March 11, 2002

 

 

Pat Conway

102 Rhododendron Drive

Chapel Hill, NC 27514

 

Wendy Trueblood, Executive Director

The ARC of Orange County

P.O. Box 2594

Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2594

Dear Pat and Wendy:

Thank you and ARC staff members Carol Stanton and Allison Zoller for attending the meeting with Andrea Rohrbacher (Vice-Chair, Parks and Recreation Commission), Kathryn Spatz and me on February 11, 2002. 

I want to follow-up and touch base, to let you know where we current stand and where we go from here  concerning recreation programs and opportunities to participate in leisure activities for individuals with disabilities in our community.  As the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department’s new Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, I am looking forward to being able to provide full-time assistance to individuals with disabilities in our community. Currently, we as a department are still in the process of hiring an Assistant Community Center Supervisor. When this position is filled, I will be able to commit all of my time and energy to the needs of programming and support services for individuals with disabilities.

We currently have approximately $10,000 in this fiscal year’s budget for the use of hiring, training and employing part-time inclusion staff for summer day camp services 2002. The Department’s base budget for next fiscal year which has been submitted to the Town Manager includes $25,000 for this purpose. Specifically, this money will be used to provide camp companions and inclusion supervisors for children with disabilities who have requested inclusion support or have been identified by the Therapeutic Recreation staff as needing inclusion support to function optimally in our summer day camps. 

Additionally, the Parks and Recreation Department’s budget presentation to the Town Council included a request for approximately $60,000 to staff and operate a Specialized Recreation Camp for summer 2002.  The Specialized Recreation Camp would serve those individuals whose disabilities prevent them from utilizing and benefiting from customary inclusion services and would target school-aged children (1^st-12^th grades). The Department has tentatively reserved a Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School site in the event that funding for this camp is included in the Council adopted budget for fiscal year 2002-03.

In the near future, I will contact and meet with local community organizations serving individuals with disabilities, to better understand and assess their specific needs for recreation participation and barriers to inclusion.  I hope to pursue the potential for some community partnerships in providing recreation and leisure services in our community and to search for supplementary sources of funding, outside of the town, to assist with future programs. The Parks and Recreation Department is committed to increasing the number of programs and activities offered specifically for individuals with disabilities and to making these programs and activities more visible and accessible to all members of our community. 

I’m currently in the process of developing a recommended policy for Specialized Recreation programs and Inclusion Services and implementing disability awareness training for all Parks and Recreation staff.  Additionally, I will continue to put the finishing touches on an inclusion manual for orientation and training staff to work in inclusive settings and create a database of potential volunteers and paid staff to facilitate Specialized Recreation programs in the future.

Thank you again for your commitment, support, and feedback to date.  The Manager's recommended budget is scheduled to be presented on Monday, April 22 and the Council is scheduled to adopt the budget on Monday, June 10. The following is a list of up-coming Town Council dates and times when it would be appropriate to citizens and community groups to advocate in person for funding for specific programs:

Monday, March 25, Council business meeting, 7:00 p.m.

            Tuesday, March 26, Public Forum on Budget, 7:00 p.m.          

Monday, April 8, Council business meeting, 7:00 p.m.

Monday, April 22, Council business meeting, 7:00 p.m.

Monday, May 13, Council business meeting, 7:00 p.m.

Monday, May 29, Council business meeting, 7:00 p.m.

 

In addition, citizens may submit written petitions to the Mayor and Council at any time.

 

Your input and comments are valued and I hope you will continue to express them in the future.  

 

Sincerely,

Robb English

Community-Based Therapeutic Recreation Specialist

Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department

 

CC:      Andrea Rohrbacher, Vice-Chair, Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Commission

            Kathryn Spatz, Parks and Recreation Director