Meeting Name	Access Advisory Committee
Date	4 June 2024	Time 5:38 PM
Venue	PHIVE, Level 4 – Civic Reception Room, Parramatta + MS Teams
Attendees	Committee Members · Scott Green (Chair) · Ross Chaplin (Deputy Chair) · Jayne Boardman · Timothy Hart · Emily Mahendran · Susan Thompson Council Staff · David Moutou – A/Executive Director Community & Culture · Rodrigo Gutierrez –Service Manager, Community Capacity Building · Tanya Owen - Community Capacity Building Lead (Convenor) · Adam Fowler – Team Leader, Infrastructure Design · Emily Forrest – Senior Design Manager, Infrastructure Design · Ankit Pokharel - ICT Service Desk Officer
Apologies / Leave of Absence	· Mark Kunach · Tony Walker · Hamish Murray – Project Officer, Universal Design & Access
Secretariat	Melissa McIsaac - Governance
HPRM Reference	F2022/01409

These are draft minutes and are subject to confirmation by the Committee at its next meeting.

The confirmed minutes will replace this draft version on the website.

No.	Item
1	MS Teams recording notification The Convenor advised the Committee that the meeting was being recorded.
2	Acknowledgement of Country The City of Parramatta Council acknowledges the Burramattagal Clan of The Dharug Nation, the traditional owners of land of Parramatta and pays its respects to the elders past, present and emerging.
3	Introductions The Chairperson welcomed attendees to the meeting, and asked attendees to introduce themselves.
4	Apologies The Committee received apologies from Mark Kunach and Tony Walker.
5	Disclosure of Interests There were no disclosures of interests made for this Committee Meeting.
6	Confirmation of Minutes The Minutes of the previous Access Advisory Committee Meeting, held on 4 April 2024, were moved by Chaplin and Boardman and CARRIED.
7	Guest Speaker: Civic Link Block 3
Description	The Committee received a presentation from Adam Fowler and Emily Forrest, from Council’s Infrastructure Design Unit, regarding the design development stage for the Civic Link Block 3 project. The Committee were informed that public exhibition on the concept design for Block 3 of the multi-stage Civic Link project concluded in April, and that Council is proceeding with design development. The Committee considered an overview of the proposed site design for a green pedestrian route between Phillip Street and George Street in the CBD, near Horwood Place. The Committee raised questions for clarification and made recommendations on the proposed design elements. Emily Mahendran joined the meeting at 5:55pm, during discussion of Item 7.
Outcome	· The Committee provided the following feedback on the concept design for Civic Link Block 3: · Raised importance of ensuring a clear building shoreline as an accessible route, free from obstacles such as outdoor dining setup. The Committee enquired about whether any of the existing licensed outdoor dining areas on the site will block the building shoreline, and whether this is permissible under Council’s policies. Council staff agreed to verify Council’s policy requirements on locating outdoor dining along the building line, and whether the outdoor dining provision on the Civic Link Block 3 site complies with Council’s policy requirements.   · Recommended to incorporate learnings from Parramatta Light Rail project regarding provision of Tactile Ground Surface Indicators (TGSIs) at pedestrian crossings. · Recommended to ensure selected pavers will provide different texture to guide cane users along the route and to seat locations (e.g. change to rougher stone in front of seats compared to smooth walkway pavers). · Recommended to ensure the provision of back rests and arms rests as part of seating options. For the proposed bar seating section along the green spine slope, recommended to provide diverse seating catering to different needs, taking into consideration that people with physical access needs are more likely to use the lower-height seats, and require more accessible options such as back and arm supports. · Recommended for planned wheelchair seating along bar seating section to be positioned on a flat surface, to avoid the uncomfortable lean created by a slope. · Recommended to ensure spaces are available for wheelchairs at planned seating along the walkway. · Recommended to ensure sufficient luminous contrast between materials selected for ground pavers and furniture elements, to support users with low vision. · Recommended to select tree plantings that will not produce excessive pollen, to mitigate asthma risk, or excessive leaf litter or seed pods that create slip or wheelchair hazards on the pedestrian thoroughfare. · Recommended to select slip resistant pavers for the walkway, and a subdued, consistent ground cover palette that enables trip hazards to be seen more-easily (e.g. rubbish, spills). · Raised importance of maintaining engagement between delivery partners for the Civic Link block components (Council, Sydney Metro, and the Powerhouse Museum), with a view to ensure provision of a consistent navigational experience across the designs for each block. Recommended to minimise surface changes and variations to the seating layout, to provide an intuitive route experience. · Raised importance of providing vehicle drop off zones close to key facilities along the Civic Link, such as the Metro station and Powerhouse Museum. · Council staff will circulate to Committee Members after the meeting a link to the flythrough video for the concept design. Adam Fowler and Emily Forrest retired from the meeting at 6:31pm, at the conclusion of Item 7.
8	Business Arising from Previous Minutes
Description	The Committee received an update from Tanya Owen, Community Capacity Building Lead, regarding the following matters from the previous Minutes: Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) Update The Committee noted that the requested summary report was circulated prior to the meeting from Autism Spectrum Australia’s (ASPECT) site assessment of the Parramatta Aquatic Centre (PAC). Council staff from PAC are supportive of developing an action plan to address ASPECT’s recommendations. A virtual story for users to prepare for their facility experience prior to attending is under development, which should be available online by the end of the year. The Committee were informed that Council is in the process of rolling out Hidden Disabilities Sunflower training for the majority of staff at key venues, as required towards becoming accredited Sunflower-friendly sites. The Committee received a presentation of images produced from the Disability Graphics Project, for use across Council’s communications. The Committee noted that a catalogue of 117 images was produced, to assist in achieving the target of a minimum of 5% of all images containing people in Council’s communications to include people with disability, and for the inclusivity principles to be replicated for future Council photoshoots. The Committee praised the outcomes of the graphics project for depicting social interaction and enjoyment of local places. The Committee were further informed that planning for the next DIAP renewal is underway, and that after the Committee’s term end, it is still intended to seek input from Committee Members as part of the consultation plan. Consumer Rights Forum The Committee were reminded that a free Consumer Rights Forum is planned for 5 September in-person, with an online session to follow, and that the Chairperson, Scott Green, will be emcee for the events. The Convenor will provide information to Committee Members to promote the forum within their community networks. The Committee further enquired as to whether Council is or is planning to collate the Committee’s feedback regarding accessibility, to establish a resource of consistent best-practice standards to replicate across Council’s projects. Council staff advised that Hamish Murray, Council’s Universal Design and Access Officer, has been engaged to undertake facility accessibility audits which are resulting in action plan commitments to address identified concerns, and is delivering Universal Design training to teams across Council. Council is further considering developing a Universal Design plan or policy, with a view to implement best-practice standards into Council’s regular operations. The Committee were informed about how Universal Design principles were key to the brief for preparing the winning Riverside Theatre design. Clarification was provided that next Financial Year, Council will be looking at developing an accessible events checklist for community events, possibly accompanied by training provision as part of the next DIAP actions.
Outcome	· The Committee noted the provided updates. · Tanya Owen agreed to follow up with Hamish Murray on capacity to create a compilation of the Committee’s feedback as an ongoing guideline for informing future capital projects, such as a checklist similar to Council’s accessible events checklist.
9	Other Business
Description	The Committee received an update from Tanya Owen regarding the following other matters of business: 1. CBD Disability Parking Spaces: Following the success of limiting some accessible parking spaces in the CBD to 2 hours, to deter misuse and help ensure availability, Council is looking at approving additional 2 hour time limited accessible parking spaces at the corner of Charles Street and Union Street, near the wharf. 2. Committee Term Review: The Committee noted that this will be the final Access Advisory Committee meeting for the Council term. The Convenor will email a survey to members after the meeting to seek feedback on Committee operations and improvement opportunities. Members were thanked for their contribution through providing input on a number of Council’s projects during the term. The Chairperson further thanked the members for their participation, and encouraged members to re-apply to join the Committee once it is reinstated in the new term. The Committee provided their thanks to the Convenor for facilitating the meetings.
Outcome	· The Convenor will notify members when the call for Expression of Interest in the new Committee opens. Members may contact the Convenor in the interim with any further questions.
10	Close The Chairperson closed the meeting at 7:04pm.