Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

City Looks Into ADA Compliancy

Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was a hot topic for the Prescott City Council Monday, Oct. 18.

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor said the restroom at City Hall is not handicap accessible and will eventually have to be renovated accordingly.

These renovations, he said, could include work on the entrance and upstairs as well.

There have been questions asked about sidewalks in Prescott, he told the panel, not being ADA compliant. However, he said, the extent of the city's obligation in this area is not known.

At this time, when sidewalks are repaired in town, Taylor said, they are being made handicap accessible with ramps added at corners.

However, there are some areas in Prescott this is not possible, especially downtown across from the Nevada County Courthouse. There is no way the city can add ramps to these sidewalks without the ramps being in the middle of the street.

This, Taylor said, can't be done as the street in question is Arkansas Highway 371. Ramps cannot be placed where they will interfere with the state right of ways on highways.

"We're restricted on what we do unless we make the sidewalks more narrow," he said. "This would be quite a job."

The biggest complaints the city receives about ADA, he said, is sidewalks.

City Attorney Glenn Vasser told the council the city can do an inventory on its own or hire someone else to do it to see what it would take to become fully ADA compliant.

One of the big areas, he said, will be the upstairs at City Hall, as well as the restrooms in the building. "On public buildings," Vasser continued, "everyone must be able to have access. It can get expensive if we're made to do it."

He suggested the city come up with a plan and get the work done before it's sued.

Taylor, returning to the topic of sidewalks, said most of the ones in the city are in poor condition, especially in residential areas, and as they are repaired, they are made ADA compliant.

Vasser, though, said the red flag is the city-owned buildings, and this is where the concern should be.

Taylor said Prescott may get a new City Hall in a few years and it will be ADA compliant.

Councilman Karen Ward suggested the city getting an ADA consultant to come in and give recommendations on what needs to be done.

Vasser said this would be a good idea, as a plan could then be formulated and the council budget the repairs accordingly. All of the work, he added, wouldn't have to be completed on one year.

Ward said the industrial board voted to bring a group from the University of Arkansas School of Engineering down for the summer. This group will study the city and come up with a plan for upgrading the downtown area. This plan will include, she said, making areas handicap accessible.

Dick Bright, a member of the council, said the building the city owns downtown has walls in bad shape which could damage neighboring buildings.

In bad weather, he said, water can get between the walls, and this could cause problems for other structures during cold weather.

The city, he added, has money left from last year it could use to help correct this situation.

Taylor said he's been trying to get someone to do the roof work and seal the walls, but no one wants to do the job because brickwork is involved.

It's really two jobs in one, he told the council, as the walls need to be straightened with the blocks reset before the roof work is done.

Ann Stockton said Candy and Michelle Glass have asked about getting a raise.

Carl Dalrymple, the city's accountant, said this has nothing to do with the city, as their salaries comes from the municipal court fund. The city could only give approval for a raise after the municipal judge made a recommendation.

In other business, Taylor said funding is in place for the new senior citizen's center.

The city received a letter stating the money for the rural water project is also in place, with Barbara Pardue, director of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development, coming down Tuesday, Nov. 2, to make the announcement officially.

In all, Taylor said, more than 50 percent of the project cost will be funded by grants.

The project engineer is doing the final studies, and after meeting with Gov. Mike Huckabee and Pardue, Taylor said, the city will begin working to get customers for the project.

The city also received a grant for $5,600 for the Prescott Police Department, with the money to be used to help equip the PPD offices.

The council passed an ordinance for the city's ad valorem tax. This is done each October and is not a new tax.

The money goes to the city's general fund, coming from personal and real property taxes.