Item 9.3 - Attachment 1

Access Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes 21 Dec 2010

 

MINUTES OF THE ACCESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN MEETING ROOMS 1 & 2, GROUND FLOOR, COUNCIL CHAMBER BUILDING, CIVIC PLACE, PARRAMATTA ON TUESDAY 21 DECEMBER 2010, COMMENCING AT 5.30PM.

 

PRESENT

 

Leonie Clarke, Joe Dimech, Jim Grainda, Debbie Manuel, John Moxon, Hamish Murray, Duy Quang Nguyen and Peter Simpson

 

IN ATTENDANCE

 

Tanya Owen – Community Capacity Building Officer, Kati Westlake - Senior Project Officer- Urban Design and Vishal Lakhia – Project Officer; and Joy Bramham – Administration Officer.

 

1. WELCOME

 

John Moxon welcomed everyone to the Access Committee.  

 

2. ACKOWLEDGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL OWNERS

 

John Moxon acknowledged the Burramatugal Clan of The Darug, the traditional land owners of Parramatta and paid respect to the elders both past and present.

 

3. APOLOGIES

 

Apologies were accepted for Barbara Jones due to illness. The Committee asked that a card be sent on their behalf extending her their best wishes.

 

4. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION

 

There were no declarations made regarding conflict of interest at this meeting.

 

5. CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

 

A copy of the Minutes of the Access Advisory Committee meeting held on 19 October 2010 had previously been forwarded to each member.

                                                                                                                                 

RESOLUTION  (Grainda/Simpson)       

 

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Access Advisory Committee held on 19 October be taken as read and confirmed.

 

6. BUSINES ARISING

6.1 Public Domain Details Update

 

Kati Westlake updated the Committee on the current status of the review. One of the remaining issues is that the parallel curb ramps still need diagrams, but the access sections are mainly complete.

 

The public domain document as a whole is an evolving document with parts and sections signed off in principle, others will still in progress, and new sections are likely to be added and revised all the time with changes in best practice. Council staff hope to have approval from the Executive Team in February and hold a Councillor workshop in March, before taking the document to Council to be endorsed in late March.

 

Copies of the full report can be made available to members in hardcopy or CD. Peter Simpson, John Moxon and Hamish Murray are to be sent CDs by the week of the January 21 2011, and any comments must be provided to Kati Westlake by the first week in February.  

 

Action: Kati Westlake to send copies of document on CDs to Tanya Owen by January 21 2011, who will send these on to interested Committee members.

 

6.2 IDPwD Update

 

Chris McAlpine emailed a survey about IDPwD to Committee members and would appreciate any feedback. There were 27 exhibitors and 9 performances as well as accessibility tours of Parramatta station. Chris McAlpine also asked that it be noted that this year the Blacktown LGA also did a similar day event and this may have affected exhibitor participation levels.

 

The Committee felt that it was a good day, well organised, with a good atmosphere and that Chris McAlpine did an excellent job, especially on such a small budget. The entertainment was good with the budget available.

 

The school pupils had a good time with the activities held in the Town Hall, however the Committee wondered how many of the children had disabilities, as it is good to encourage children without disabilities to mix with those children that do have disabilities. This should be looked at for 2011. 

 

The Committee ran a stall on the day and discussed how this went. The maps were not used, but this was more of an organisational issue and needing to work on engaging people. A lot of people did not want to take the survey created for the day and people needed to be encouraged to come to the stall. The Committee noted one survey respondent in particular had a very bad experience with State transit in relation to the Ferry in Rydalmere. The person, who uses a wheelchair, was dropped off at Rydalmere due to tides preventing the ferry from travelling the entire route. Rydalmere wharf does not have an accessible toilet or public phones, and many buses went by that were not wheelchair accessible. The person needed to use a toilet, and ended up soiling themselves, and hence was a very distressing experience for them.   

 

The Committee agreed that more media coverage of the event and in the lead up is needed, as well as non-local media attention.

 

The Committee expressed that Council needs to take IDPwD more seriously. It should have a status similar to NAIDOC, including recognition and knowledge across Council units. With a bigger budget there would be more recognition and status and therefore better entertainment, and facilities could be provided. It needs to be a quality event so that people will come to Parramatta for it, and spend money while present. John Moxon noted the irony of being invited to a meeting at Council involving the promotion of events and ways to plan and publicise these, which was scheduled for the same day as IDPwD, and as such he was unable to attend the meeting.

 

6.3 Lake Parramatta feedback

 

Tanya Owen spoke to the relevant Council Officers and has been assured that there are currently no redevelopment plans for Lake Parramatta. The Plan of Management developed by consultants is now in final draft form that people have had the opportunity to provide input to, including through public forums that the Access Committee had previously been advised of. The draft will be placed on public exhibition, but only after it has been shown to Councillors and considered by State Government (Department of Lands). The Committee noted that they remain interested in being listed as key stakeholders and to have input into any plans involving redevelopment.

 

Action: Tanya Owen to alert Committee members when the Draft Plan of Management is on public exhibition, for potentially making a submission as the Committee, for the Committee to be listed as an interested stakeholder. 

 

6.4 “The good, the bad, and the ugly” CD feedback

 

The CD provides visual examples of poor and best practice in design and construction for access. The Human Rights Commission can provide copies of the CD in large quantities for $1 each. There are a lot of predevelopment DAs that might need to see the CD and this would incur a large cost to Council, and therefore there is a need to look into ways to recap the costs, such as adding the cost to the DA application fee. Any changes to the DA processing fees have to be approved by Council.

 

The Committee noted that viewing the CD will not change everyone’s opinion, but the people who make errors out of ignorance rather than financial concerns might be influenced.

 

RECOMMENDATION:  Moxon/Simpson

(a) That a copy of the CD “The good, the bad, and the ugly” be provided to all who submit a Development Application (DA) for a building required to provide access for people with a disability;

(b) That the cost of the CD ($1.00) be recovered from the applicant by way of an increased DA fee and that Council approve this fee increase.

(c) Further that the DA checklist be amended to require that the CD be viewed prior to lodgement of the DA.

 

6.5 New members EOIs

 

Expressions of Interest from Joe Dimech and Hamish Murray were received and were approved by Council at the 13 December 2010 Council Meeting. They will have a short induction before the February Meeting.

 

7. CORRESPONDENCE IN

·    Reminder notice of NRMA Workshop on Road and Pedestrian safety courses and information on scooter usage.

·    Marcus Burt’s contact details. (Customer Service Manager for Parramatta Station who deals with Access issues)

 

 

8. GENERAL BUSINESS

 

8.1 Recharging electric scooters

A resident who uses her electric scooter to come into the CBD requested the assistance of Council to provide a recharge access point for her scooter, as she needed to recharge it in order to go home and was encountering difficulties in finding an accessible power outlet to do this. She had been using outlets at Westfield, but over time her access to these had been cut off (pott plants and other barriers placed in front of outlets).

 

Recommendation:

The Access Advisory Committee in principle supports Council making available a power point to the resident to recharge her electric scooter, and suggested the ground floor of  Parramatta City Library as a suitable venue for this. Tanya Owen will follow this up with relevant Council units and the resident.

 

 

8.2 Wards and Councillors

 

Tanya Owen made available maps of ward boundaries and which ward Councillors represent what areas.

 

8.3 Meeting dates for 2011

 

The Committee agreed to continue meeting on the 3rd Tuesday of every second month in 2011.

 

Action: Joy Bramham to Book meeting room

 

8.4 Bell Access

 

The Bell on the Civic Place side of the Council Chambers Building does not work for the Ground floor rooms.

 

Action: Tanya Owen to contact the correct Council officer for appropriate action.

 

8.4 Christmas

 

The Committee wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and John Moxon was thanked for his contribution as Chair

 

 

NEXT MEETING

 15 February 2011 at 5:30pm

Meeting Rooms 1 & 2

Council Chambers Building 

 

The meeting concluded at 7:06 pm