Peoria Standard

City of Peoria Mayor’s Advisory Committee for Citizens with Disabilities met March 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Call to Order

Staff Liaison Green called the meeting to order at 4:03 PM.

Roll Call

Present: Chair Hayes; Commissioner Berry;

Commissioner Quarles; Commissioner English; Commissioner Peterson; Staff Liaison Green.

Not Present: Commissioner Srivnivas; Commissioner Olsen.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

February 14th, 2023 Minutes: Chair Hayes called for approval, seconded by Commissioner Muehlbauer. All in favor, none opposed, the motion carries.

New Business

I: Quality Assurance Discussion by Commissioner English: Commissioner English led a discussion about the current standard of self-administration and responsibility and the ethical violation of public trust. Commissioner English expressed that limiting responsibility at the administrative level shifts the burden to the most vulnerable. This is addressing the ethical code used by administrators. Commissioner English would like to move to adopt this standard, in order to share with other communities.

Chair Hayes: It would make sense to take some of this and put it into our purpose statement. Can the committee change the purpose statement?

Liaison Green: Depending on substantial changes pertaining to our procedure, ordinance changes would need to make their way to the Mayor and Council. It would be beneficial to run this past the Mayor, since it is her Committee.

Chair Hayes: She will circulate the current purpose statement to the Commissioners for review and this item will be placed on the Agenda.

Chair Quarles: Requests clarification on what quality assurance would consist of.

Commissioner English: If we are to fulfill our purpose, we need to bring the community members with disabilities to an inclusive standard. There are organizations that profit from quality assurance failures. This will provide us with leverage to say we are serious with our ethics.

II: Previous Agenda Items

Premise Alert Program: The commission formerly engaged in work to promote the premise alert program and to get as many families to sign up as possible. The commission did not reach very many families with children. Chair Hayes will circulate a premise alert flyer for review.

Improvement of the health, safety, and welfare through promotion of the commission is another action item that we could continue working on.

Staff Liaison Green: Both proposed items are great action items to pick up and they would allow us to hit the ground running. In terms of marketing, there was a previously created flyer that was very old, and we could revamp. Liaison Green will search for an electronic copy and circulate it if located.

Commissioner Muehlbauer: Are there any additional useful documents that would be useful to new Commissioners? Are there commissions in other cities that we could pull ideas from? We should establish long term goals for the city to establish a plan for success.

Chair Hayes: There are other cities that have these types of Commissions and we learned that through researching the name change. Chair Hayes will search for that information. Chair Hayes will review the minutes to see what the former goals were. The purpose will also act as a guide.

Commissioner English: Based on conversation with a disabled friend, mobility and access were major issues. The state requirements for modified vehicles for driver’s licenses are acting as a barrier. Grants have not been easily accessible. Restroom accessibility is another barrier because of the inability to navigate with a wheelchair. Also, poverty level income has been an issue and securing loans is an obstacle as well. Financial disabilities need to be handled with care and concern as well.

Commissioner Muehlbauer: It may be good to reach out the community that would be partners to us to spread information. Chair Hayes will try to find information on this item.

Chair Hayes: Physical Environments, Lack of Assistive Technology, and negative attitudes are barriers that have been noted.

Commissioner Quarles: For clarification: are community members allowed to attend these meetings?

Staff Liaison Green: Yes, community members are allowed to attend, and I would send the required information to make that happen.

Unfinished Business

N/A

Community Input

N/A

Adjournment: Motion to adjourn meeting at 4:25 PM raised by Commissioner Quarles and seconded by Commissioner Peterson. All in favor, none opposed, motion carries.

END

Please note, any document(s) to be presented to the MAACD must be provided in large and regular size font; additional copies can be made upon request. Videos should be closed- captioned.

https://il-peoria.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04112023-363