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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-10-22 Minutes Page 1 Meeting Minutes New Hanover County/City of Wilmington Community Relations Advisory Committee NHC Library 101 Chestnut Street, New Hanover Room October 22, 2019 5:30 PM Committee Members Present: Vice-Chair Owen Wexler, Reverend Charles Davis, Jeff Hovis, Jen Johnson, Elise Rocks, Lori Wainright, Scott Whisnant Absent: Chair Evelyn Bryant, Kathy King, Lewis Stroud, Florence Warren StaffPresent: Tufanna Bradley-Thomas, New Hanover County; Suzanne Rogers, City of Wilmington I.Call to Order Vice-Chair Wexler called the meeting to order at 5:34 pm. Quorum established. Mr. Scott Whisnant was officially welcomed to the committee. II. Approve Agenda MOTION: Ms. Rocks MOVED, SECONDED by Reverend Davis, to approve the agenda. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. III. Approve Minutes MOTION: Reverend Davis MOVED, SECONDED by Ms. Wainright, to approve the minutes of September 24, 2019. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. IV. Guest Speaker: Vanessa Lacer Presentation on the Cape Fear Disability Commission and Cape Fear Transportation Authority (10-minute presentation; 5 minutes for questions) Ms. Lacer is the Co-Chair of the Cape Fear Disability Commission and the Mobility Manager of the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority. Ms. Johnson attended the last meeting of the Cape Fear Disability Commission and the hope is to help build synergy and collaboration between the Commission and the C-RAC regarding discrimination in the disability community. : The Cape Fear Disability Commission s Commission for People with Disabilities) was created in rd 2012 under the leadership of Mayor Harper Peterson and meets quarterly on the 3 Wednesday at 10:30 am at the Government Center; the city provides funding to the Commission and the county provides meeting space. An interpreter is provided at every meeting. The next meeting is November 20 th at the Government Center. The Cape Fear Disability Commission has an email list of 50-75 individuals but the group is looking to restructure and refocus creating an Executive Committee. Members of the Commission are volunteers but not appointed and there are no qualifications for being a member. The Cape Fear Transportation Authority (WAVE) provides several services to disabled individuals: Community Outreach Classes to seniors at the Senior Resource Center and UNCW students working on o wheelchair accessible bus stops Manage a grant in its third year for transportation to and from the NHC Senior Center o Dial-A-Ride or DART for eligible disabled individuals and individuals 65 and older o Disabled individuals must complete an application that is good or certified for a 2-year period; process takes about 21 days Rides are $4 one way and there are no restrictions on the number of rides Page 2 Rides are given within ¾ of a mile of a fixed route Requests for rides must be given at least 24 hours in advance There are a few recommendations to the C-RAC: A video and facts to share regarding issues related to the needs of disabled individuals o Information to share and service providers: Disability Resource Center, ARC, and the Cape Fear Disability o Commission Provide accommodations upon request (prior to meetings or events) such as larger print materials and an o interpreter (sign or language) What disabled people are saying in the community: o More cross walks so that they can safely cross streets Better timed cross walks so that individuals with disabilities can safely cross streets How to participate more in plans and initiatives MOTION: Ms. Johnson MOVED, SECONDED by Ms. Wainright, to add a statement to the brochure and website that the C-RAC will provide accommodations at meetings and events upon adequate request. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Ms. Bradley-Thomas requested that Ms. Lacer provide a copy oto share with the C-RAC. V. Sub-Committee Reports: Mr. Wexler reported for the Crisis Prevention/Preparedness Sub-Committee as follows: Mr. Wexler informed the committee that the sub-committee did not meet. Ms. Johnson reported for the Programming Sub-Committee as follows: The programming sub-committee did not meet because they have been focusing on distributing the survey; there are 500 surveys to be distributed. Thus far, the following information are some groups or locations that will have surveys available for their visitors, patrons, or members to complete: NAACP Downtown Library Cape Fear Museum YMCA/YWCA Disability Resource Center OLLI/UNCW Mr. Wexler agreed to drop off all of the collected surveys to UNCW once the survey period is over; surveys must be picked up by November 18, 2019 and delivered to UNCW. Ms. Bradley-Thomas was asked to forward the survey press release and social media links to committee members for them to share in their spheres of influence. Reported for the Public Education Sub-Committee as follows: The sub-committee did not meet; it needs new members. VI. New Business: Assign Members to Sub-Committees New Member Mr. Whisnant agreed to serve on the Public Education Sub-Committee Statistics on Individuals Served Ms. Bradley-Thomas explained to the committee that because the complainant submits the paperwork on their own behalf, they have no obligation to let staff or C-RAC members know the status of their complaint to the state. However, complainants are encouraged to update staff/C-RAC members, so the one complainant that we have has provided status updates. Currently, the state says they do not have her application and she may have to resubmit her application. Page 3 Election of New Officers The ad hoc Nominations Sub-Committee provided a report from their October 15, 2019 meeting. They are recommending that instead of changing changed to move the election of new officers from July to October. 2019-2020 Slate of Officers: Chair Evelyn Bryant Vice-Chair Owen Wexler Secretary Elise Rocks GENERAL CONSENSUS: Evelyn Bryant was elected as Chair. After a brief discussion, additional members were nominated during the meeting to serve as officers for the ensuing year: Ms. Johnson nominated Jeff Hovis for Vice-Chair Ms. Rocks nominated Jen Johnson for Secretary Due to the additional nominations, it was the general consensus of the C-RAC membership to vote for the 2019-2020 Vice- Chair officer by paper ballot. PAPER BALLOT: Jeff Hovis was elected as Vice-Chair upon receiving the tallies of the paper ballots. MOTION: Ms. Rocks MOVED, SECONDED by Ms. Wainright, to elect Ms. Johnson for Secretary. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2019-2020 Officers: Chair Evelyn Bryant; Vice-Chair Jeff Hovis; Secretary Jen Johnson VII.Public Comments: None. VIII: Announcements: Ms. Johnson informed the committee that she is continuing to work on contacting organizations that advocate for the LGBTQ community to ensure that the community is gay friendly. Ms. Johnson is seeking recommendations from area content experts such as the Frank Harr Foundation, ACLU, NC Equality, etc. Ms. Wainright informed the committee that she would be inviting Caroline Morin-Gage of the ACLU to the next meeting. IX. Adjourn: MOTION: Ms. Rocks MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Wexler, to adjourn the meeting at 6:32 pm. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.