Title
October 13, 2021 Meeting Minutes
Body
Commission on Persons with Disabilities
Roll Call: 5 Commissioners present
• Commissioner Roloff, Commissioner Kenny, Commissioner Beehler, Commissioner Hall, Commissioner Mullins
Minutes from the August 11, 2021 Commission on Persons with Disabilities Meeting
• Approved with 1 edit: In the section acknowledging Disability Month, edit ADA pledge to the ABA pledge
4A: Welcome Commissioner Katy Beehler and thank you Lisa Hall and Jennifer Roloff for committing to another term as Commissioner on Persons with Disabilities.
• Katy Beehler, product manager for a software company that does social good. Specializes in publishing accessibility and also serves on another publishing nonprofit in the Bay Area. Excited to be here to advocate for people in the City of Alameda.
4B: Presentation by City Clerk Lara Weisiger about the approved continuation of the suspension during the local emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic of certain provisions of the City’s “Sunshine Ordinance” to the extend inconsistent with Assembly Bill No. 361 and Executive Order N-15-21 of the Governor of the State of California arising from the State of Emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• We had been holding meetings virtually with a suspension of the Brown Act rules under the Governor’s Executive Order
• Things have changed a little bit
• AB 361 continues most of the provisions that allow for remote meetings
• The new requirement is that the City Council has to make findings every 30 days to keep meetings this way
• Brown act allows remote participation of members but requires that you disclose locations and allow people to participate at those locations
• In a pandemic this is not a good idea
• To continue to operate this way, the Council has to suspend the Sunshine Ordinance every 30 days to continue to operate this way
• Allows this to continue through 2024
• It is not known how long the Council will authorize this for
• AM: to clarify, the every 30 days extension is where you dont have to post and open up your location? -- yes, and if they stopped the findings we would have the Chambers back. Some cities have gone to hybrid meetings, we are sticking to this for now
• AM: this expands access and allows for more participation, and there are other reasons to preserve this option
• BK: one element we discussed at our last meeting was having home address disclosed and making it open to the public is not what we want, the idea of having a quorum in person present is not ideal for vulnerable people. There was discussion of moving to a hybrid and this Commission is not in favor of having a quorum present if we move toward a hybrid model.
• Most people spoke in favor of keeping it remote, only slight opposition from one person, might have been confused. Interest from council to move toward a hybrid model - we need to keep this on the radar.
• LW: the reason why it had to be on the regular agenda is because it was an urgency ordinance - in the future it will come back on the consent calendar and takes three votes to approve.
• LH: in agreement to continue like this, reviewing every 30 days makes it very current.
• KB: pandemic has opened up avenues for accessibility and the Commission cares about this - should continue to do this and not expose addresses and locations, critical to have flexibility. Agree that if we go to a hybrid model, a quorum should not be required, everyone should feel safe and welcome and not have to share their health considerations.
• JR: if we were forced to a hybrid model, could one Commissioner come down and open up Chambers and that would work? LW: that is possible, said a quorum has to be present in the jurisdiction, which is the City. It also could be staff.
• AM: would not want people to feel forced to disclose personal information, but it would be helpful to affirmatively say that for a non-disclosed reason it’s not in my best interest to be there. Let’s think about this in the long game - beyond Covid.
• Sarah Henry to draft a statement from the Commission and Allison will review to include as correspondence.
4C: Presentation by Katherine Schwartz, Executive Director of Alameda Family Services, related to the City’s alternative response to calls for the mental health crisis support pilot program
• This has been a process, invited to be able to participate on unbundling subcommittee to address alternatives to police response to emergency calls that did not require police response
• Worked hard and met for nine months to draft recommendations which were accepted by the City Council
• Grateful for the opportunity to be part of that process
• What’s more amazing is that now AFS will be a part of a new way of supporting folks in the community experiencing a mental health crisis
• This will provide a different kind of support and eliminate possibility of injury
• This will partner with the Alameda Fire Department
• Goals: develop alternate response, reduce number of unnecessary 5150 calls, ensure case management and follow up services, link callers to needed services, reduce number of repeat callers
• Model: services in partnership with police and fire. 24/7 on call clinician for consultation and can join in the field, case management for 14-30 days, ongoing clinical training
• Services for persons with disabilities: language line has ASL services, will have tablets and can access language lines, can provide telehealth support, case management - over 100 staff, speak 26 languages, always in a position to enlist support for translation services, will provide guidance on serving individuals with developmental disabilities and trainings, staff will meet with clients where they are at
• Applied for additional grant that would allow us to provide longer term case management to people in this program
• AFS has a very broad continuum of care -- clinic, substance abuse, pregnant women, seniors, school age students, early childhood and families
• Intention is leverage all of the programming we have to refer callers to services
• Partnerships with people on and off the island
• Developing a relationship with the Village of Love
• What do people need in the moment of crisis and ongoing so they don't end up back in the hospital or in a bad place
• JR: appreciate the diligence in looking for alternatives
• KB: thank you for comprehensive presentation
• LH: work with Village of Love, work with homeless, excited and appreciative of what you went through working on the subcommittees, you are doing a good job in putting us in the right direction
Public comment by Debra Mendoza: so excited to see this launch in the city, are we eligible for federal funds? If the program is responding to additional calls for service that go outside of crisis scope - I hope those are being documented and tracked to show capacity of this program. We are launching a program/model - never been done before - here to back you up. We will identify gaps and that will impact the program.
• KS: 99% of the calls will be mental health related. The Fire Department will handle calls outside of that realm, we will track data carefully because we want to know what is and is not working and make adjustments, there will be an oversight committee with stakeholders and community members, the expectation that we will need to make adjustments. This is a pilot and we are not locked in to anything. If we don't meet goals we will adjust. We are exploring all avenues for additional funding
• BK: substance abuse might not be identified as mental health so we will need to see this to understand the whole spectrum of what can be achieved here. Hand in hand follow up care - really like that - and case management within 24 hours - that is really important. What we don’t have is services for before the crisis, when the crisis is building. That is where we need to be looking for additional services. Give people an option before it reaches crisis level. Can the person 3 months from the crisis call AFS directly at that time?
• KS: Yes, directly, always - that is an important piece - we need to be able to reopen that case. Will pull together treatment team meetings with other providers that will go a long way to address prevention - there needs to be a crisis diversion program - drop in center
• BK: for the goal to reduce the number of inappropriate 5150s -- will you work with the County to get the license for this?
• Yes, in discussion with the County to be able to have our clinicians and potentially the Fire Department be certified to write 5150s - that is in negotiation. They are working to get that in writing but that is the expectation
• AM: echo thanks and appreciation of hard work, appreciate collaboration and synergy. Follow up on data collection - some concern about how much data was collected with police 911 calls - do you have visibility into the universe of calls or only the ones you get called into? How can we see the bigger picture of people who have disabilities and where they fall into that? It would be good to know how many of the calls are people with disabilities
• KS: important for all aspects to be looked at - including how dispatch is working, will look more at this
• BK: what is the availability level for services that are offered? There have been increased needs during the pandemic - how available are services?
• KS: depends on the program, lucky to expand funding in some key places, for school based services, clinic still has capacity and working with the County to get an increase on the contract cap, sliding scale for payment and raise money to cover people who cannot pay. But we do refer to other agencies if we cannot provide services. There’s capacity but its limited -- working to expand for this program
• BK: it would be good to see this in the data
4D: Presentation by Danielle Mieler, public hearing to review and comment on the draft climate adaptation and hazard mitigation plan
• First time at this Commission, implementing Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP), presenting draft Adaptation and Mitigation Plan that addresses natural and climate induced hazards
• Success of the plan is tied to meeting CARP goals, reduce ghg and avoid impacts of climate change
• A number of benefits of an approved plan - eligible for grants, additional flood insurance discounts for residents, could help us get more fema funding
• Current plan was approved in 2016 - FEMA requires this to be updated every 5 years
• Aligns with General Plan, CARP, and emergency management plan (but this is different - that is how we respond, this focuses on how we reduce the impact of disasters)
• For CARP we did a social vulnerability assessment and created maps with areas of high social vulnerability
• Considered a number of hazards including earthquakes, flooding, sea level rise, tsunamis, heat and drought, wildfires, dam breach
• overdue for major earthquake, 33% on Hayward fault, 22% on San Andreas before 2043 - will have strong shaking in Alameda
• One type of building particularly at risk are soft story buildings - we have 200 and 70% retrofitted - 63 still vulnerable
• Many people have single family homes with steps up to porch and basements with crawl space - not well bolted and secured
• 10000 homes have this condition
• Grant program - brace and bolt program will assist with retrofits
• Planning for 3.5 feet of sea level rise by 2070 - plus hundred year storm will be 7 feet to plan for
• Looking at priority flooding areas
• Tsunami - rare resulting in distant earthquake - will have 5-12 hours of warning
• This is about evacuation -- need to register with AC Alert!
• Doing a lot of outreach on these issues - when this is complete we will submit draft plan to FEMA for approval and then to the City Council for adoption
• AM: Is there help needed or do you have a focus on people with disabilities? Do you have enough info and resources? -- help and feedback are very welcome, not doing emergency response planning
• What’s the plan for the place by the Park Street bridge which has flood risk?
• BK: something about a grid in the event of a power outage there would be a generator grid established - want to make sure people with disabilities would be prioritised and could access because a lot of medical equipment requires power
• Brace and bolt opening later this month
• Grants for people with disabilities to get generators -- this would be a key part of preparing for emergencies - meds will need refrigeration
• Can be accomplished with solar generator
• Great to put info out there
• We have something on the website about emergency preparedness - we should add grants to this page
• LH: moving in the right direction
• On the emergency side - we are an island, what if I could not get back to the island to my kids -- how are we using boats and ferries that surround the island to move people?
• That is a resource we have available. WETA - also need short hop across the estuary. Roads will be damaged. Request to upgrade one bridge to be serviceable - one lifeline on and off the island
• KB: outreach - how will you reach out to vulnerable communities? Always more we can be doing - fliers in physical locations, translating second flyer and will place in physical locations including mastick, going to farmers market next week, went to one neighborhood that is particularly vulnerable and fliered their doorsteps, open to more suggestions
• Printed materials are good but can be difficult for visually impaired, audio alerts, apartment buildings, multi use buildings. The priority is climate education and outreach
• JR: thank you for all of this. Facilities that will need evacuation -- large aging population, alameda is an example not an exception with people with disabilities in the senior population - working with senior homes is important - they all have procedures in place - big concern is those not affiliated with an institution or home
• City tried to get a database of people who will need assistance. Mastick, regional, AMP resources. Boats -- area to explore further - with Brooklyn Basin so close with resources - ways low cost and efficient to move people there
• CERT - could do this at a neighborhood scale to know who might need help
• AM: connection to help folks see if they might qualify for brace and bolt
• Extra hand holding, help connect those dots
• BK: need more human connection in our lives, happy to help with this plan
4E: Alameda celebrates Disability Awareness Month
• Mayoral Proclamation
• Request to make a banner for next year
• City Hall will be lit up in blue on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Old Business
• BK: Vision Zero task force - attended the last meeting before plan goes before the Council. Alameda was recognized as a Vision Zero city because of the work that this group has done. I’ve been part of the task force and there will be an ongoing committee to work to make sure the plan is enacted and have oversight on the plan. There is a call for a CPD Commissioner to be part of that task force -- 3-4 meetings per year, and they are looking for a 2 year commitment. Since I term out at end of June, please consider joining!
Staff Communications
• The Oakland Commission on Persons with Disabilities has asked us to join them to talk about our Universal Design Ordinance this Monday, October 18. I can attend but I would love to have someone join me if anyone is available!
• Last time we talked we discussed working with the Business Community on ADA issues and they invited us to attend their November 9 Zoom town hall at 2pm. Please let me know if you can attend and I’ll share a calendar invite.
• I have a few December agenda items already, but one I’d like to add is to plan for our annual retreat - possibly at the Feb 8 meeting?
• Please save the date -- Wed, Jan 26 - the Transportation Commission is meeting and Andrew and other staff will be covering the Annual Review on Transportation. The purpose is to review the big picture issues like congestion and safety and then to prioritize our staff time and future grant writing. I think some of you might be interested in attending (virtually).
• Finally - a quick COVID update:
o Our cases in Alameda surged in August with the delta variant but they were lower in September than they were in July and so far they have been even lower in October.
o We reached a vaccine milestone this week with more than 85 percent of Alameda residents who are eligible for the vaccine are fully vaccinated
o I want to make sure folks know that for people who are immune-compromised, they need to receive 3 doses instead of 2, and that is available wherever vaccines are being offered.
o In addition, 6 months after your second dose, many people are eligible to receive a booster shot. Right now this inludes people 65 and older, people who are in long term care facilities, people with underlining medical conditions, or people who live or work in high-risk settings
o We also expect kids 5-11 to be eligible for their first dose of the vaccine before the end of the month
o Last week we relaunched free COVID-19 testing at Alameda Point - in a new location but with the same provider, NextGen laboratories
o And last but not least, the County recently shared information about how to celebrate Halloween and Dia de los Muertos safely, and that includes wearing masks since it will be crowded, using lots of hand sanitizer when trick or treating. Keeping your distance, and keeping things outdoors
Adjournment