Neldon Demke, ADA Coordinator; Steve Rodriguez - Pueblo

Pueblo ADA Advisory Committee
Minutes of the Meeting
September 3, 2009
Present: Neldon Demke, ADA Coordinator; Steve Rodriguez, member; Sam
Vigil, Public Works; Terry Skinner (guest), John Madrid (member), Don
Bruestle, (member); Jo Washburn, speech interpreter; Jean Benfield, Vice
Chairperson; Sharon Campbell, Chairperson; Kristen Castor, Secretary
OLD BUSINESS
The meeting opened with an update of the curb ramp at 14 th and Santa Fe.
Douglas Hunter has not contacted Sam Vigil as he indicated he would.
Sharon Campbell will forward contact information to Mr. Vigil so that he can
contact Mr. Hunter directly.
Public Works Update: Sam Vigil
Mr. Vigil will entertain bids on 2009 Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) funded curb ramp requests in the next two weeks. Several
neighborhoods have submitted sizable curb ramp requests that have been
granted. This includes several locations on Ardith Lane, west of Pueblo Blvd.
and several locations on the East Side and in Bessemer.
The list for additional work on the 2008 curb ramp project has been
completed. This will use left over contingency funds from 2008 and will
accommodate about 14 curb ramps.
Don Bruestle asked if the sidewalks on Ardith Lane would be set back from
the street and Mr. Vigil said there was not enough right-of-way to do so.
There followed a lengthy discussion about sidewalk maintenance and
walkability. Kristen Castor noted that there is a new neighborhood alliance
forming that will seek legal standing to be able to negotiate with the city on
neighborhood improvements. If this is successful, it may present the
Committee with a tool to promote a sidewalk replacement policy with the
City.
Sharon Campbell asked Kristen Castor to represent the ADA Committee at
Pueblo Alliance of Neighborhood meetings.
Sam Vigil suggested that if we wanted to address roadway standards
pertaining to right of way, we would need to entertain discussions with
Planning and Zoning in land use and with Transportation.

Sharon Campbell asked if the contingency funds could be used for a sidewalk
repair program. Sam Vigil suggested we contact Ada Clark about this.
Kristen Castor will invite Ada Clark to the next work session on Thursday
September 17 th from 1:00 to 3:00 at a place to be arranged by Ms. Castor.
Mr. Vigil continued with an update on the bathhouses. Now that the
bathhouses are closed, the city is assessing the infrastructure at Mineral
Palace Park Bathhouse to see what needs to be done to bring it up to
standard. Work will begin next Tuesday and should be completed shortly.
Approval of the Minutes
August minutes were approved as written by unanimous vote.
HARP and YMCA
Kristen has emailed both committees with possible meeting times to address
access, but no formal action was taken.
Internship
Neldon Demke noted that the job description for an intern to work with the
ADA Committee looked very clerical. Sharon Campbell said it includes
disability awareness training, photography, and attendance of our meetings.
Neldon Demke suggested he contact his intern pool, find out what people
want to do, and tailor the job to fit both needs. Project Supervision is more
attractive and would include the tasks already identified.
The interview panel for the ADA Committee Intern will be Neldon Demke,
Sharon Campbell, Jean Benfield, and Steve Rodriquez.
Web Page Content
Sharon Campbell has begun developing a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
guide for the ADA Committee and needs to clear part of it with Linda
Grisham. She will email the draft to the membership for comment.
Kristen Castor passed out the draft format of the business card. Don
Bruestle suggested adding “members” to the back and “meets monthly” on
the front. Terry Skinner suggested abbreviations to the same effect. Vickie
Weeks suggested listing the website. The Committee will develop a flyer at
the next work session. Kristen Castor will bring printed cards to review.

State Fair Parking
Sharon Campbell looked into the feasibility of using the Optimist Club’s
parking lot for handicapped parking at the State Fair. She concluded that
it’s too far from the Fairgrounds to be of much use. It would also require
painting and signage. Neldon Demke will get an evaluation of the
handicapped access via the parking garage and the shuttle. Don Bruestle
suggested inviting Chris Wiseman in a future meeting to talk about shuttles
from the parking lots and other access issues, including listening systems.
Sharon Campbell will contact Chris Wiseman about access issues at the
State Fair for a meeting later in the fall.
Outreach: Speakers Bureau
Kristen Castor suggested each member develop an area of expertise to talk
about. We could start developing these in the next work session, but will
have a separate work session on it in October. Tentative suggestions are:
Terry Skinner Extra wide issues
Vickie Weeks How to serve people with vision problems
Handicapped Parking
Big Lots and other places need upright signs at their marked spaces before
the handicapped parking ordinance can be enforced. These should be sent
to Access for All.
There are six new members for a total of 10 active patrol members and the
full patrol is going on duty during the Fair. The handicapped spaces along
Arroyo and Beulah are the only ones the Patrol can ticket.
Settlement: Neldon Demke
Closed captioning is budgeted for next year.
PACOG Issues
ADA Training
Kristen Castor said the most salient piece of information from the ADA
survey training was that government entities must be fully accessible at any
cost. There is no leeway in retrofitting older buildings as there is for private

usinesses. Either the buildings are made fully accessible or the services
have to be moved.
John Scutti is the facilities manager for the County and made it clear he
wants to work with the Committee. He has a strong background from
Department of Corrections and will be happy to bring draft floor plans and
schedule walk-throughs prior to final approval. The Committee should ask
him for a list of active buildings and set a schedule for formal evaluation.
The first issue will be Department of Social Services. The Arts Center is also
known to have difficulties with access, but the full list needs to be prioritized.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 3:00 by unanimous vote
The next meeting is October 1 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at SRDA.