Minutes 12-15-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Sheriff Blackwood said it is available, and he can get it to the Board. Commissioner Dorosin asked if there is a process for identifying comparable counties. Bonnie Hammersley said population is the main factor, but noted that many counties do not have data readily available. Sheriff Blackwood said Orange County is socially, educationally, philosophically, and geographically unique, and this drives how law enforcement works. b. Orange County Facilities Accessibility Self-Assessment Update The Board received an update and provided feedback to staff on the County's ongoing comprehensive Facility Accessibility Self-Assessment. Brennan Bouma, Orange County Sustainability Coordinator, reviewed the following information, and PowerPoint presentation: BACKGROUND: On June 2, 2015 the Board of County Commissioners adopted a "Proclamation Supporting the Implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)", and expressed an interest in engaging the disabled community to help County staff identify any facilities access issues. Asset Management Services (AMS) and the Department of Housing, Human Rights and Community Development (HHRCD) came together to organize this subcommittee of the Space Study Work Group to conduct a self-assessment of the physical accessibility of all County facilities. This advisory subcommittee includes representatives from the Orange County Human Relations Commission (HRC), the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD) and the Disability Awareness Council (DAC) along with County staff and the County building inspectors. Some of the members of the committee are disabled, and have brought essential first-hand experience to guide the accessibility assessments. County building inspectors conducted the most recent comprehensive accessibility assessment in 2007, and other focused accessibility assessments have been conducted more recently for some County facilities. Now is an appropriate time to integrate these focused assessments and update our comprehensive assessment of County facilities. Progress: To date, assessments have been conducted for the Southern Human Services Center, the Richard L. Whitted Human Services Center and the Robert& Pearl Seymour Center, with the Library just having been done yesterday. Self-assessment teams include a disabled person or disabilities advocate, a County building inspector, and a County staff person familiar with the facility being assessed. The accessibility obstacles identified in these assessments will be prioritized by the members of the subcommittee to inform final recommendations to the Board of Commissioners. Initial progress in conducting these assessments has been deliberate, as Staff has thoughtfully developed the knowledge, tools, and collaborative process to conduct these assessments in an accurate and standardized manner. During the initial assessments, improvements to the procedures and tools were identified, which will help to improve and streamline future assessments. The committee plans to further accelerate the remaining assessments by engaging the Safety Committees from each facility in conducting initial assessments so that the accessibility assessment teams will only need to verify the results. Initial Findings: These initial assessments have identified several areas for improvement in County facilities. Some of these will require only minor adjustments (Low-level) to improve accessibility and others will require a greater investment. Example Findings from Initial Assessments: Low-level (repairs ongoing)