Only one person addressed the city's Americans with Disabilities Act Advisory Committee during the abbreviated meeting at Dora Roberts Community Center.
The committee is tasked with gathering citizen input and making recommendations concerning accessibility and compliance with ADA regulations on city streets and facilities.
Accessibility has become a major issue because the city is about to start work on a $9 million street renovation project in the central part of Big Spring.
“Texas law states that if you pursue major renovation to streets or buildings in a dollar value greater than $50,000, you must submit that proposal for ADA approval, then pass an accessibility inspection,” said Bill Noonan, an architect with Parkhill, Smith and Cooper who is advising the city on the process.
Assistant City Manager Todd Darden said work on the street renovation is scheduled to begin in August and last a year. Aside from renovating the roadways, attention will be placed on accessibility features such as curb ramps and “curb cuts” — areas on street intersections specially graded to allow wheelchair access — he said.
And city officials are looking at addressing accessibility beyond the upcoming street project.
“If there are any funds left over after the street renovation, I would like us to look into the possibility of installing curb ramps at City Hall and the municipal auditorium,” Darden said. “We're looking at some of our facilities in our current budget ... We're trying to secure grant money to address some of these issues.”
City Attorney Linda Sjogren said the public hearings were part of a three-tier process in the city's efforts to address accessibility issues in Big Spring. Committee members will eventually incorporate citizen input into their recommendations, which will be submitted to the city council later this summer.
Those recommendations will primarily address ADA compliance on city streets; the committee also plans to submit a report on accessibility issues in city buildings later this year.
“That's why citizen input in those areas is so important,” Sjogren said.
The third and final town hall meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. July 7 at Bauer Elementary School.
Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at
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