January 23, 2007

6:00 P.M.

In Attendance:                                     Absent:

Terry Cullen Bryant                                Susan Williams            

Walter Smith                                          Ray Lester

Art Manse                                             Marcus Engel

Paul Ward                                                       

Dave Freese

Council Liaison: Mayor Swoboda                                

Staff Liaison: Georgia Ragland                         

Call to Order

Dave Freese called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.

Visitors

Murray Pounds, Director of Parks and Recreation; Terri Johnson, Coordinator of Inclusive Recreation.

Approval of Minutes

Terry Cullen Bryant made a motion to approve the minutes of November 21, 2006. Paul Ward seconded the motion. All were in favor.

Citizen Comments

None.

Old Business

None.

New Business

Paul Ward reported that someone had complained to him that Imo’s not delivering to Meacham Park might become an issue but he had checked with staff and found out that Imo’s wasn’t violating any city ordinances and it wasn’t an issue that the city had any jurisdiction over.

Murray Pounds, Director of Parks and Recreation and Terri Johnson, Coordinator of Inclusive Recreation gave a presentation on Municipal Partners for Inclusive Recreation which is a seven city joint venture that Kirkwood belongs to in order to facilitate the inclusion of people with disabilities into existing programs offered by the participating recreation departments and to assist with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance when municipal facilities and parks are newly created or renovated.

With the seven cities combined the coalition serves well over a 100 people per year. Families with a member who is disabled tend to form a pretty tight network and so there is a lot of word of mouth generated through parents. Terri talks with the families about the individual needs of their child.  She even goes to the schools to observe the kids in their classrooms and talks to their teachers before developing a plan to facilitate the inclusion of each child into a specific recreation program. For camp, for example, a support person may be hired, which is usually someone 16-22 years of age with an interest in helping children with disabilities, and they are matched with a particular camper. In 2004 there were more than 17 kids with various disabilities who were included in Kirkwood recreation programs for about 1,027 hours of participation. In 2005 there were over 22 kids with more than 1,656 hours and in 2006 there were 15 kids for more than 1,184 hours.

Terri also spends time staying current with the ADA rules which are always changing. In many ways our facilities go above and beyond the requirements. Newer facilities such as the aquatic center, ice rink, and community center are all pretty accessible. The age of some of our other park facilities do mean that they will need work to meet newer accessibility standards which is why transition plans for each facility and park are developed and kept updated. Accessibility is one of the primary reasons for much of the capital plans underway by the Park Board for the central ridge area.

Adjournment

Terry Cullen Bryant moved to adjourn. Walter Smith seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 7:08 p.m.  

The next meeting date is March 20, 2007.