The meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Bauer Elementary cafeteria, located at 108 N.E. Ninth St., with city officials and engineers with Parkhill Smith & Cooper — the firm hired to develop a transition plan to address ADA problems over the next several years — expected to speak.
“We will be evaluating these things and incorporating them into the transition plan which identifies where we have problems in the facility and it outlines a basic plan for how we're going to resolve those and when we're going to resolve those,” PSC engineer Bill Noonan said during a previous meeting. “It actually sets out a timeline of when those problems are going to be addressed. They may not be addressed within a year's time or five year's time. Some of them are going to drag out a little bit longer based on funding, and that's going to be critical for the entire transition plan.”
Expected to follow the same format as the first pair of gatherings, the town hall meeting will not involve any motions or votes from the council, but should help engineers gather much-needed data on the barriers facing disabled members of the community, according to City Attorney Linda Sjogren.
“Title 2 of the ADA requires that local governments ensure all are able to participate in programs, services or activities, and this is the city council's way of trying to get this in compliance and the transition plan into place so we can reach that goal,” said Sjogren. “We were required to do an evaluation on our facilities and services back in 1992, and have had that plan on file for quite some time. We updated it in 2007 and we're in the process of doing further evaluations, and one of the questions we want to ask tonight is — in addition to the curb ramps — is a facilities transition plan. We would like to get your input on any city-owned facilities that you've encountered barriers to access or are aware of such barriers.”
Big Spring's ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Advisory Committee, along with officials from PSC, began developing the plan after several ADA issues were recently brought before the council.
The committee is tasked with gathering citizen input and making recommendations concerning accessibility and compliance with ADA regulations on city streets and facilities, and also plans to submit a report on accessibility issues in city buildings later this year.
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 Noonan.
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.”
For additional information, contact city officials at 264-2401.
Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at
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