[nfbmi-talk] FW: [acb-l] Fw: amended request

Wed Mar 24 22:24:52 UTC 2010

  _____  

From: Michigan Comm for the Blind Vision 20/20 List
[mailto:MCB2020-L at LISTSERV.MICHIGAN.GOV] On Behalf Of joe harcz Comcast
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 4:23 PM
To: MCB2020-L at LISTSERV.MICHIGAN.GOV
Subject: Fw: [acb-l] Fw: amended request

----- Original Message ----- 

From: joe harcz <mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net>  Comcast 

To: acb-l at acb.org 

Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 4:05 PM

Subject: [acb-l] Fw: amended request

----- Original Message ----- 

From: joe harcz <mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net>  Comcast 

To: Cannon, Patrick <mailto:cannonp at michigan.gov>  (DELEG) 

Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 3:55 PM

Subject: Re: amended request

Dear Mr. Cannon,

I've got a few additional observations here and questions.

One, are you suggesting that I a person who is blind and who faces known
transportation barriers comes down to your office at the Victor building in
Lansing to peruse inaccessible "draft" minutes?  And isn't this the very
same building that I've documented and has literally dozens of witnesses at
the MCB meeting of Friday last to not be fully accessible with raised
character and Braille signage throughout and that includes the path of
travel to your little enclave? Oh yes that violates the program access
requirements of the ADA and 504 for that  matter? So I really want to get
this straight, because it's real important you're telling me to go to an
acknowledged inaccessible public facility?  

Now, you can't make a reasonable accommodation by simply e-mailing these
drafdraft minutes like we're doing right now by the way as both a
modification in policies and practices? 

Again you're telling me to go to an inaccessible building to get access to
inaccessible meeting minutes for crying out loud. This is, frankly absurd
and indicative of your pattern and practice of intentional discrimination
here on multiple counts. But, you are correct about one thing both the ADA
and 504 are civil rights laws. And each and every violation is a violation
of my civil rights by you a state actor. I might check into some case law if
I were you concerning 1983 violations.

Be assured by the way that Great Lakes and the U.S. Department of Justice
have your correspondence here as ludicrous as it is as well as my response.

Be assured that several lawyers have been notified of this and other issues
as well.

I thought you'd be happy to know that Mr. Cannon.

Sincerely,

Paul "Joe" Harcz, Jr.

cc: DOJ

cc: Great Lakes TAC

cc: several

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Cannon, Patrick <mailto:cannonp at michigan.gov>  (DELEG) 

To: joe harcz <mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net>  Comcast 

Cc: Jo Anne <mailto:pilarskij at CHARTER.NET>  Pilarski ;
brlbumps at sbcglobal.net 

Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 12:56 PM

Subject: RE: amended request

Dear Mr. Harcz,

You'll be pleased to know that we are in the process of responding to your
many notes of inquiry during the past weeks and are pleased to do so.  It is
our hope to effectively reply to your numerous inquiries in a comprehensive
email message to you soon, perhaps covering many of your notes in a single
reply.  In the meantime, though, I do want to clarify the Commission's
interpretation of and adherence to the Michigan Open Meetings Act (OMA), the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, particularly their relationship to proposed
draft minutes.

As you know, OMA states that proposed minutes shall be public records open
to public inspection and shall be available to the public not more than
eight business days after the meeting to which the minutes refer.  Approved
minutes are to be available not later than five business days after they're
approved by the public body.  The Michigan Commission for the Blind (MCB)
has consistently complied with these requirements through the years that
I've been here and, of course, intends to continue to operate within these
requirements.

Our compliance with OMA, Mr. Harcz, is actually not an ADA issue as you've
described it.  The ADA (and Section 504) speaks to civil rights,
non-discrimination and equal access, not greater or better access.  MCB's
practice is to make proposed minutes available for public inspection at our
Lansing office is consistent with OMA and any ADA requirements.  After
minutes receive formal approval by Commissioners they are properly posted
and broadly distributed

As you may know, the ADA would speak to dissemination of this information in
an accessible manner to ensure that people with disabilities have equal
access (i.e. in terms of format, timing of release, etc.) as the general
public.  I'm pleased to advise you that we strive to consistently meet this
mandate and will continue to do so.  More specific to your request for
minutes of the December 11, 2009, MCB meeting, Mr. Harcz, the proposed
minutes of that meeting have been available for public inspection here at
the Commission's Central Office.  These minutes were approved March 19th and
will be posted and distributed no later than March 26th, as called for by
the OMA, and will be advanced to you at the same time and in a format
accessible to you, as called for by the ADA and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

It is clear from your communications over the years, Mr. Harcz, that your
interpretation of the OMA and the ADA is different than ours and I encourage
you to confirm our interpretation with the U. S. Department of Justice
and/or the Great Lakes ADA Center in Chicago, both highly reputable
resources for such information, as well as resources of which I know you are
most familiar.  We also invite you to call our office, toll-free, at
800-292-4200, if you'd like any additional information.

Sincerely,

Pat Cannon

State Director

  _____  

From: joe harcz Comcast [mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 6:31 PM
To: Cannon, Patrick (DELEG)
Cc: Jo Anne Pilarski
Subject: amended request

(Note: In the prior request for accommodation and "proposed minuts I
inadvertently asked for the December 11, 2010 minuts. Of course I was
requesting the December 11, 2009 "proposed" or "draft" minutes. Please
accept my apology for any confusion. I attached the corrected request here
and will also send it to other board members:)

March 16, 2010

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.

Mt. Morris, MI 48458

(Cell: 810-516-5262)

E-mail: joeharcz at comcast.net

Re: Specific Request for Proposed Minutes December 11, 2010

LANSING, CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE

Phone, voice: (517) 373-2062

Toll-free voice (800) 292-4200

TTY (517) 373-4025; toll-free TTY (888) 864-1212

Fax: (517) 335-5140

DIRECTOR'S OFFICE

Cannon, Patrick D., Director

(via e-mail)

Ms. Jo Ann Pilarski, MCB Commission Chair

pilarskij at charter.net

Mr. Michael Geno, MCB Commission Vice Chair

luzenskis at michigan.gov

Ms. Velma P. Allen, MCB Commissioner

luzenskis at michigan.gov

Ms. Geraldine G. Taeckens, MCB Commissioner

geri.taeckens at isahealthfund.org

Ms. Margaret Wolfe, MCB Commissioner

margwolfe at usa.net

All,

This is a specific request to receive the "Proposed" or "Draft" minutes of
the Michigan Commission for the Blind board meeting of December 11, 2009
(see attached agenda after my signature line) in accordance with The
Michigan Open Meetings ACT

Act 267 of 1976. Specifically I cite this reference to this requirement
(something I've pointed out in the past to Director Cannon on several
occasions by the way)):

"15.269. Minutes; contents, corrections, open to public inspection

Sec. 9. (1) Each public body shall keep minutes of each meeting showing the
date, time, place, members present, members absent, any decisions made at a

meeting open to the public, and the purpose or purposes for which a closed
session is held. The minutes shall include all roll call votes taken at the

meeting. Corrections in the minutes shall be made not later than the next
meeting after the meeting to which the minutes refer. Corrected minutes
shall

be available no later than the next subsequent meeting after correction. The
corrected minutes shall show both the original entry and the correction.

(2) Minutes shall be public records open to public inspection and shall be
available at the address designated on posted public notices pursuant to
section

4. Copies of the minutes shall be available to the public at the reasonable
estimated cost for printing and copying.

(3) Proposed minutes shall be available for public inspection not more than
8 business days after the meeting to which the minutes refer. Approved
minutes

shall be available for public inspection not later than 5 business days
after the meeting at which the minutes are approved by the public body."

Since clearly the eeight ((8) days requirement for making these available to
the public has lapsed I do again specifically request them now.

In addition I ask for reasonable accommodations in this regard relative to
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Specifically I request that you simply e-mail
them to me. As certainly they are already maintained and in a digital format
(likely Microsoft Word) this request should be of minimal trouble to
accomplish.

Sincerely,

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

(Attachment:-)

http://www.michigan.gov/dleg/0,1607,7-154-28077_28313_34884-227276--,00.html

December 11 2009 Meeting of the MCB Board & Honor Roll Awards Presentation

MICHIGAN COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2009

KELLOGG CENTER, LINCOLN ROOM

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN

9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Live audio streaming of the meeting will be available online at
approximately 9:00 a.m. at the MCB Web site at

www.michigan.gov/mcb.

To listen to the Commission meeting over the telephone dial:

1-916-233-0780 or toll free 1-888-296-6828

Passcode: 847670# (required for both call in numbers)

AGENDA

I. Committee of the Whole 9:00 - 10:00

List of 6 items

. Reappointment of Commissioners

. Vice Chair Selection

. Reports on Commissioner Activities

. Issues/Questions from Previous Meeting

. Director's 2009 Evaluation

. Other

list end

REGULAR MEETING

II. Call to Order, Roll Call, and Determination of Quorum - Ms. Jo Ann
Pilarski, Chairperson 10:00 - 10:15

III. Approval of September 18, 2009 Meeting Minutes - MCB Board

IV. Approval of November 5, 2009 Special Meeting Minutes - MCB Board

V. Approval of Director's 2009 Evaluation - MCB Board

VI. Board Correspondence

VII. PUBLIC COMMENT** 10:15 - 10:30

VIII. Welcome Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
(SBPH) to the Commission - Sue Chinault 10:30 - 10:50

IX. Presentation of MCB Honor Roll Awards 10:50 - 12:00

LUNCH (Note: Lunch provided to award winners and their guests, commissioners
and attending staff) 12:00 - 1:00

X. PUBLIC COMMENT** 1:00 - 1:15

XI. Update on the National Agenda for Education of Children and Youth with
Visual Impairments, Brunhilde Merk-Adam, National Co-Chair 1:15 - 1:45

XII. Administrative Reports 1:45 - 3:00

List of 5 items (contains 2 nested lists)

. Consumer Services Report - Mr. Leamon Jones, Consumer Services Director

List of 1 items nesting level 1

. Memorandums of Understanding (MOU's) with Institutions of Higher Education
(IHE)

list end nesting level 1

. Business Enterprise Program Report - Ms. Constance Zanger, BEP Manager

. Elected Operators Committee Report - Mr. James Chaney

List of 6 items nesting level 1

. Motion #1: The Attorney General's opinion on the position paper is
referred to the Policy, Manual and Rules Subcommittee for review.
(Information Only)

. Motion #2: An operator voluntarily leaving the program and then returning
to the program more than three years later retains their initial years of
service

for purposes of the Operator Selection System seniority component. (Action
Item)

. Motion #3: The EOC adopted an updated Vending Facility Evaluation for a 2
year trail period. The EOC will assess the value of the instrument after the

first year of its use. (Information Only)

. Motion #4: The EOC adopted an updated initial inventory policy for a 1
year trial period at which time its value will be assessed. (Action Item)

. Motion #5: Bill Younce and Garent Prentice are awarded mandatory training
points for attending the 2000 Annual EOC Workshop. (Information Only)

. Motion #6: Install Sharon Nelson as the temporary operator of the
convenience store at the McNamara Federal Building. (Information Only)

list end nesting level 1

. Training Center Report - Mr. Bruce Schultz, Assistant Training Center
Director

. Director's Report - Mr. Patrick Cannon, State Director

list end

XIII. Adjournment 3:00

**NOTE: Public comment may be submitted during the meeting from 9:30-12:00
via email to

mcbpubliccomments at comcast.net .

Emails received outside of this time frame are not considered part of Public
Comment.

The meeting site is accessible. Individuals attending the meeting are
requested to refrain from using heavily scented personal care products in
order to

enhance accessibility for everyone. People with disabilities requiring
additional accommodations (such as materials in alternative format) in order
to

participate in the meeting should call Sue Luzenski at 517/335-4265 by
December 7, 2009.

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