The City of Bend Accessibility Advisory Committee spent the bulk of its Dec. 18 meeting working through ideas for a 2026 work plan, debating changes to meeting structure and a slate of potential initiatives ranging from letter campaigns to walk‑and‑roll outreach events.

Vice Chair Amanda Hammer and several members argued for a biennial work plan to preserve momentum and allow more time for multi‑year initiatives. "A biennium would be great," Hammer said, adding that annual plans often "fizzle out" before completion. Chair John Halen acknowledged the benefit but asked how a two‑year plan would work given one‑year chair terms and suggested a trigger mechanism to revisit the plan midterm.

Members advocated restoring smaller subgroups (community engagement, advocacy, transportation/infrastructure) and using recurring half‑hour slots before or after the full committee meeting to hold subgroup discussions without violating quorum rules. Cassandra, the accessibility and equity manager facilitating the workshop, proposed a mix of recurring subgroup slots and ad‑hoc meetings as appropriate.

The committee discussed outreach and advocacy tactics: a monthly topic with a standardized letter process, placement of letters or opinion pieces in local media, and continuing visible events such as Walk and Roll and White Cane Awareness Day to raise public awareness. John Halen said he has drafted a monthly calendar of letter topics for 2026 and encouraged members to develop items in advance for possible approval.

Members raised programmatic priorities including sidewalk continuity and maintenance, snow‑removal impacts on access aisles, and inclusion in Parks & Rec programs. Stephanie Etsman described repeat incidents of non‑disabled drivers occupying accessible parking and blocking access aisles at busy locations such as the post office. "There's a sense of entitlement for people who want to park," she said, and suggested combining awareness efforts with enforcement or physical measures that do not impede legitimate users.

On agenda management, Chair Halen moved to table the Kovac roundtable item due to time constraints; Carl Burnett seconded and the motion passed. Cassandra said she will compile members' priorities and circulate a summary for the January meeting so the committee can refine a draft work plan for city manager review in January 2026.

Next steps: staff will circulate meeting notes and a summary of priorities, explore subgroup scheduling options (including trial pre/post meeting slots beginning in February), and prepare a draft 2026 work plan for committee review in January before city manager consideration.