Westport News

November 20, 2009 Approved Regular Meeting Minutes

Call to Order: A quorum being present, Vice-Chair Stanley Cornwall called the meeting to order at 10 am in the Town Hall second floor meeting room.
Members present: Stanley Cornwall, Richard Squire, Michael Ouimet
Members absent: Elaine Ostroff, Selena Howard
Also present: Jason Dionne, Julie Reitzas

1.    Minutes:  It was moved by Richard Squire and seconded by Michael Ouimet to approve the minutes of the 11-6-09 meeting as presented. The motion passed 3-0-0.

2.    Report of contact with Philip Lenz of the new Dartmouth Commission on Disability:  Stanley Cornwall reported that he made several attempts to get in touch with Mr. Lenz but has not been successful in reaching him as yet.

3.    Beach Pass Policy Discussion:  The Vice Chair stated that there will be a meeting with the Beach Committee but no date has been confirmed. Michael Ouimet referred members to the letter he drafted to be sent to the Beach Committee and summarized his concerns as follows:

a.    There should not be a restriction on the type of disability, e.g. sight impairment, that would qualify for a special pass;
b.    The best resolution is a transferable pass;
c.     The second page of suggestions in his draft should be included in with the letter.
 

Mr. Ouimet then read the Town Clerk’s 2005 response to the Beach Committee and as well as the six suggestions from his draft. There was some discussion regarding the type of placard system that would be recommended. It was suggested that the state disability placard should be hung with the beach pass and that that the special beach pass be of a different color than standard passes. Mr. Ouimet stated that he will revise his draft letter to the Beach Committee and will email it to members in time for the next meeting. No further action was taken.

During discussion, it was suggested that other school systems be contacted to find out how they handle similar situations and to see if there may be a model program which Westport could try to emulate. It was also suggested that grant funds could be a source of revenue to pay for the additional staff since this seems to be primarily a resource issue. Mr. Dionne and Ms. Reitzas also raised the question of whether the after school programs funded by the parent group are/are not a “school activity”. They estimated the cost of the additional staff at $25.00/hr. with the total cost varying depending on the duration of the program.

Following discussion, there was consensus that more research needs to be done and that further discussion of this matter will be placed on the January agenda.

5.    Brochure Review with Lisa Cusick: The Vice-Chair reported that Ms. Cusick could not attend today’s meeting but that we should have a draft to review at our next meeting and that an early January publication date seems feasible.

6.    Commission Bylaws, discussion, vote to accept: The Vice-Chair asked if everyone had had enough time to review the proposed Bylaws and if there were any requests for changes. Hearing none, it was moved by Michael Ouimet and seconded by Dick Squire to adopt the Bylaws as presented. The motion passed 3-0-0.

7.    Placard discussion: The Vice-Chair stated that discussion of the placard will be postponed to the next meeting

8.    Other: Michael Ouimet stated that he had heard of a fundraising idea that might be very successful in Westport. The fundraiser was a “Kitchen Tour”. During a very brief discussion there was agreement that this could be a successful fundraiser. No further action was taken.

Adjournment: Having no further business to discuss, it was moved by Richard Squire and seconded by Michael Ouimet to adjourn the meeting at 11:20 am. The vote was unanimous. 

The next meeting of the Commission is on December 4, 2009 at 10am in the second floor Town Hall meeting room.