HomeMy WebLinkAbout01292005 RECRecreation Committee Meeting Minutes
City of Sebastian
Recreation Advisory Committee
January 29, 2005
Called to order by the Chairman:
Roll Call: The following members were present
William Ingui, Jayne Barczyk,
Jessica Keaton, Mrs. Jeannie Jessup, Elizabeth Gray and Michelle Merlin were absent
excused
Staff members present were Linda Kinchen, Recording Secretary, Chris McCarthy, Parks
and Recreation Superintendent,
Approval of Minutes: None
Old Business: None
Mr. Ingui gives a brief synopsis of why we are here.
Mrs. Barczyk speaks and says ideas are needed for the City Says the playground should
not be by itself but integrated with other equipment.
The floor is turned over to Dr. Jennifer Stanley retired from Department of Community
Affairs — Dr. Stanley talks about the Children and what the city should provide. (see
chairman's notes to Council for details attached)
Public Comment: by Charles Stateman who has two special needs children.
Staff comments — None
Next meeting will be March 14th in the old council chambers
Meeting adjourned at 10:30 AM
r
Approved March 14t", 2004 , Chairman
Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee
City of Sebastian, Florida
DATE: March 14, 2005
TO: Sebastian City Council
RE: Parks Committee Recommendations
"Park Facilities and Children with Disabilities"
Background:
Having received approval to learn more about park facilities from interested citizens and
professionals in the field of children with disabilities, at the meeting of the City Council on
December 8, 2004, the Parks Committee has completed the following in order to prepare the
recommendations made to City Council this evening:
■ January 3-24 — Letter of invitation to parents and professionals requesting their
attendance at our meetings to provide input.
■ January 24, 2005 — Regular Parks Meeting — 5 pm, at which time park facilities and
pre -workshop public input was made to the Parks & Recreation Committee
■ January 29, 2005 — Parks & Recreation Workshop — 9 am to 11 am, with an agenda:
"Children with Disabilities." Public input was received from a professional in the field
and a parent.
■ March 14, 2005 — Regular Parks Meeting — 5 pm, at which time the Committee
completed the report to the City Council being presented at this time
Workshop Summary
January 29, 2005
Information Learned About Children With Disabilities
Input from Professional: Dr. Jackie Stanley
Dr. Stanley has her doctoral degree in Recreation and Leisure Administration from Temple
University. She is a former City Recreation Department Administrator and was the Director of
the Office on Community Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities for thirteen years in the New
Jersey Department of Community Affairs. She was the recipient of four grants from the U.S.
Department of Education (Special Education Division) to develop "A Systematic Approach to
Developing and Implementing Integrated Community Recreation Services for the Disabled."
She was appointed to six Governor's Task Forces serving the disabled and served on seven
state advisory boards and commissions that dealt with disabled issues. Dr. Stanley is the
author of thirteen publications that relate to training, public awareness, interpretation of the law
and accessibility to serve this special group. Before retiring to Florida in 1992, she had served
on the National Accessibility Commision and drafted the first "Barrier Free Regulations for
Parks, Playgrounds and Indoor Recreation Facilities" in the State of New Jersey.
Dr. Stanley participated in our workshop of January 29, 2005. The following is a summary of
what she tried to convey to the committee:
■ Build parks for all children. She explained that children, like adults, work and play
together in our society and although some with disabilities perform at a different pace,
they learn to integrate in whatever they do.
■ Equipment for all parks should be spread throughout a park, not located in a focal
point to be used for a specific group of children. An "integrated" park, with equipment
that serves to offer an education moment for children to learn tolerate each other, as
well as perhaps help each other, was a primary theme of what Dr. Stanley tried to
convey. She referred to the "integrated" concept as a "boundless playground"
environment for children and adults.
She suggested that when making requests for government funding, we should
emphasize ALL children benefiting in this integrated setting.
A park near a school or on school grounds is good, so her remarks also made
reference to the fact that a cooperative relationship should exist between the City of
Sebastian and the Indian River Board of Education to pursue park facilities that
address the needs of all children.
Decisions need to be guided by civil rights legislation and the 1990 Americans with
Disabilities Act, with any addendum changes that have been made since. She
framed this thought in reference to the fact that government agencies are responsible
to all of the residents and this includes children with many different abilities or
disabilities.
Input from Parent, Mr. Charles Stadelman:
Mr. Stadelman has a daughter, Abigail, now six years old, who has cerebral palsy, and a son,
Andrew, now three years old, who is autistic. He and his wife Lisa, also have two other children,
Charles, who is nine years old, and William, who is four years old. His children attend programs
at Pelican Island Elementary School and he related to us that there are approximately nine
other parents who have children with similar issues. His daughter cannot walk or speak, but
skillfully uses a wheelchair. His son Andrew is autistic which is a term describing a
developmental disturbance characterized by an abnormal or impaired development in social
communication and interaction skills and a significantly restricted range of activities and
interests. Autistic children exhibit communication disorders, short attention spans, and the
inability to treat others as people.
Mr. Charles Stadelman is a Sebastian resident who spoke before the Parks and Recreation
Committee Workshop on January 29, 2005. The following is a summary of what he tried to
convey to the committee:
He expressed his support for the City to include play equipment for children with
disabilities in the parks.
He suggested that a rubberized surface instead of sand would improve accessibility
for these children and for some elderly who use canes, walkers, and have difficulty
walking on sand.
His experience with Pelican Island Elementary School has helped him know a little
more than the average person what makes a good park environment for these
children. He believes that the sand made it almost impossible for Abby to play with
other kids since she uses a walker. He felt that the playground needed pieces of
equipment designed for special needs children, but integrated with the rest. Because
of his intervention, the playground will be getting a rubberized surface, making it
accessible for Abbey.
2
Parks & Recreation Committee Recommendations:
The committee suggests that:
1. All parks in the city have at least one piece of playground equipment that can be
considered appropriate for developmentally impaired children and accessible to all
children.
2. Accessibility should involve the use of a surface easily traversed with a walker or
wheelchair, such as the use of rubberized surfaces in all parks. This surface material
replaces sand or mulch with a poured rubber mixture.
3. "All parks should be socially inviting, developmentally beneficial, fully integrated and
barrier -free." (')
4. The parks should include equipment with ramps or berms that eliminate the need to
climb a stair or ladder.
5. The ramps need to be wide enough to permit wheelchair access.
6. Swings especially should have wheelchair access and/or molded seats that are larger
than those on normally built swings.
7. Some parks that were previously not considered for use as a place where integrated
play equipment would be placed have been reconsidered under our new guideline
recommendations. While we thought only new parks might be better suited for
adaptation to meet the recommendations already stated, it became clear that older parks
are already used by parents and children with disabilities, such as the greatly praised
Barber Street complex, where some adaptation and adjustments are necessary to bring
it to a level that would meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
8. The City Council should seek a cooperative planning relationship with the Indian River
Board of Education to pursue park facilities that address the needs of all children. This
would mean that while City parks are addressing children's needs, so too should all
schools that fall within the boundaries of the City of Sebastian, if not providing the
impetus for the Board of Education to do the same throughout the county. We could
literally double the parks useful for children with disabilities and their grandparents
(many who volunteer on school grounds) who join them during the afternoon or on
weekends.
-Cityus es for Special Needs a Hong I oggy. quoted rom Eve Owens, Palm Bay grant coordinator in developtrig a special needs par