[NFBO-Linn-benton] Testimony Monday evening on Benton Area Transport/Dial-A-Bus

Mon Dec 6 01:47:55 UTC 2021

Hi all,  once you get registered to listen you will not need to do anything
- it is audio only and you will be muted and unable to speak as an attendee.

Kristen Jocums, J.D.
Mediator and Parent Coordinator

Peaceful Family Solutions, LLC
993 NW Circle Blvd. Ste. C
Corvallis, Oregon 97330
Mobile: 706-718-8055
Fax and office: 541-286-4738
kristen at peacefulfamily.net 

This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of
the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged
information. If the reader of this message is not the intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution
or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly
prohibited.

If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by
reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original.

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBO-Linn-benton <nfbo-linn-benton-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of
John Gardner via NFBO-Linn-benton
Sent: Sunday, December 5, 2021 4:09 PM
To: 'NFB of Oregon Linn-Benton Chapter List' <nfbo-linn-benton at nfbnet.org>
Cc: John Gardner <john.gardner at viewplus.com>
Subject: [NFBO-Linn-benton] Testimony Monday evening on Benton Area
Transport/Dial-A-Bus

Kristen asked me to send out a note informing the group that she and I will
be giving testimony tomorrow (Monday) at the Corvallis City Council meeting.
In our last chapter meeting we passed a resolution added below about
deterioration of para transit in Corvallis and Benton County. This is
fundamentally a Benton County problem, but we were asked to inform the city
council, since it affects the city fairly strongly. If you want to listen
in, the link for registration is:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4797048704203943438

I have grave concern about the accessibility of this meeting. It has been
several years since I attempted to use a GoTo whatever and always found it
to be absolutely inaccessible. The company even admitted that it was
inaccessible and bluntly said they did not plan to do anything about it. I
hope that has changed. I have not registered, because I am not sure that a
speaker uses this same link. Haven't gotten instructions yet.
John

DECLARATION AGAINST AGREGIOUS AND/OR ILLEGAL POLICIES OF BENTON COUNTY 

The Linn-Benton Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon,
an affiliate of the Nation's largest organization of blind and visually
impaired people, asserts that:
1.	Benton County Oregon (hereinafter "County") has unilaterally
discontinued contracted payments to Dial A Bus ("DAB"), the County's
provider of paratransit services.
2.	The County has also implemented policies which have unnecessarily
handicapped DAB in its provision of paratransit services.
3.	The County has discontinued these funds and implemented these
restrictions without attaining the required input from persons with
disabilities. 
4.	These willful actions on the part of the County have begun to
detrimentally impact the lives of blind persons and are expected to have
even further negative impacts upon the blind and our community.
5.	49 C.F.R. Section 37.137 states that an entity developing a
paratransit plan must ensure public participation through outreach,
consultation with individuals with disabilities, opportunity for public
comment on the plan, and at least one public hearing. Additionally, Section
37.137(c) requires an "ongoing mechanism for the participation of
individuals with disabilities in the continued development and assessment of
services to persons with disabilities."
6.	The County formerly utilize a Special Transportation Advisory
Committee ("STAC") to advise on paratransit services and meet this Federal
requirement.  At the same time the County discontinued its contractual
payments to DAB and began its undercutting of services to the disabled, the
County also discharged the STAC and has refused to reinstate a comparable
mechanism in its place.
7.	This dismantling of the STAC and the undercutting of DAB violates
federal regulations and detrimentally impacts the quality of life of blind
and visually impaired persons of Benton County.
The members of the Linn-Benton Chapter therefore call upon Benton County
Commissioners to immediately intervene in the wanton dismantling of the
paratransit services by:
1.	Immediately complying with its financial obligations to DAB.
2.	Immediately reinstating the STAC or an equivalent Committee for an
audit of the County's clandestine demolition of quality paratransit
services. 
3.	 Immediately issuing a moratorium on all County-directed changes to
the paratransit system until the STAC or its equivalent is reconstituted;
and
4.	Ensure that a member of the Linn-Benton Chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind of Oregon has an opportunity to take a seat on the
new STAC. 

Passed unanimously by the Chapter on November 22, 2021.

John Gardner
President
541.754.4002 x 200
www.viewplus.com

PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL: This message and any files transmitted with it
may be proprietary and are intended solely for the use of the individual to
whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
copying, disclosure, dissemination or distribution is strictly prohibited;
please notify the sender and delete the message. ViewPlus Technologies, Inc.
accepts no liability for damage of any kind resulting from this email.

_______________________________________________
NFBO-Linn-benton mailing list
NFBO-Linn-benton at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbo-linn-benton_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
NFBO-Linn-benton:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbo-linn-benton_nfbnet.org/kjocums%40iclo
ud.com