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Mayor’s Disability Council
D R A F T Mayor’s Disability Council Minutes 20 October 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, Claudia Center, Ed Evans, Michael Kwok, Damien Pickering, Grayce Regan

Absent: Viola Jackson, August Longo, and Frank Marone

Mayor’s Office on Disability: Walter Park, Director; Richard Skaff, Deputy Director; Susan Mizner, Assistant Director and Jada Jackson, Assistant to the Director.

Co-Chair, Sergio Alunan, called the meeting to order at 1:03 p.m.

2 APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA.

The agenda was approved.

3 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.

The minutes were approved.

4 PUBLIC COMMENT.

· Josephine Shaw of Shaw & Associates discussed her firm assisting the Social Security Administration in educating seniors and persons with disabilities about the Medicare Assistance Program. The Medicare Assistance Program’s toll-free number is 1-877-772-7002 and TTY number is 1-877-772-7003. The Social Security Administration and the Medicare Assistance Program Advisory Board is inviting everyone to attend a celebration and health fair on Friday, October 27^th, from 10:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the West Bay Conference Center, 1290 Fillmore Street in San Francisco.

· Jean Lynch spoke on behalf of Senior Action Network’s (SAN) Pedestrian Safety Committee. Ms. Lynch announced that on November 2^nd there will be a meeting at the SAN office located at 1370 Mission Street. Also, there will be a general meeting at St. Mary’s Cathedral on November 9^th from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon discussing pedestrian safety.

· Gloria Williams discussed the lack of access to local businesses at 2200 Mission Street and 18^th Street. Ms. Williams expressed her concern with the Muni ramps at the 1700 Block of Ocean Avenue as not being safe for a person using a wheelchair because the traffic faces these ramps.

Walter Park informed Ms. Williams that the Building Department enforces the accessibility requirements for private buildings and that the Mayor’s Office on Disability will contact the Building Department and inform them of these issues. The Building Department Disability Access Division’s telephone number is 558-6208. The Mayor’s Office on Disability will also contact Muni regarding the ramps in question. The number for Muni access issues is 923-6142. Mr. Park also pointed out that staff from the Mayor’s Office on Disability had met with Frank Chiu last week. The Mayor’s Office on Disability is working on developing a system for joint review of publicly funded projects.

· Susan Ferreyra, ADA Coordinator for the Department of Public Works, pointed out that she has received some complaints about vehicles parked on the sidewalk in association with car dealerships. The Department of Parking and Traffic is going to begin citing vehicles that are parked on the public sidewalk and are associated with car dealerships. Steve Johnson, the Enforcement Director of the Department of Parking and Traffic, will be communicating with the Department of Parking and Traffic’s ADA Coordinator about the possibility of towing these vehicles.

· Mary Skyer, staff of the Independent Living Resource Center, voiced her concern over the interpreters only being scheduled until 4:00 p.m. Ms. Skyer pointed out that if the Mayor’s Disability Council meetings extend past 4:00 p.m., then people from the deaf and hard of hearing community will not be able to fully participate. Ms. Skyer also wanted to know the status of appointing a representative from the deaf and hard of hearing to the Mayor’s Disability Council.

Walter Park stated that it is rare for the Mayor’s Disability Council meeting’s to extend past 4:00. If the meeting seems as if it will extend past 4:00 p.m. and the interpreters can’t stay, then the Council may wish to continue the meeting at another date or adjourn. Mr. Park stated that the appointment to the Council of a person from the deaf community has been given to the Mayor.

· Howard Mitchell, a disabled veteran, wanted information pertaining to the enforcement of ADA complaints that are employment related for the City and County of San Francisco.

· Robin Krop stated that she lost her rent control housing due to not being able to climb the stairs when the elevator was out of order for a long period of time. Ms. Krop wanted to know her rights in this situation and receive some help and information on finding accessible housing.

· Tatiana Kostanian, Council member of the San Francisco Mental Health Council, would like to become familiarized with people and movements in the disability community.

5 REPORT FROM THE CO-CHAIRS.

No reports from Co-Chairs.

6 REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR.

Walter Park, Director of the Mayor’s Office on Disability discussed this month being the two-year anniversary of the reconstitution of the Mayor’s Disability Council by Mayor Willie Brown and the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Mayor’s Office on Disability. Mr. Park showed a slide presentation providing an overview of the Mayor’s Office on Disability’s mission and programs:

· The mission of the Mayor’s Office on Disability is to assure accessibility to programs, activities, benefits, services and facilities of the City and County of San Francisco to people with disabilities including both residents and visitors.

· The Mayor’s Office on Disability is working to assure that federal and state regulations are implemented in San Francisco.

· Mr. Park is the Citywide ADA Coordinator mandated by the ADA. His phone number is 554-6789.

The Mayor’s Office on Disability provides a link between the public, the Mayor, and City agencies and departments through a variety of programs:

· Public input to the Mayor and City government.

· Public information, outreach and education.

· Architectural accessibility services

¬ Policy and code development

¬ Plan review and project approval

¬ Training

· Programmatic accessibility services

¬ Develop programmatic assessments and reviews

¬ Training

· Work with Departmental ADA Coordinators.

· Response to service requests and ADA complaints.

· Development of new assistive technologies.

· Citywide ADA Transition Plan and other Special Projects.

· An international resource on accessibility.

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 reimplement Rule 115 program (formerly Rule 15), which allows members of the disability community access to City employment.

· On November 20^th, the Department of Human Resources is planning to sponsor a meeting informing City managers about Rule 115.

· The Employment Committee is working on a Reasonable Accommodations handbook.

· The Committee would like the City to hire members from the disability community as summer interns.

· The Employment Committee meets the third Tuesday of every month in City Hall, Room 421 at 4:00 p.m.

REPORT FROM THE PROGRAMMATIC ACCESS COMMITTEE

Damien Pickering, Chair of the Programmatic Committee, gave a summary of the activities of the Programmatic Access Committee:

· The Programmatic Access Committee has been continuing its discussion on the issue of the accessibility of the contract process in the City.

· The Committee has been providing input regarding the roles and responsibilities of the ADA Coordinators in the City.

· The Programmatic Access Committee meets at the Rose Resnick Lighthouse, 214 Van Ness Avenue, on the first Friday of each month at 1:30 p.m.

8 ELECTION FOR CO-CHAIR

Frank Marone, Michael Kwok, and Grayce Reagan were nominated for Co-Chair at the September 15^th Mayor’s Disability Council meeting. Michael Kwok withdrew his name from the nominations. Grayce Reagan was elected the new Co-Chair.

9 FINE ARTS MUSEUM STAFF PRESENTATION.

Tish Brown, the Accessibility Coordinator at the DeYoung Museum, announced:

· The DeYoung Museum will close on December 31^st 2000.

· A new museum will be built on the same site, scheduled to open in 2005.

· During these last days before the museum is demolished, the museum is expected to be crowded, so certain days have been set up for those who would like to avoid the crowds - November 8^th, November 11^th and November 16^th. People who make appointments can enter the museum for free.

· Ms. Brown’s phone number is 750-7645, TTY number is 750-3509, and her e-mail address is [email protected]. Call Ms. Brown to set up special accommodations.

Ed Evans wanted to know if accessibility issues had been considered in the architectural plans for the new building.

Ms. Brown pointed out that there is an exhibit at the De Young Museum that has a lot of images on how the new building will look and is available to everyone for review. The architects for this project have met several times to discuss any issues with this project and the museum does have a consultant on board now.

Mr. Skaff mentioned that the Mayor’s Office on Disability had already done a preliminary review of the plans for the newly designed museum and is expected to do a full review of the final design. Mr. Skaff has asked the museum staff to bring the project design to one of the Mayor’s Disability Council meetings prior to the final decisions on this project.

10 ACCESSIBILITY OF POLICE AND FIRE SERVICES.

Rich Shortall, EMS Chief for the Fire Department, gave an overview of the entire operation of the Fire Department and the services they provide:

· The Fire Department responds to approximately 108,000 emergency requests per year.

· 75,000 of these emergency requests have an emergency medical service component to them.

· Calls are responded to with 17 ambulances that are called Advance Life Support Ambulances, which mean they are staffed with two paramedics.

· The Fire Department has three to four basic life support ambulances that are staffed with firefighter EMT’s.

· There are 38 engine companies that are staffed with firefighter EMT’s and four new engine companies that have firefighter paramedics on them.

· The Department is responsible for the Prehospital Emergency Medical Services System.

· When a 911 emergency medical call is received, the call taker will ask specific questions to determine the priority of the call and which of the above mentioned apparatus should be sent to the call.

· 60% of calls are Advanced Life Support, or high level calls.

· On high level calls, the nearest Engine Company is called and 90% of the time is at the scene within four minutes.

· Advanced life support ambulances are also sent to high level calls and 90% of the time take ten minutes to respond.

· On serious calls such as a cardiac arrest, a paramedic supervisor is present.

· For a basic life support call, typically an ambulance is called to the scene rather than the closest Engine Company.

· The first medical personnel to arrive on the scene begins the assessment of a patient.

· When the paramedics arrive they are able to go into more advance lifesaving techniques.

· Approximately 50,000 patients are transported to a hospital in one of the Fire Departments ambulances.

· The Emergency Medical Services section of the Department of Public Health oversees everything the Fire Department engages in.

Vincent Behan asked how the Fire Department knows if there is a disabled person needing medical attention before they arrive to a scene of a fire. Mr. Behan also wanted to know if the Fire Department’s ambulances are allowed to park on the sidewalk.

The only way that the Fire Department would know if someone is disabled is if the caller informs the call taker during the emergency call or if prior to this emergency a person who had a disability had contacted the Fire Department with their disability information. The Fire Department will then document this information in their files, which will come on a screen, each time a call is received from that address. Ambulances are not allowed to park on the sidewalks because the path of travel will be blocked. Rich Shortall will send a memo out reminding the stations not to park ambulances on sidewalks.

Joe Vichini, Battalion Chief in District 2, discussed the Disaster Registry Project:

· There is a list of people who have special needs that are entered into a computer-aided dispatch system.

· Whenever a call is made to the Emergency Communications system, the caller’s name, address and special situation information comes on the screen.

· The Fire Department has portable respirators and stair chairs, which are lightweight for transporting.

· In the event of a non-fire the fire fighters can use the elevators, so a person using a wheelchair would not have to leave their wheelchairs or service animals.

Lieutenant Patricia Yuen, Coordinator of the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) gave a summary of the NERT training program:

· In the ten years that the NERT training program has been operating, 10,000 people have been trained with the skills that are needed to survive for 72 hours after an emergency has occurred like an earthquake.

· The program consists of six classes with each class being 2 ½ - 3 hours long.

· Over the years the NERT training program has received positive feedback from the disability community. That input has helped to make the NERT program more accessible.

· The NERT training program has developed many relationships with the community. One partnership is with Ron Lopez and the Department of Public Health’s Quality Assurance Program, which has helped with the Disaster Registry Program.

· Another partnership is the public service announcement (PSA) between the San Francisco Fire Department, the San Francisco Police Department, and the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Services. This is a 30-second PSA letting everyone know what is needed to be prepared in the case of an earthquake. The phone/TTY number that is given during this PSA is 558-2727(ASAP).

· The NERT program is open to everyone age 8-80 years old.

Sergeant Michael Sullivan discussed the training’s that police officers receive and what the training’s focus on:

· Training’s teach police officers how to do more than identify symptoms and behaviors when dealing with a person who has a disability.

· Sergeant Sullivan has developed a training that focuses on the different categories of disability, how to deal with suspect, witness, or victim, resources available and making sure the Miranda warnings are understood.

· The San Francisco Police Department in collaboration with Bay Area Communication Access (BACA) created a police officer pocket guide titled "SF Pocket Guide - Communicating with Deaf and Hard of Hearing People, How to get a Sign Language Interpreter".

· This pocket guide gives information about the deaf and hard of hearing community, American Sign Language (ASL), the Americans with Disabilities Act, contacting an interpreter, and safety issues for the interpreter.

· There is a 24-hour pager system for police, fire and ambulance to use to contact a sign language interpreter.

Grayce Regan wanted to know if diabetes, seizure disorders and other medical conditions are included in the ADA training given to police officers.

Sergeant Sullivan discussed how the training is divided into areas discussing visual and hearing impairments, mental health impairments and first aid training. Sergeant Sullivan makes sure that each class is aware of the disability issues, behavioral issues and learning disabilities.

Ed Evans asked if the bathrooms in police stations would be made accessible.

Sergeant Sullivan stated that police stations do not have public lobby restrooms for security reasons but the station’s restrooms are accessible.

Sergio Alunan wanted to know the process for the arrest and transport of disabled people to jail.

Sergeant Sullivan stated that often times a disabled person is transported in a Paratransit van or ramp taxi accompanied by an officer to maintain everybody’s safety. All the requirements with regard to care, custody and control are still followed.

Evette Taylor-Monachino, ADA Coordinator for the Fire Department, gave a brief summary of her job duties as ADA Coordinator:

· Receives and processes accommodation requests.

· Responsible for accessibility and program reviews, and helping people with access in employment issues.

· Ms. Taylor-Monachino’s phone number is 553-1343, her direct line number is 558-3580 and her TTY number is 558-2406. Her e-mail address is [email protected]

11 MEMBER REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS.

Ed Evans would like the Police Department to attend a meeting and discuss quality of life issues that senior citizens and the disability community have to contend with in their neighborhoods, such as people riding their skateboards or bicycles on the sidewalks. Mr. Evans would also like for the Department of Building Inspection to be invited to a future meeting.

12 CORRESPONDENCE.

13 COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS.

Susan Mizner announced that the Mayor’s Committee for Employment of Persons with Disabilities (MCEPD) is holding a career fair on Tuesday, October 24^th from 9:00 a.m.- 3:00pm. The fair will be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral Hill Hotel in the lobby located at 1101 Van Ness Avenue.

14 PUBLIC COMMENT.

· Marti Goddard discussed "Falling through the Net", which is the fourth report issued by the Department of Commerce. The subtitle of this report is "Digital Inclusion", unlike the other three reports. Ms. Goddard also reported that the Secretary of Commerce, Norman Manetta and the Assistant Secretary, Gregory L. Rody had a tour of the Main Library and saw demonstrations of the technology in the library.

· Bruce Allison announced that the Living Wage Committee will be holding a living wage fair. Time, date and location will be announced at a later date.

· Mary Skyer pointed out that she had difficulty reading the captioning of the opening comments because they were placed so low on the screen.

Walter Park responded to Ms. Skyer by letting her know that he had discussed with the technical people the possibility of changing the way the captioning comes across the screen. It was suggested that a screen be put up near the front on one side of where the Council sits that displays captioning only. In the near future a test will be done using this recommended system to see how it works.

· Robin Krop wanted to know why each month she has to apply for eligibility with Paratransit Services.

Sergio Alunan invited Ms. Krop to attend a meeting of the Paratransit Coordinating Council for some of her concerns to be addressed.

15 ADJOURMENT.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:52 p.m.

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