The Commission on Disability on Monday discussed its future goals and expanding the scope of its activities.

Members reflected on what they learned from leaders from the Framingham Disability Commission and Mark Dempsey, a board member of the MetroWest Center for Independent Living and the former access compliance officer for Framingham. Dempsey has attended several COD meetings.

Nancy Cavanaugh stressed that project funding requests made by the COD “don’t seem to have the same pull” compared to the Framingham Disability Commission.

“I feel like the town needs to own a piece of this,” she said. “Fixing some of these things shouldn’t just fall at the mercy of getting grant money.”

One glaring issue Cavanaugh mentioned was the lack of curb cuts in town.

She and vice chair Amy Ritterbusch mentioned how the Framingham Disability Commission was able to get money from accessible parking violation tickets to use for accessibility improvements. Cavanaugh acknowledged that the revenue generated would be significantly smaller than Framingham’s. Also, the Hopkinton Police Department may not have officers dedicated to enforcing the violations.

Other information gleaned from the discussion with Framingham leaders was working with stores to make shelves and aisles more accessible. On a related note, Ritterbusch said she would like to see a mechanism where the COD could weigh in on building projects with the Planning Board for accessibility issues, as Framingham has.

Members praised a project by Framingham middle school students. They designed assistive devices for dolls to educate their peers about the disability experience. Some tools included crutches, colostomy bags and white canes.

They agreed to invite Christopher McWhite, who serves as the town’s ADA coordinator, to a future meeting to create a partnership, as Framingham did.

Charter review comments lead to discussion of objectives

The group discussed its recommendations to the Charter Review Committee. Every 10 years, a committee meets to gather input from boards and update the charter based on the feedback received.

Ritterbusch said other committees have spoken about changing the number of members during their charter review process. Several only have three, she explained. The COD has seven, which she said seemed appropriate. Others agreed.

There have been times when a quorum could not be reached for COD and other board meetings in recent months. Former COD chair Holly Morand and former vice chair Alex Danahy submitted resignation letters earlier this month. Both had been absent for four consecutive meetings, citing schedule conflicts, according to chair Nancy “Punky” Drawe.

After Morand’s resignation, resident Pamela Loch, who regularly attends COD meetings, applied for the vacant seat. She said she applied a year ago, but there were no open seats.

Drawe added that three other people expressed interest in applying. Ritterbusch invited the public to attend meetings and become engaged.

One charter review questionnaire item that spurred comments was whether the budget was sufficient. Although the COD has no budget, Drawe, Ritterbusch and Cavanaugh commented that perhaps it should now. Then it could fund small projects.

“If you look at the purpose of our committee, there’s nothing in there that requires a budget,” countered Michael DiMascio. “It’s all advising and working with other departments and whatnot.

“If you’re thinking about having a budget, maybe we should also be thinking about changing the purpose of the committee,” he continued.

Historic District Commission approves library handrail

Drawe told commissioners she attended the Hopkinton Historic District Commission meeting on March 5 to advocate for the addition of a handrail for the front walkway ramp at the Hopkinton Public Library. The HHDC unanimously approved the request. Loch also spoke in favor of the project. No one spoke against it.

Ritterbusch, an HHDC member, noted that Linda Connelly, a current HHDC member and former library archivist, recalled the handrail discussion years ago. At that time, some people feared that handrails would create “a lot of visual clutter.”

Added Ritterbusch: “She understood, too, that it was really something that was needed.”

Drawe noted that the approved design was chosen to complement the building’s architecture and “blend in.” Construction likely will begin in the spring.

The COD and the library jointly advocated for money for accessibility improvements to the library for more than a year. Drawe announced last September that $60,000 was earmarked in the state budget for hand railings and a push-button entrance at the front of the library. The push-button project will be tackled next.

COD invited to regional, statewide events

Dempsey invited COD members to attend a statewide meeting for commissions on disability. Sponsored by the Massachusetts Commission on Disability, it will take place on April 15 via Zoom. Follow-up meetings will be held Oct. 8 and Nov. 12.

Also, there will be a regional meeting on Zoom for MetroWest commissions on disability in mid-May, he added. This event will provide networking opportunities and an exchange of ideas.