked that in the area
where the PacBell Park was discussed, it reads "it was suggested by the
MDC that the City Attorney’s office be involved." that paragraph should
be changed to say "the MDC asked Mr. Imperiale to speak with and get support
from the City Attorney’s office on all the issues, especially the issue on real-time
captioning." The second correction to the minutes was on page 4, where
the MDC specifically asked Mr. Imperiale to provide the MDC with the list of
the ADA coordinators who attended the training session.
Council Member Grace Regan
had some corrections to the January 19, 1999 minutes. During her discussion
on the lack of programmatic access at City Hall, Mr. Paul Imperiale, the City
Wide Disability Coordinator, informed her that those issues would have to be
taken up with his successor. She believed that meant his resignation from his
present position. She wanted the minutes to reflect that Mr. Imperiale was agitated,
and that he informed the Mayor’s Disability Council that issues of this nature
should be taken up with his successor.
Chair Park proposed the
Council accept the minutes as amended, if there was no further objection. They
were approved.
Public Comments.
Bruce Allison of the Service
Employees Union International (SEIU) Local 250, asked for the Council’s support
on a proposal to the Mayor that will increase In-home Supportive Services (IHSS)
workers’ wages to $9.00/hr, and include a dental plan in their benefits package.
Mitch Jessridge from the
California Foundation for Independent Living, spoke on the creation of a new
project with grassroots empowerment teams. This project will advocate for disabled
persons and their issues. There are currently twenty such teams throughout California,
and the San Francisco based team is setting up through the Independent Living
Resource Center, where he can be contacted (543-6222).
Karen Young-Simmons, President
of Consumers in Action for Personal Assistance (CIAPA), spoke on the need for
more disabled persons to serve on the Laguna Honda Hospital planning committee.
She reported briefly on the committee’s first meeting. A letter requesting a
change in meeting times had been sent to City Attorney Louise Renee and Dr.
Michael Katz. Chair Walter Park suggested that a vote be taken at the next meeting
to recommend that more disabled consumers be added to the committee.
Bruce Oka spoke on the lack
of grab bars in the restroom on the Fourth floor in room 417, rendering it unusable
by persons with disabilities. Richard Skaff, Disability Access Coordinator,
responded that this issue was part of a number of items still remaining on the
City Hall contractor’s lists. He apologized for the inconvenience, and will
see if the accessibility portions of the punch list can be expedited.
Council member Ed Evans
inquired about the possibility of increasing the staff in the DPW Sidewalk Inspection
unit. The city has a large number of badly deteriorated sidewalks especially
in the Tenderloin and Chinatown. Richard Skaff reported that there were six
new sidewalk inspectors recently hired under the Bureau of Street Use and Mapping,
to do this work.
Chair’s Report.
Council Chair Walter Park,
reported that the inaccessible Castro Street Kiosk was finally removed from
service. There are now discussions with other kiosk vendors with the hope of
attaining a new information transaction machines (ITM) that will be accessible
to all including people who are blind or have low vision. Chair Walter Park
also presented a draft statement on the Accessible Telecommunications and Information
Service policy to the Council. Copy of draft attached.
On the issue of the creation
of the Mayor’s Office on Disability, Chair Park Walter informed the Council
that this office would centralize some of the functions currently performed
by staff in various departments throughout the city. The new office will also
allow sufficient capacity within City government to implement ADA policies.
The office will act pro-actively to ensure that facilities and programs will
be made accessible before they are built or implemented. The Mayor released
a statement to the press, Chair Park read the statement to the Council:
"Mayor Brown announced
today the formation of a Mayor’s Office on Disability, to improve the City’s
ability to implement the Federal and State Disability laws in a pro-active manner.
The office will provide services both to the public and to other City agencies.
It will provide assistance and complaint resolution services to citizens regarding
disability issues, and will work with City Departments to examine accessibility
of their services, to recommend improvements and review proposed projects. Additionally,
the office will oversee the implementation of the recommendations presented
in the City’s ADA Self-evaluation and transition plans which is under way. The
office will provide supporting information for the Disability Council, a newly
established working group of City Department officials, and a series of ADA
coordinators in each City Department. Through this network, the City will not
only ensure that it is a national leader in ADA policy, but in implementation
as well. The office will be established and begin work immediately. the office
will consolidate resources currently fragmented throughout the city, and will
be formally established in the coming budget. New resources will be allocated
as necessary for goals that the Mayor has endorsed."
Chair Park gave the Council
an overview on the positions created by this office, and reminded the Council
that there is a commitment from the Mayor’s Office about staffing and funding
for this office.
Report from the Telecommunications
Committee.
Council member Damien Pickering
submitted a draft copy of a resolution to the Council. He was excited that San
Francisco served as the base for the pilot project for infra-red signage technology
pioneered by the Talking Sign company. After giving a brief operational description
of the system, he asked that the draft resolution be read out to the Council.
Jose Caedo, Disability Coordinator,
informed the Council that in September or October 1998, a report making similar
recommendations was submitted to the City Wide Disability Coordinator for the
creation of statutorily or administratively policy. A memorandum has also been
sent to the City Hall Building Manager recommending training to the docents
and information personnel, on the use of the Talking Sign receivers for visually
impaired persons.
Josh Schmeeley, a member
of the Berkley Commission on Disability, informed the Council that he had the
pleasure of using the City Hall Personal Talking Sign receiver with the assistance
of the information desk personnel. He said that blind people are at an inherent
disadvantage in society. All sorts of accessibility and employment goals can
be worked on, but until equal access to information can be achieved for the
Blind, they will remain at a disadvantage. He stated that the City of Berkley
had adopted a comprehensive accessible signage plan, copies of which he will
share with the MDC and staff.
Council member Grace Regan
requested that any printed materials handed out to the MDC also be in large
print format 18 points to accommodate those that are visually impaired.
Council member Damien Pickering
asked for input into the final draft of this resolution.
Chair Walter Park noted
that the telecast of this meeting was part of programmatic accessibility for
disabled persons who may now be able to view the proceedings from their homes.
He thanked the Citywatch staff for their efforts in making this possible.
Council member Ed Evans
inquired when the telecast of the meeting would be closed captioned to assist
the hearing impaired audience.
Transportation Committee.
Chairperson Grace Regan
inquired if any representatives from the Department of Parking and Traffic were
present. There were no representatives from the Department of Parking &
Traffic at this meeting.
Council member Sergio Alunan
gave an overview of the MDC Transportation committee: The purpose of the committee
will be to advise and advocate on the views of disabled persons regarding transportation,
paratransit, and other transportation matters.
Nancy Whelan, Chief Financial
Officer and Acting General Manager for MUNI, gave an overview of the current
MUNI programs for persons with disabilities. These programs included the Paratransit
Taxi services, working with the Mayor’s Taxi Task Force on improving this service,
and adding a pre-scheduled van service during prescribed hours to supplement
the on-call taxi services. Expansion of the ramped taxi program was also under
way with the addition of more units to the system. A debit card program was
also being established to make the system easier to use and monitor, and the
ADA Paratransit eligibility process was also being improved to ensure that all
eligible persons are being accepted into the program. She outlined some of these
improvements.
Co-Chair Grace Regan stated
her dissatisfaction with MUNI, especially the length of time it took them to
react to needed services. Specifically, she referred to the need for non-English
information services. She had spoken to the Paratransit Broker for years on
the need for non-English information services, and improvements on service quality
from staff, but only now is MUNI considering implementing improvements. Chairperson
Grace Regan also stated her concerns over the lack of control and supervision
over the Taxi companies and their involvement with Paratransit services.
Ms. Whelan responded that
the Paratransit Broker already had multi-lingual staff, the new contract will
make it a formal requirement. She added that MUNI had worked with numerous organizations
and agencies on ADA services. Public’s input into the process was generated
through the Paratransit Coordinating Council.
Rosemary Dady, staff Attorney
at the San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance foundation, (SFNLAF) gave
an overview of the services that SFNLAF provided. This foundation has accepted
many cases of clients denied paratransit services. One of the primary concerns
at SNLAF was the possibility of disabled persons becoming homebound due to the
denial of paratransit services. SNLAF disagreed with the standard which MUNI
and the paratransit broker applied on the ADA paratransit eligibility process
because the standards used, were higher than those required by ADA. There were
similar concerns over language access, and the appeals process. Ms. Dady added
that concessions had been made by MUNI, but most issues are still far from being
resolved.
Nancy Whelan responded saying
that MUNI was studying the further clarification of the definition of the standards
for Paratransit eligibility for the consumers, and moreover, their documents
were being produced in collaboration with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
and other transit agencies throughout the region. This allows for consistency
within regional policies and MUNI is working hard to try and come up with solutions.
Council member Ed Evans
stated his concerns about the long waiting period for taxis. He suggested controls
to ensure that the ramped taxi drivers picked up disabled persons. He also raised
concerns about the inability of disabled persons to travel inter-county due
to the agreements with transportation agencies.
Nancy Whelan responded saying
that while MUNI desired to provide as many seamless inter-county trips as possible,
she believed that there were some constraints related to equipment availability.
MUNI also worked with the Mayor’s Taxi Task Force largely on advocating for
measures that would improve taxi waiting time, which was a citywide issue not
only a paratransit issue. Working with the cab operators, a five point service
criteria was developed, along with incentives or disincentives for the operators.
Chair Walter Park asked
that this issue be continued to a meeting between the members of the MDC Transportation
Committee and MUNI staff. Nancy Whelan assured the MDC that she would be pleased
to participate directly in further discussions.
Bruce Oka, Chair of the
PCC, invited Ms. Dady to attend the PCC meetings and bring her issues to the
PCC level.
Chairperson Grace Regan
and several Council members agreed that there was a lot of improvement required
with the present Paratransit service.
Charlie Sciammus of MUNI
Accessible Services, informed the Council that MUNI concurs with the comments
that have been made at this meeting, there are areas for improvement, but in
general, the program has been very well thought out and involves a lot of participation
from the PCC and other stakeholders throughout the region. The program has been
successful because of this participation and willingness of MUNI to cooperate
and accept input from the public and other agencies.
Pi Ra of the paratransit
broker’s office, stated that his office moved to a new location over three years
ago, and requests for curb cuts had been made to DPW by both MUNI and their
office, including a request for a white zone. Richard Skaff responded that in
response to a complaint about this matter, he and DPW staff personally undertook
a site review and found that curb ramps were required. Staff was later informed
by someone on the paratransit office staff that no curb ramps were needed since
the office was moving again soon.
Council member Vince Behan
asked that the minutes to this meeting reflect the fact that representatives
from the Department of Parking and Traffic failed to appear. Chair Walter Park
informed the Council that they would be invited to the next Council meeting.
The meeting was adjourned
at 3:39 p.m.