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Commission reviews pared-down contract to evaluate city for ADA compliance

The Manhattan Mercury - 5/11/2022

May 11—City commissioners on Tuesday discussed a pared-down plan to evaluate how accessible Manhattan is for people with disabilities.

The discussion followed a previous meeting in which the commission denied on a 2-3 vote a $600,000 contract with the firm Kimley-Horn and Associates of Fort Worth to conduct the evaluation, which is part of a transition plan to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

Commissioners John Matta, Wynn Butler and Mark Hatesohl had voted against it, with the three agreeing that it was too expensive.

Commissioners directed city staff members to reduce the contract to $300,000. Staff members on Tuesday said they worked with the consultant to develop a phased self-evaluation approach with a reduction in reviews of city facilities, sidewalks, intersections and curb ramps. The goal is to still complete the requirements and develop a transition plan that the city government can maintain, they said.

Future self-evaluation phases would be programmed in later years as part of the city's annual capital improvement plan.

Tuesday's meeting was a work session, so the commission didn't vote but reviewed the less-expensive plan, which would evaluate 23 parks and parks and recreation facilities, 4,020 curb ramps, 60 signalized intersections and 200 miles of sidewalk that have not been checked for ADA compliance.

The consultant also will ensure that documentation is in order and compiled in one "living" document. According to Erin Eurek of Kimley-Horn, the company doesn't have documentation of current services polices and practices that the city offers.

City Manager Ron Fehr said the information exists. It has not been compiled into a document.

Commissioner John Matta said it would be good to get a living document and keep updating it as time goes on so the city does not have to go through the process again. He also mentioned dedicating someone to keep an eye on state and federal requirements as they change.

Mayor Linda Morse said the commission does not regularly hear about problems for disabled people.

"It seems to me as a testament to the fact that we've been addressing them, and we just have not been documenting what we've been doing," Morse said.

She said the city needs to pay more attention to documentation because the grants from the Kansas Department of Transportation and federal entities are important for streets and sidewalks, and she does not want those to be in jeopardy.

Jared Wasinger, assistant city manager, said the city government is narrowing the list down for which buildings, sidewalks, intersections, curb ramps, parks and trails need to be looked at first and which areas are high-traffic areas.

"We also want to make sure that we're looking at a proportional amount of the community, not just focusing on one neighborhood, so we want to make sure we are spreading that out," Wasinger said.

The U.S. Department of Justice is requiring, through the Kansas Department of Transportation, that all cities update their transition plans by 2023, according to meeting documents. Meeting documents say failure to comply with ADA requirements can result in withholding of state and federal funds, settlement agreements with the Department of Justice and private lawsuits.

The city last updated its ADA plan from 1992 to 1995. Funding for the current phase would come out of the general fund and will be ready for consideration by the commission on June 7.

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