02/07/1994 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Sh�et- IUo.S AGENDA ITEM STAFF ORIGINATOR Marty Asleson DATE January 20, 1994 TOPIC CDBG Request for Funding � ACKGR�IlND . Becky Dvorak was hired in October of 1993 as a Theraputic Recreation Specialist. The entire funding for this position at that time, and at the present time, is through Community Development Block Grant Funds. Last year there were $6368.00 appropriated for the dissabilities program through CDBG, with an additional $3275.00 that was approved later for planning purposes. This $3275.00 was also CDBG money, for a total of $9643 .00. �-. We would like to request that this funding be reconsidered for the 1994 CDBG fiscal year. In the little over three months that Becky has worked with the Theraputic Recreation initiative, we have gone a long way in addressing the City's obligations to equal access to facilities and programs. Becky has had success at opening up and creating a communications line between the city and persons with dissabilities. Contacts include area teachers, parents dissabled individuals and Anoka County Arc. This is a major and important step in the process of access to persons who may in the past have been excluded. Becky has formed a subcommittee to our Recreation Committee that will focus on the dissabilities issues. Becky has also been appointed as the ADA coordinator and has developed a plan to adress the facilities compliance issue. She is presently working on the formation of an ADA Compliance committee. Becky has given us direction and input on new projects that have transpired in parks, and is here to help us adapt in our present recreation programs when the need should arrise. There has been some resident contact on this need. Public and staff education and sensitivity on dissability issues is another focus of Becky'S, since in order to be successful with this people first. need to understand it. Becky sits on our City safety Committee and brings in the dissability concerns. In the future Becky intends to continue with the above projects and offer some programs generated from her subcommitty's reccomendations. At this time approximatly 1/2 of Becky's time is spent with the ADA Compliance project and the other 1/2 on the overall integration issues.