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Mayor’s
Disability Council
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D
R A F T
Mayor’s
Disability Council
Minutes
15
September 2000
|
Willie
L. Brown, Jr.
Mayor
Sergio
Alunan
Frank Marone
Co-Chairs
Vincent
Behan
Claudia Center
Ed Evans
Viola Jackson
Michael Kwok
August Longo
Damien Pickering
Grayce Regan
Walter
Park
Council
Secretary
|
1 ROLL CALL.
Mayor’s Disability Council
Members Present: Sergio Alunan, Vincent Behan, Ed Evans, Michael Kwok, Frank
Marone, Damien Pickering, Grayce Regan
Absent: Claudia Center,
Viola Jackson, and August Longo
Mayor’s Office on Disability
Staff: Richard Skaff, Susan Mizner, Carolyn Snipes, Jada Jackson.
Co-Chairs, Frank Marone
and Sergio Alunan, called the meeting to order at 1:03 p.m.
2 APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA.
Ed Evans proposed adding
Item #3A for a moment of silence in memory of Kay Yammato and Gladys Henderson,
which was approved. The agenda was approved as amended.
3 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
The minutes were approved.
3A MOMENT of SILENCE.
A moment of silence was
observed in memory of Ms. Kay Yammamoto and Ms. Gladys Henderson.
4 PUBLIC COMMENT.
· Hank Wilson commented
on the largest live-work development being approved by the Planning Commission
with no provision for low-income affordable housing. Mr. Wilson feels that there
should be a City policy that new housing developments are accessible and inclusionary.
He asked the Council to recommend that the Planning Department make this a part
of public policy for developments in the public and private sector.
· Mary Skyer, staff
of the Independent Living Resource Center, reminded the Council that she recommended
that Jim Brune be appointed to the Mayor’s Disability Council. She is still
awaiting a response.
· Michael Wise, Second
Vice President of the San Francisco Network of Mental Health Clients stated
that his organization has started "Voices at Bay", a newsletter for
mental health clients and would like support from the community.
· Dan Florio of Clients
Rights Advocacy announced that his organization represents and provides advice
to people with developmental disabilities in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo
counties. Mr. Florio wants to become more involved with San Francisco’s disability
community. The address for Clients Right Advocacy is 433 Turk Street and the
agency’s phone number is 567-7237. Their web address is www.pai-ca.org.
· Carol Roland of the
Mayor’s Committee for Employment of Persons with Disabilities, announced the
Fifth Annual Career Fair on October 24th at the Cathedral Hill Hotel.
Prior to the Career Fair, there will be workshops at the San Francisco Career
Link Center on Mission and Cesar Chavez Street from 9:00 - 1:00 on the 18th
of October
· Peggy Coster wanted
to know the status of the Self-Evaluation plan.
Susan Mizner stated that
the Transition plan is moving along while the self-evaluation plan is on hold
until a new contractor is assigned. The deadline for the self-evaluation plan
will be delayed, but finding a new contractor is actively being pursued.
· Gloria Williams asked
for the Mayor’s Disability Council to become involved in helping to get more
accessible housing
· David Hollingshead
of Paralyzed Veterans of America introduced himself and said that he looks forward
to working with the Council.
· Pam Johnson expressed
concern over the lack of accessible housing and emergency shelters that are
accessible to deaf people.
· Alicia Duke was concerned
about having public comment appear as two items.
5 REPORT FROM THE CO-CHAIRS.
Sergio Alunan, Co-chair,
reported:
· The Medicare Assistance
Program is willing to pay for Medicare premiums. To sign up for this benefit
call 1-877-772-7002, TTY number is 1-877-772-7003. Only people who are on Medicare
qualify.
· Mr. Alunan congratulated
Council members Vincent Behan and Michael Kwok for being recipients of the Lifetime
Achievement Award given by the In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority.
· Mr. Alunan briefly
discussed Mayor Willie Brown’s support at the In-Home Supportive Services Conference
"Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way". He also thanked Richard Skaff
for conducting one of the workshops and Susan Mizner for her assistance.
6 REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR.
Susan Mizner and Richard
Skaff reviewed some of the activities of the Mayor’s Office on Disability:
· The IHSS Public Authority
conference was a successful event with Mayor Brown showing his support for independent
living, housing, transportation and in-home support services.
· The Mayor’s Office
on Disability had two international delegations from China and Japan visit that
were very impressed with City Hall.
· Progress is being
made in reviving the Rule 15 Employment Program, which is part of the City’s
employment process for employing persons with disabilities.
· The Mayor’s Office
on Disability participated on a radio show discussion of the 10th
Anniversary of the ADA.
· Richard Skaff introduced
Jack Donohoe, the Program Manager for the Department of Safety Outside Wire
with the Department of Telecommunications and Information Service. Mr. Donohoe’s
program manages public access fire alarm boxes, which are emergency boxes that
allow the public to contact emergency personnel, fire, police and ambulance.
This program has been responsible for lowering the controls so that they are
reachable by people using wheelchairs. The controls are made reachable within
the reach ranges of the Americans with Disabilities Act Guidelines and the California
State Building Code, Title 24.
A demonstration of the
accessibility of the fire alarm box was given, showing the control box being
manipulated by a person using a wheelchair without the need to break the glass.
The control only requires five pounds force, which is the required force for
operating mechanisms
Mr. Skaff .pointed out
that the Mayor’s Office on Disability has a document available showing all
the locations of fire alarm boxes in San Francisco. A sample fire alarm box
will be at the Mayor’s Office on Disability for demonstrations.
· Mr. Skaff discussed
the groundbreaking event for Pioneer Park/Coit Tower Accessibility Project,
which was attended by the Mayor. The Park now has an accessible restroom for
the first time, and the observation tower will be accessible when the project
is completed. The Mayor’s Office on Disability made a substantial grant to pay
for accessibility improvements.
7 COMMITTEE REPORTS.
REPORT FROM THE EMPLOYMENT
COMMITTEE:
Richard Rothman, Chair of
the Employment Committee gave a summary of the activities of the Employment
Committee:
· The Committee is
working to get the City to restart the Rule 15 program which allows members
of the disability community who are certified, access to City employment without
having to take the civil service exam. The goal is to encourage managers to
open positions up to Rule 15. Meetings will be held with City personnel managers
to explain Rule 15 to them.
· At the next Employment
Committee meeting, there will be discussion on the Reasonable Accommodations
Handbook.
· The Employment Committee
meets the third Tuesday of every month in City Hall, Room 421 at 4:00 p.m.
8 NOMINATIONS FOR CO-CHAIR
Frank Marone’s term of office
as Co-Chair will expire in October. Frank Marone, Michael Kwok, and Grayce Reagan
were nominated for this seat. The position of Co-Chair will be voted on by the
Council at the October meeting.
9 911 CENTER STAFF PRESENTATION.
Darnisha Wright is the Executive
Assistant ADA Coordinator for the Emergency Communications Department. Ms. Wright’s
phone number is 558-3803 and TTY number is 558-3302.
Thera Bradshaw, Director
of the Emergency Communications Department gave a brief update of the 911 Center:
· There is a new, secure,
accessible, and earthquake ready 911 Center and Disaster Coordination Center
· Technology advancements
include a 911-telephone system, a call-processing system and a radio communications
system to improve coordination of emergency response throughout San Francisco.
· The new Emergency
Communications Department is working towards consolidation of all 911 operations
bringing fire, Emergency Medical Services and police emergency communications
together in the new facility. The plan is to move the dispatchers from City
Hall to the Emergency Communications Facility.
Jim Brune, Manager of the
DGLC Outreach Program at the Deaf Counseling Advocacy and Referral Agency (DCARA)
discussed the ADA requirements for emergency services for the phone:
· Public Safety Agencies,
which provide emergency telephone service, must provide direct access to people
who use TDD’s or computer modems for telephone communication. These agencies
must ensure that calls from TTY users and other non-voice calls are effectively
served like those that are normal voice calls.
· In the Americans
with Disabilities Act in Title II Section 35162 it states "telephone emergency
services including 911 services shall provide direct access to individuals who
use TDD’s and computer modems". The term direct access means that emergency
telephone services can receive calls directly from TTY’s or computer modems
without the relying on State Telephone Relay Services or third-party services.
· Mr. Brune
discussed the technical details of the answering procedures for answering TTY
calls.
Jim Brune and Mary Skyer
gave a demonstration of a TTY call, using two telephones and TTY’s.
Pat Goodman, Manager of
the San Francisco 911 Center gave a summary of statistical information regarding
911 and non-emergency call volume at the Center:
· In 1999, the Center
received over 800,000 calls for service
· This year, 2000,
approximately 700,000 calls for service have already been received.
· In August of this
year, almost 96,000 calls were fielded for service and half of these were 911
calls.
· It is estimated that
less than 1% of the calls received are TTY calls, approximately two to four
emergency TTY calls come in each month
· The TTY equipment
in the call center is tested on an hourly basis. In May of this year approximately
545 test calls were conducted, 517 test calls in June, and in July 617 test
calls. This is approximately 60,000 test calls per year.
· In addition to these
internal tests, there are periodic community tests.
Pam Katz, Training Manager
for the Emergency Communications Department, discussed dispatcher training:
· The training for
dispatchers who are hired by the City is approximately 310 hours. The entire
training program takes about seven to nine months.
· The goal of training
relative to TTY calls is to provide employees the skills necessary to effectively
respond to these calls.
· Some of the training
topics are information about the ADA and the requirements of the Department,
communications issues, Police and Public Safety Dispatchers learning not to
rush through a phone call, and TTY etiquette.
· It is recommended
that people using TTY’s have them set in the Baudot mode. The ADA for the Emergency
Communications Department requires this mode.
· There are two types
of calls; an announced call and a silent call. In the situation of an announced
call, the dispatcher will hear tones or see a message, which begins the two-way
communication. A silent call is when there are no tones or text displayed. In
this case, the dispatcher will try twice to contact the person, each time announcing
that they are with the 911 San Francisco Emergency Dispatch Center.
· When a call is received
that involves the need for police services, dispatchers make sure that they
type in that this call involved a TTY user so the police officer is aware of
the circumstances.
· There are two services
that are provided via the TTY that will be active after the move to the new
Dispatch Center. Voice carryover (VCO) is provided for callers who can speak
but cannot hear. The caller who is deaf or has a hearing loss can speak directly
to the call taker and then read the responses from the call taker. Hearing carryover
(HCO) is provided for callers who can hear but cannot speak. HCO allows for
a caller to type the words using their TTY and hear the spoken responses through
the hand set.
· Most TTY machines
are sold with an automated help message when 911 is dialed. Although this may
not be the intent of the caller until additional information is received the
911 Center believes that it is an emergency call.
Ed Evans asked if there
had been approval for a governmental information number for non-emergencies.
Thera Bradshaw announced
that the Legislature recently approved 311 as the statewide system to access
local government. This number is currently being used experimentally in some
areas including San Jose.
Mr. Evans wanted to know
if an Advisory Council would be set up through the Emergency Communications
Department.
Ms. Bradshaw pointed out
that there is already an established group known as the TTY user group, which
has been meeting. The goal is to formalize and expand this group. In addition,
911 Community meetings are held the first Monday of each month to discuss any
issues that the public would like to address.
Mr. Evans asked about calling
911 from a cell phone.
Ms. Bradshaw pointed out
that when you dial 911 from your cell phone it calls the Highway Patrol who
will then forward your call. A way to avoid calling the Highway Patrol is to
call 553-8090. This number routes you to an Emergency Dispatcher in San Francisco.
This is an anonymous line, so you will need to identify yourself and your location.
Damian Pickering wanted
to know how telebraille come show on the screen and if the Dispatcher can recognize
if a person is deaf-blind. Mr. Pickering asked how is the issue of communicating
with a person who is deaf-blind handled in the training of the dispatchers.
Pam Duke said that telebraille
comes across the screen in alphabets and in her experience as a call taker the
caller usually tells her if they are deaf-blind.
Michael Kwok wanted to know
if the training materials contained information on handling calls involving
a deaf-blind person and how does the 911 Center conduct outreach or advertise
to the general public.
In the past, public service
notices were distributed and news stations were invited to visit and do a story
on the services provided by the 911 Center. Presentations have been done at
the San Francisco Library and are replayed on local television. Over 150 letters
have been sent out to the community encouraging the deaf community to present
their ideas.
PUBLIC COMMENT.
· Ken Arcacia, President
of the Association of Late-Deafened Adults, spoke regarding the need for more
outreach to be done to inform people about having access to services. Mr. Arcacia
also wanted to point out that more focus needs to be on TTY calls whether they
are silent or voice announced, or tones.
· A member of the public
asked about how would 911 dispatchers, who are busy, respond to TTY calls in
a case such as an earthquake.
There is a continuous message
that comes out in TTY tone saying that the operator is busy and to hold. This
is the same message recorded for a hearing call.
· Marti Goddard, Access
Services Manager of the San Francisco Library, recognized Sergeant Mike Sullivan
for his activity in helping to set up the user group for the 911 Center. Ms.
Goddard announced that the library is open to having public trainings and information
meetings.
Staff from the 911 Center
commented that as a part of their community education they intend to increase
their visibility in the community and work on public information campaign that
will address not only the deaf and hard of hearing community but all citizens
of San Francisco.
· Elizabeth Grigsby
was concerned about the possibility of being placed on hold when calling 911
and wanted to know how long the typical wait was.
Under normal circumstances,
the wait is usually four seconds. This wait time can increase if the call volume
is high. Calls are answered in the order they are received. The wait is usually
on the non-emergency line. If a person does hang up, there is a record of that
call and a call taker will call you back. If the call taker is unable to reach
the caller, an officer will be sent out to investigate.
10 DESCRIPTION OF LIBRARY
BOND MEASURE.
Susan Hilldreth, Acting
City Librarian, discussed many points about the Library Bond Program:
· The bond measure
would rehabilitate 19 branch library buildings and construct four new branch
libraries to replace libraries currently housed in leased facilities.
· The bond will also
allow for a new Mission Bay Branch to be built and funding for improvements
to Brooks Hall as a City archive facility.
· Many of the branches
are at a risk of partial or potential collapse during an earthquake and also
9 of the 15 branches do not have accessibility to one or more floors.
· The facilities do
not have the infrastructure to allow access to updated information. Computers
that are updated can provide access to various specialized programs for all
types of programs for the hearing-impaired and vision-impaired community.
· The goal of the libraries
is to increase accessibility and improve public services.
· There will be a timeframe
of at least six to eight years to complete projects.
Jorge Alfaro, Assistant
to the Acting City Librarian gave an overview of the what the Library is doing
to make the programs and buildings accessible to the disability community:
· The Library Capital
Plan intends to correct building code deficiencies with the primary concern
being accessibility.
· There are six branches
that have undergone access improvements - Sunset Park, Chinatown, Presidio,
Mission and Ocean View.
· The intent of these
access improvements is to make the facilities fully physically accessible. The
scope of these improvements include site access from the sidewalk to the building
entrance. Building access which includes making all the lobby entrances and
basic amenities accessible such as restrooms and elevators fully accessible.
· In making the buildings
fully accessible, code requirements from Title 24, the ADA Guidelines, and UFA’s
will be used.
PUBLIC COMMENT.
Due to the interpreters
having to leave at 4:00 p.m., public comment on items not on today’s agenda,
but within the jurisdiction of the Mayor’s Disability Council will be allowed
for those who require the assistance of the interpreters.
Councilmembers discussed
the issue of continuing the meeting without sign language interpreters. It was
agreed that this issue needed to be addressed so future council meetings would
not extend beyond the time that the interpreters would be available.
· Alberto Sghedom voiced
his concern over the elevators being broken that allow access to BART. Mr. Sghedom
also pointed out that many City sidewalks need to be repaired so that people
won’t be ejected from their wheelchairs or damage their equipment.
Richard Skaff pointed out
that BART is not run by the City of San Francisco but by a Board of Directors
from counties around the Bay Area. This board is aware of the concerns regarding
elevator problems at BART. Mr. Skaff recommended that anyone who has concerns
regarding broken sidewalks should call Susan Ferreyra, the ADA/Disability Access
Coordinator for the Department of Public Works at 557-4685.
PUBLIC COMMENT.
· Isie Lieberman wanted
to know if the libraries would provide access for deaf-blind individuals.
· Sergeant Mike Sullivan
discussed his admiration of the Police Department and the Library being able
to work together in a literacy program for kids. Mr. Sullivan would like to
see this type of programmatic access carried out to other branches.
· Elizabeth Grigsby
would like to see easier access to books either by having the shelves lowered
or more assistance from the librarians.
11 DEMONSTRATION OF FIRST
FULLY ACCESSIBLE VOTING MACHINE.
Joseph Tagart, Jr. of ES&S
Elections Systems and Software pointed out that the Easy Access Voting Kiosk
is fully ADA compliant. The kiosk serves as a way to allow a blind, visually
impaired, or a person with motor difficulties to vote using a touch screen.
Mr. Tagart gave a brief demonstration of the kiosk.
Michael Kwok asked if the
kiosk could be used with a phone handset. Mr. Kwok also wanted to know if there
was a feature to control the speed of the voice relaying the information to
the voter.
Mr. Tagart pointed out that
there was a place for the phone handset to plugged into and that the pre-recorded
messages could be recorded by a human voice.
Ed Evans wanted to know
if there was a way to incorporate a Braille pad.
Richard Skaff pointed out
that Trace Research has developed a Braille Machine that can plug into a system
like the voting kiosk.
PUBLIC COMMENT.
· Bob Planthold voiced
his support for the voting machine and the revisions of incorporating other
languages into the voting kiosk.
12 REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA
ITEMS.
13 COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCENENTS.
14 PUBLIC COMMENT.
· Mr. Planthold announced
that the Secretary of State is having a voting registration drive October 2nd.
The event will be from 11:00 to 1:00 p.m. at the State Capitol. For additional
information, call the Voting Registration Project at 397-2588.
15 ADJOURMENT.
The meeting was adjourned
at 4:39 p.m.