SEVENTH MEETING OF THE
ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ACCESSIBILITY
TOWN OF
Canada Room,
Members Regrets
Robert Hunn (Chair) Dr. John White
Vito Bigioni (Vice-Chair) Martha Shultz
Sherry Setnyk
Carole Robertson
William Broger
Sam Jhangiani
Regional Councillor Jack Heath
Yvonne Hurst, Committee Clerk
The meeting convened at the hour of
1. MINUTES OF SIXTH
THE
TOWN OF
That the
minutes of the Town of
CARRIED.
Business
Emanating from the Minutes
Mr. S. Jhangiani suggested that strobe lighting be included on the fire alarms. It was noted that most new systems have this type of lighting to assist the visually impaired.
Mr. Jhangiani brought to the Committee’s attention a copy of an AccessAbility Survey and information on the Investing in Abilities initiative that was developed and presented by Future Abilities and Creative Employment and the Canadian Hearing Society – Simcoe York Region. Mr. Jhangiani was the Project Facilitator/ Consultant for this project.
The Committee requested that the AccessAbility survey be placed on the October agenda for discussion.
Standard Signage Program
The Committee requested an update
with respect to the resolution passed at the
Regional Councillor Heath indicated that Council has referred the issue to staff for a report and that this issue will be included as a component of the Recreation Master Study. He noted that the resolution is timely and will be useful in developing a signage program for both the Angus Glen Complex and the expansion of the Centennial Community Centre.
THE TOWN OF
That Mr. R. Hunn,
Chair of the Town of
And that Town staff be requested to provide a copy of the report to the Accessibility Committee regarding a standard signage program when it has been prepared.
CARRIED.
Centennial Community Centre – Existing Accessibility Issues
Regional Councillor Heath advised that the cost of addressing the existing accessibility issues at the Centennial Community Centre would be in the 1-2 million dollar range and cannot be accommodated at this time.. He further noted that the pool and fitness centre will probably be closed in the summer of 2005 to provide the least impact on residents.
2. MATERIALS
FROM TRISH ROBICHAUD
THE TOWN OF
THAT the brochure and business card relating to disability sensitivity training offered by Ms. Robichaud be received as information.
CARRIED.
3. UPDATE
OF THE “ACCESS TO
Vito Bigioni noted that he has spoken to the Markham Lions Club with respect to funding for an “Access to Markham Guide”. He noted that the Club indicated that there is a possibility that funding could be provided but that a written request would be required.
It was suggested that, rather than
a ‘hard copy’ guide, an electronic guide be made available on the Town of
The Committee discussed some of the issues that will need to be addressed in obtaining information for the website:
- the Committee will need to establish criteria for defining ‘accessible’;
- many issues need to be considered such as wheelchair accessibility, bathroom accessibility, and building accessibility;
- volunteers, or a paid person, will be needed in order to visit the establishments to ensure that they are actually accessible;
- information might be placed on the website as it becomes available and continuously added to, or updated;
- information might be placed on a cassette or in large print for the visually impaired.
It was suggested that the information could be provided to the Town’s IT staff who could then incorporate it into the Town’s website. Mr. S. Jhangiani indicated that the cost of producing an accompanying booklet might be in the region of $5.00 per booklet.
It was suggested that the other Accessibility Committees in the Region be approached to determine if they are willing to be involved in the production of an Accessibility Guide. Combining resources will spread the workload and expenses. Regional Councillor Heath indicated that he will raise the issue at an upcoming regional meeting.
The Committee concurred that:
-
the Town of
-
the Accessibility Guide should be similar to the one
produced by the City of
- Mr. R. Hunn put forward the suggestion of a Regional ‘Accessibility Guide’ at the upcoming meeting of Accessibility Committees in York Region and report back.
4. CITY
OF
ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT SPECIAL
FUNDING
THE TOWN OF
That the letter from the
City of Cornwall outlining a resolution that the City lobby the Province of
Ontario and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario to provide Special
Funding that will help municipalities employ the staff required to implement requirements
under the ODA be received and endorsed;
And that Council of the
Town of
CARRIED.
5. INVITATION
TO ATTEND
REGIONAL
MEETING OF THE TEN MUNICIPAL AAC CHAIRS
Committee
members indicated a desire to attend the meeting of the local Regional
Accessibility Committees to be held on
6. NEW BUSINESS
Accessibility Committee Information on Town Websites
It was noted that
a number of municipalities in York Region have information relating to their
Accessibility Committees on their websites.
Copies of the Town of
- a list of members of the committee;
- Council representatives on the committee;
- meeting dates;
- Terms of Reference;
- Appointing By-law;
- Accessibility Plan Objectives.
It was noted that
the Town of
The Committee concurred that information similar to
THE TOWN OF
THAT the Town of Markham’s Director of Communications be requested to include information on the Town’s website with respect to its Accessibility Advisory Committee;
AND THAT the Director of Communications be invited to attend a future meeting of the Markham Accessibility Committee to discuss the content of the website information for this committee.
CARRIED.
7. NEXT
MEETING
The next scheduled
meeting of the Accessibility Committee will be held on
8. ADJOURNMENT
The
Advisory Committee on Accessibility adjourned at the hour of