Disability Advisory Council (DAC)

MINUTES – Friday, October 17, 2014

Present: Jim Joque, Laura Polum, Olivia Riemer, Roxanne Schuster, Marcus Reinhardt, Ann Kiefer, Carl Rasmussen, Bill Rowe, Paul Hasler, Cindy Von Gnetchen, Bob Tabor, Kristi Roth, Susan LeBow

Welcome to new members. New student representatives are Marcus Reinhardt and Olivia Riemer. They were thanked for serving.
Parking. Parking does not receive state funding and is self-sustaining primarily through permits and fines/fees. 65% of revenue is from meter fines. Parking services owns several houses in the surrounding university area and continues to acquire properties with the goal of constructing additional parking once adequate space is acquired. The parking ramp will not be built at this time as the cost was too prohibitive. There will be a loss of 350 spaces with the development of the new science building. When Lot X goes offline, Lot T will be part of the day/hourly lot for commuter students. Some Lot T faculty may have to relocate to Lot Q. The number of disabled (accessible) parking spaces exceeds the minimum state requirement of 2% of spaces. These spaces can be disbursed throughout campus. Parking services determines demand of accessible spaces based on contacts from students and faculty. The concern was shared that curb cuts are not in line with accessible spaces. Sidewalk cutouts and crosswalks are designated by the city. If someone has a disabled parking tag does not mean the university is required to give them free parking. (They are still required to purchase a UWSP Lot Permit.) There has been a history of permit misuse of disabled parking tags. The university can provide a UWSP disabled parking permit if the applicant has completed the appropriate process (doctor’s note) to obtain a state disabled parking. The university cannot determine qualifications for disabled parking. UWSP disabled permits can park at any meter spot for free.

Climate Subcommittee Report (Jim Joque). No new updates. The Disability Awareness events are ready to go. We are all excited about them. Kristi might not be able to supervise goalball, but will have a replacement if she can’t.

Accessibility Assessment Subcommittee Report (Cindy Von Gnechten).There will not be a CAC dedication due to funding. There was a review of previous projects presented to the committee – the tape on the stairs for visual accessibility in the Student Services Building, and CAC entry redesign. The tape is an experiment and it is hoped it will work.

Old Business. We still need chairs or co-chairs.

New Business. Kristi requested that students let her know about issues when working within Google Docs as she does training with faculty and it would be good to let them know how they can help to ensure they are providing accessible options.

Meeting adjourned.

Meeting minutes respectfully submitted by

Kristi Roth