ACCESSIBILITY TAC

October 2, 2007

The TAC met at 3:00 with Jack Humburg, Pam Dorwarth, Bill Norkunas, Larry Schneider, Bemmie Eustace and Jeffery Gross serving as Chairman.

The minutes of the August 20, 2007 meeting were reviewed and approved as distributed.

Training Course Development : The members reviewed the final contents of the Advanced 2 Hour Accessibility Course and approved modifications including scrivener's errors and wording added for clarity. Copies of the CD containing the course material were provided to each TAC member with the understanding that if they were to use it for training purposes each individual must obtain approval from the appropriate licensing board before conducting any classes.

Discussion of Hotel Charette : Staff presented an outline of the proposed charette identifying issues that can be included in the scope of the project. One item that could be discussed is the possibility of including hospital as well as hotel rooms since many of the same features are included in each occupancy type. In addition to discussing design of standard rooms, deluxe rooms and suites, that specific additional amenities such as a hospitality suite and presidential suites should also be reviewed. It was recognized that many problems observed in hotel rooms, e.g. furniture placement are not code issues, but nevertheless impact on the ability to use the rooms by disabled persons. The success of a charette depends on participation by industry representatives, professional associations will be invited to attend. TAC members are to develop suggestions for attendees for further discussion at the December meeting.

Development of Educational Materials : The TAC discussed a number of avenues by which information can be distributed to help promote more uniform enforcement. Since education dissemination has been transferred to the Building Code Outreach and Mitigation Counsel, any courses developed will need to utilize the new procedures, and that given the constraints imposed on the TAC with respect to declaratory statements, creative avenues must be explored. It is general perception that statutory limitations imposed were the direct result of concerns by the disabled community that the TAC and subsequently, the Commission are not the appropriate entities to develop such statements. To assess the opinions of disabled groups, a motion was made by the TAC and unanimously approved that a Work Group be designated, composed of members of the Accessibility Advisory Council, as the base members while other groups of advocates also be invited to participate. The initial work group meeting will take place at the December meeting.