CODI Meeting -- Weds. 4/16/10 - Report & Observations

I was unable to attend in person, and the county agreed to call me to let me participate by phone. Rather than giving out a number for the public to call, however, they decided to call me instead.

I appreciate the courtesy, but I recommend that in the future, the county provide a call-in number to allow the public to call in to a conference call number and that members of the public who are deaf or hard of hearing be allowed to participate through accessible services such as CART.

CODI discussed past efforts to address the problem of cab drivers refusing to take passengers with service dogs. CODI wrote to Consumer Services recommending actions to be taken. I note two concerns -- why no automatic referrals by Consumer Services to the Justice Department for possible federal enforcement, and why are no steps taken to provide education to cab drivers about service animals? I also note that the state of Florida has a criminal statute that prohibits denial of service to a person with a disability because of their service dog. Why is there no coordination? Should Consumer Services refer these to the local police department? Are police departments in Miami-Dade County getting reports of these violations?

Concerns about Transit issues were discussed. However, No one from the Miami-Dade Transit Department showed up for today's CODI meeting.

For the first time, CODI heard that testing of the Transit System will begin in May, and that a private company will test the County's buses and how services are provided to riders with disabilities.

Concerns:

The tests are limited to buses -- the rail system is not being tested.

Paratransit is not being tested.

Services to riders with service animals are not being tested.

Services to riders with cognitive disabilities are not being tested.

CODI has invited Mr. Kapoor and his staff to appear at the next CODI meeting as well as the new company that has been hired to do the testing. Guess we'll see if he shows up or claims to be too busy.

Why was CODI kept in the dark about this contract?

Why does Mr. Kapoor's Office continue to keep the disability community uninformed? What else is his department keeping from CODI?


Why does Mr. Kapoor's Office continue to keep the County Commissioners in the dark about services to people with disabilities?

What can be done to prevent this from continuing to happen?

Why was the Paratransit system not included in the contract? If Paratransit is forced to remain under the jurisdiction of Transit, why was it excluded from the testing?

Shouldn't Paratransit, the system that is designed to serve riders with disabilities, have the same attention given to it as the bus system? Why was it ignored when the contract was entered into? is this just another example of Mr. Kapoor's office focusing on buses, and ignoring Paratransit?


CODI also discussed events that were approved by the County's Parks Department that are inaccessible. Speaker after speaker told of events that users in wheelchairs could not access. Members of the public asked: "Why isn't the ADA Coordinator staying on top of this? Why are permits being issued, and why are inaccessible events being allowed to occur?"

CODI has asked the ADA Coordinator's Office of the County, and the ADA Coordinator's Office of the Parks Department, to appear at the next CODI meeting and explain the status of the Parks Department's Transition Plan, and explain why permits are issued for inaccessible events. In addition, CODI invited the County Attorney's office to appear to inform CODI about pending and past ADA lawsuits against the Parks Department.

The ADA Coordinator's Office presented about a report about parking. Their office will provide the public with a copy, upon request. They will also provide members of the public with a printed copy, with only one copy given to each person who requests it.

The ADA Coordinator's Office asserts that the document should not be available to the general public. They assert that doing so will cause them to receive a "flood of comments". Here's their position: "The report is not currently available on the Web. ... We are currently in the process of soliciting input on the report from specific stakeholders. We are not yet at the point of soliciting input from the general public."

They are asserting that they are not equipped to handle a large volume of public comments. In my view, given the volume of interest this topic may generate, this position may be reasonable. If, however, you want a copy, and want to comment, just let CODI know. .

CODI's Chair recommended that CODI schedule a Special Meeting on this, have a short presentation, and then allow testimony from the public to be taken. I think that's a great idea. Everyone planning to participate should ask for a copy of the report. CODI's Access Committee will take the lead on this. Write to CODIchair@pobox.com. The Committees are open to the public. If you want to join a CODI Committee, write to CODIchair@pobox.com or write to the CODI representative of your choice. Here is their contact information:

Commissioner Barreiro, District 5
Jose (Ernie) Martinez - Chairperson
miamimartinez@gmail.com
CODIChair@pobox.com
305-776-5573

Commissioner Jordan, District1
John Miller
johnlml@earthlink.net
786-390-3614

Commissioner Rolle, District 2
Dr. Manoel Oliveira
oliveira@fiu.edu
305-348-6259

Commissioner Edmonson, District 3
Jose Granda
joseg@acdterps.com

Commissioner Heyman, District 4
Sandra Hix
sandhix77@hotmail.com
305-221-2980

Commissioner Sosa, District 6
Vacant

Commissioner Gimenez District 7
Jackson David - Second Vice Chair
Jackson@soflacil.org
305-354-4424

Commissioner Sorenson, District 8
Vacant

Commissioner Moss, District 9
Ronald Fulton - First Vice Chair
rtfulton@go.com
305-651-5155

Commissioner Souto, District 10
Dr. Sam Kohlenberg
sskohlen@bellsouth.net
305-446-7457

Commissioner Martinez, District 11
Denise Valkema - Secretary
dvalkema@bellsouth.net
305-385-7355

Commissioner Diaz, District 12
Marie Schmidt
Mschmidt3@comcast.net
305-485-4528

Commissioner Seijas, District 13
Alan Rigerman
arigerman@aol.com
305-558-1305

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