EIGHTH MEETING OF THE
ADVISORY
COMMITTEE ON ACCESSIBILITY
TOWN
OF
Ontario
Room
Members Regrets
Robert Hunn (Chair) Sherry
Setnyk
Vito Bigioni (Vice-Chair) Connie
Weber
William Broger
Carole Robertson
Dr. John White
Mike Kowalski
Leila Abboud
Regional Councillor Jack Heath
Yvonne Hurst, Committee Clerk
The meeting convened at the hour of
1. MINUTES
OF SEVENTH
THE TOWN OF
THAT the minutes of
the Town of
CARRIED.
Items Emanating from the Minutes
Resolutions to Council
Chris Raynor, Committee Clerk, has advised that the minutes of the Accessibility Committee of June 15th, 2005 will be provided to the General Committee on November 7th, 2005 and then to Council the following week.
Proposed $100,000 Budget for
Accessibility Items
Regional Councillor Jack Heath advised that staff are reviewing the request of the Committee for a budget of $100,000 to address accessibility issues within municipal buildings. He noted that the Town had planned to spend $120,000 on accessibility items and perhaps it was not the spending but the reporting of issues that needs to be addressed. He will suggest to the budget committee that the issues be brought before the Accessibility Committee so that members are aware of the items that receive funding to increase accessibility in Town buildings.
Accessibility Audits
The Committee noted that audits have been completed by the Committee since its inception. Robert Hunn, Chair, requested that the minutes of the meetings (2000-20002) that outline accessibility audit items be provided by the Clerk’s Department.
It was noted that, while the design for the new reception building at the Museum was reviewed by the Committee, an audit has not been done since the building has been completed. It was suggested that the November meeting be held at the Museum and that the Clerk’s Department be requested to book a suitable room for the Committee’s November meeting.
It was further suggested that the December meeting be held at the Pingle House and that a suitable room be obtained for that meeting followed by an audit of the centre. It was noted by Committee members that the main floor of the Pingle House is accessible, however, the second floor is not accessible.
Regional Councillor Jack Heath informed the committee that he has spoken with Keith Bray, President, Markham Chamber of Commerce, and he is interested in talking to the Accessibility Committee. Regional Councillor Heath will contact Mr. Bray and make arrangements for him to attend at a future meeting.
Full-Service Gas Stations
Regional Councillor Jack Heath advised
that the issue of full-service gas stations was discussed at a recent meeting
of the Development Services Committee. A
new station proceeding through the site plan stage has been requested to
provide some full-service to its customers.
The applicant has stated that full-service could be provided between
Accessibility Awards
Mike Kowalski advised that he is still
in the process of compiling information with respect to the proposed
‘Accessibility Awards’. He indicated
that he will have information at the next meeting.
2. ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT
Robert Hunn, Chair,
advised that he has spoken with the East Gwillimbury Committee who have
reviewed the City of
Breakfast Meeting
The breakfast
meeting of Accessibility Committees was hosted by the Region of York in
October. The breakfast meeting is usually
held between
3. COMMUNICATIONS
a) Accessibility Directorate of
Robert Hunn, Chair,
noted that the letter, dated
b) Regional Councillor Jack Heath provided a copy of report titled “Parallel Implementation of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005” prepared by the Commissioner of Community Services and Housing and Regional Solicitor for the Region of York. The report requests that the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) endorse the Region’s recommendations for regulations that will assist municipalities in their implementation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). The Region’s recommendations also requested that the province address the following in any accompanying regulations to the AODA:
- the province establish a specific municipal sector standard development committee to address municipal issues and standards;
- the province include a definition for the terms ‘accessibility’ and ‘services’;
- the province provide for a resolution process for persons or organizations who are subject to more than one standard and/or where one organization has more than one class;
- the province recognize organizations where work is already underway under the ODA by incorporating flexibility into the initial targets and timelines of the AODA;
- the province establish a mechanism and funding source to support municipalities in the ongoing implementation of the AODA.
c)
Robert Hunn, Chair, noted that the City of
NEW BUSINESS
Membership List
The Committee concurred that a list with member’s names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses would be useful to enable members to contact each other. The two absent members Sherry Setnyk and Connie Weber will be contacted to ensure that they agree with the release of their information.
THE TOWN OF
THAT a list of Town of Markham Accessibility Committee members, including the name, address, phone number and email address, be provided to all members of the Committee.
CARRIED.
Electronic Agenda
The Committee concurred that it would be preferable to receive their agenda and supporting documentation by email. Only large documents would be copied and mailed to members. The Clerk’s Department will be requested to provide 3 or 4 additional copies of the agenda to the Committee Secretary for those members who do not having printing capabilities at their homes.
Mobility Transit – Requirement for Municipal Addresses
It was noted that
Mobility Transit require the specific municipal address for well known
municipal buildings or park areas, etc. (municipal offices,
4. NEXT MEETING
The next scheduled
meeting of the Accessibility Committee is on
5. ADJOURNMENT
The Advisory Committee on Accessibility adjourned at the hour of