TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Douglas J. Hewett, City Manager
FROM: Brook Redding, Assistant to the City Manager
DATE: January 4, 2021
RE:
Title
American with Disabilities Act - Self-Evaluation, Transition Plan, and Public Involvement Plan
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal I: Safe and Secure Community
Goal II: Responsive City government supporting a diverse and viable economy
Goal III: City investment in today and tomorrow
Goal IV: Desirable place to live, work and recreate
Goal V: Financially sound City providing exemplary city services
Goal VI: Collaborative citizen and business engagement
Executive Summary:
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulates programs, activities, and services provided by state and local governments. The City of Fayetteville must comply with this section, which states: “no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity” (42 USC Sec. 12132; 28 CFR Sec. 35.130).
Following Title II, the City of Fayetteville has conducted an ADA compliance self-evaluation of its services, programs, activates, and facilities on public property and in public rights-of-way. With this information, an ADA Transition Plan has been developed to share findings of the self-evaluation and to establish strategies for improving ADA accessibility within our community. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the process of public involvement was initially limited. The staff has developed a Public Involvement Plan using innovative methods to bring Fayetteville residents to the discussion with the highest level of inclusion and access as possible.
Background:
In 2020, the City drafted its ADA Transition Plan, Public Involvement Plan, and conducted a self-evaluation to guide the planning and implementation of the necessary program and facility modifications over the next several years. The City of Fayetteville conducted a preliminary self-evaluation of its current City’s programs and identified suggested improvements of building and public right-of-way facilities to ensure accessibility in high-density areas or high-use priority areas.
The ADA Self-Evaluation, Transition Plan, and Public Involvement Plan are significant in establishing the City’s on-going commitment to the development and maintenance of policies, programs, and facilities that include all its citizens.
The Self-Evaluation was conducted from January 2020 through December 2020. In this phase of the project, the city staff built several tools and applications using ArcGIS to measure and assess accessibility using the prescribed surveys from Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The City of Fayetteville self-evaluation reviewed three fundamental areas for ADA compliance:
1. Communications, information, and facility signage;
2. Public buildings and spaces; and
3. Pedestrian facilities and public rights of way.
Improvements for each of these three areas will be addressed by an Action Plan, which contains short and long-term implementation actions. Short-term improvements generally require a minimal amount of planning, design, and financial investment. As such, these improvements will be evaluated and scheduled to begin before the end of FY2022. Long-term improvements require higher levels of planning, design, and financial investment. We will continue to work with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to align projects with ADA compliance needs.
ADA self-evaluation, transition planning, and implementation will be a continuous effort for the City of Fayetteville. The City is committed to updating the ADA transition Plan annually with oversight of the City Manager and every five years with required action by the City Council. The involvement of other community leaders and support organizations will continue to be a critical part of the ADA transition process, which is dictated through the Public Involvement Plan.
Project Timeline
|
SELF-EVALUATION PHASE - FACILITIES and ROW |
|
FY 2020 |
FY 2021 |
|
Q3 |
Q4 |
Q1 |
Q2 |
|
ADA Research |
ADA Self-Evaluation Buildings, Rights of Way, Parks, Recreation Centers, etc. |
|
ArcGIS Tool Builds |
|
|
Draft ADA Transition Plan |
Compile data to the ADA Transition Plan |
Draft the ADA Action plan and concept |
Draft the Public Involvement Plan |
|
POLICY EVALUATION |
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PHASE |
|
FY 2021 - Quarter 3 |
|
January |
February |
March |
|
4 Jan 21 Brief to City Council |
Conduct Public Outreach Virtual Webinar |
Conduct Public Outreach Virtual Webinar |
|
Finalize Internal and External Accessibility Surveys |
Conduct Organizational ADA Transition Plan Webinar |
Conduct Organizational ADA Transition Plan Webinar |
|
Develop Public Awareness Campaign Creative Products |
Launch ADA Public Awareness Campaign |
Attend Community Watch Meetings - Present ADA Transition Plan for feedback |
|
Assemble Stakeholders from throughout the community for Webinar and public participation |
Launch ADA Transition Plan website with ArcGIS Maps, Documents, Surveys |
Present Update of Public Involvement to ADA Transition plan to City Council |
|
Finalize ArcGIS products for public feedback and review |
Launch Public Accessibility feedback webpage and Surveys |
Compile Public Accessibility Feedback and Survey Results |
|
Initiate review of internal policies and procedures with all departments |
Add revisions to DRAFT ADA Transition Plan |
Monitor and revise ADA Transition plan digital content. |
|
FY 2021 - Quarter 4 |
|
April |
May |
June |
|
Conduct Public Outreach Virtual Webinar |
Present Final ADA Transition Plan for City Council Adoption |
Begin ADA Action Plan - Planning Cohort |
|
Conduct Organizational ADA Transition Plan Webinar |
Publish ADA Transition Plan |
|
|
Compile Public Accessibility Feedback and Survey Results |
Revise ADA Transition Plan website to include survey analysis and results |
|
|
Add revisions to DRAFT ADA Transition Plan |
|
|
Issues/Analysis:
None
Budget Impact:
The City Council has already adopted Capital Improvement Plans regarding ADA compliance. In the FY 2021 - FY 2025 Adopted Capital Improvement Plan, the following items were approved.
|
Project |
Prior FY |
FY2020 |
FY2021 |
FY2022 |
FY2023 |
FY2024 |
FY2025 |
Total Project Expenditures |
|
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance |
3,227 |
100,000 |
75,000 |
75,000 |
75,000 |
75,000 |
75,000 |
478,227 |
|
Sidewalks and ADA Accessibility Improvements |
169,455 |
174,725 |
110,000 |
80,000 |
80,000 |
90,000 |
90,000 |
794,180 |
Options:
N/A
Recommended Action:
None at this Time
Attachments:
ADA Transition Plan.pptx