From: Laurie alderman
To: Kevin Patterson
Cc: George Barich; Mark Landman; Damien O"Bid; Susan Harvey; Laura Sparks; Ben Ford; John Moore; Michael Parish
Subject: Re: My comments for Tuesday Nov. 22nd meeting.
Date: Friday, November 18, 2022 12:32:44 PM
CAUTION:EXTERNAL SENDER
If suspicious, do not click on links, open attachments, or provide credentials and report it by using the "Phish Alert Report" button.
I forgot one agenda item's comment. With the police beat/neighborhood watch, I suggest another option. Return the meetings to the neighborhoods and ask for volunteers to update the neighborhood watch programs. I have been the only one at the "beat" meetings for my neighborhood two times now despite them being comparatively well advertised. It needs to be homegrown that the citizens watch out for each other in their neighborhood, not initiated by the police only.
Thanks, Laurie Alderman
On Friday, November 18, 2022 at 12:24:55 PM PST, Laurie alderman wrote:
Submitting my public comments on the agenda items for Tuesday.
Police Building security video system upgrade. Why was this not an open bid item, giving preference to Cotati Vendors, that would be nearby to address any malfunctions?.
City of Cotati Seal. This was discussed extensively on multiple social media sites with a different conclusion/consensus than those who responded to the city's official survey. The consensus was to keep Chief Kotate on the seal, but change the "history" and "story" of Chief Kotate, that he is a representative of our history with the Miwok tribe, not an actual person/chief.
Lastly, I do appreciate the work of the Ad Hoc committee on diversity and inclusion. There is a glaring gap though in this report, and that has to do with those citizens with disabilities. This is an issue the City is currently in Federal Court with, with the trial date in January, 2023. Some of my suggestions are:
1. Consistently turn on closed captioning using the equipment purchased over a year ago for this purpose.
2. Training and updating of the closed captioning system to a level comparable to other cities in the County. Here is a sample transcript of the closed captioning:
3. Policy of if there is not disability access to a meeting, i.e. no webcast, no closed captioning, low volume etc. voiced by anyone, that the meeting be delayed until the accessibility problems are addressed and corrected to a mutually agreeable level.
4. Policy that the process of requesting ADA accommodations be presented elsewhere in addition to being in the agenda packet.
5. Policy that all ADA equipment be tested that it is working properly before each meeting.
Thank you,
Laurie Alderman
Cotati
Under the Public Records Act (California Government Code §6250-6270), e-mail messages of local agencies are public records which are subject to disclosure to the public or may be subpoenaed.