2026-10-21 - ADA Commission

00:18Okay, the ADA Commission will come to order. We'll do a roll call first. Maria Santos.

00:41Scott Martin, City Council. Donna de Corpo. Nancy Lee-Lamere. So I do have one

00:47piece of business I'd like to do before we turn it over for the presentation and

00:51that suggests to make a motion to accept last month's minutes. I'd like to make a

00:56motion to accept the minutes. Second. Okay, thank you. So this evening we do have a

01:02presentation and it's going to be an update to the 2015 ADA transition plan

01:07and self-evaluation. And so we're just going to turn it over and let IHCD do

01:13their presentation. So ladies you could introduce yourselves. Thank you very much.

01:22So my name is Megan Dufresne and this is my colleague Brandi or Nix McDougall

01:28and we've been working on the ADA transition plan and self-evaluation and

01:36we're happy to be coming back to Taunton to see the completion of this plan. So

01:47our organization, the International Human-Centered Design, was was hired by

02:03Taunton in order to update the ADA self-evaluation and transition plan which

02:10is a continual process of improving facilities. We looked at all of the

02:17programs offered by the city as well as a large number of facilities and outdoor

02:24areas as well as the website. And when we're looking at facilities and outdoor

02:34areas, we're looking to make sure that they complied with the building code at

02:39the time they were last built or renovated. When we find that they're out

02:44of compliance, then they need to comply with the latest building codes which

02:49include these two accessibility standards, the 2010 ADA and 521 CMR, the

02:58Massachusetts Architectural Access Board Regulations. And so the main goal of this

03:06review that we've done with the city is to ensure that all of the residents can

03:12participate fully in all the city has to offer. It's not required that every

03:18single building or site be fully accessible but the city is required to

03:24ensure that every program is accessible to members of the public. In addition to

03:32program access we also looked at employee areas for ADA requirements and

03:39we created an ADA transition plan Excel spreadsheet that can be used to help

03:48guide the city in integrating the renovations into city planning and

03:55budgeting. So first I'll talk about program services and activities and this

04:04is known as our Part B report. We received input from a variety of sources

04:12including city employees, the website, the ADA coordinator, and we got a great

04:20amount of feedback from an online ADA questionnaire that we sent out to

04:26departments in the city and we received probably the largest response that I've

04:32seen in the municipalities that I've worked on, 32 responses. So that was some

04:40very good to see that that all the town staff took it seriously. So I'm just

04:49going to talk about some of the administrative requirements. First we

04:54found that the city has met most of the administrative requirements under the

04:59ADA so you've designated Kevin Scanlon as the ADA coordinator. You have a

05:05grievance procedure for both employees and members of the public. Oftentimes we

05:12find different cities and towns may have one but not the other but you have

05:16both. You have an ADA notice however we did note that it would be helpful to

05:24have a uniform policy regarding the posting of this notice. Then secondly the

05:35city has taken steps towards complying with reasonable modification of policies,

05:41practices, and procedures. We did get here from two respondents of situations where

05:49the city was unable to grant a modification and they described how the

05:54issue was resolved and so this is good to have on record. Regarding employment

06:03for the city, the main missing part is that there's a lack of a reasonable

06:11accommodation policy for employees and so this is something the city needs to

06:18create and finally with effective communications, the city definitely has

06:25taken steps to provide effective communications but we would recommend

06:30clarifying any procedures to all staff and feel that that would be beneficial

06:37because some staff at least 12 did not know that their department provided

06:44effective communication and so next I'll switch it over to Brandy or Nix and

06:54she'll speak about the facilities and the website. So a large portion of our

06:59work I would argue would include the evaluation of the facilities that are

07:02in Taunton. This included 16 municipal buildings, 14 schools, 16 parks, 7

07:10parking facilities, and an additional website review for the city of Taunton's

07:13website. When programs may not be accessible within a space, there are

07:20three strategies that you can choose from to ensure access is provided. The

07:24first is you can relocate the program to an accessible location within the

07:28current facility. You can also relocate it to an accessible location at

07:32another facility or you can renovate the current facility to ensure access to

07:37the programs and services that are provided. Part of our deliverables

07:42included a building facility report for each building an area that was surveyed.

07:46These include some basic background information about the site including

07:50how spaces are used, where the entrances and exits are, how building floors are

07:54connected. It also includes our key accessibility issues that we found

07:58during the survey and best practices and inclusive design recommendations for

08:02that building. Along with the report you also got a catalog for each facility.

08:08This is a database of anything that we found to not be in compliance. In this

08:14document you will find a photograph, the location and floor or room number that

08:19it is in, the element that is not compliant, why it isn't, any measurements

08:24and possible remedies you can take to correct them, and there's also cost

08:28estimations. You also received three self-evaluation reports, the Part A, Part

08:34B, and Part C. Part A is going to be the executive summary of our findings from

08:38the facility surveys. Part B is the policies and procedures which was

08:43generated from the responses, the 32 responses we got from the city, and then

08:47part of your another part of the deliverables is the transition plan

08:50spreadsheet. This is the same information that's in the building

08:53catalogs combined together in a sortable spreadsheet. You can sort by

08:58building, priority, what the issue is. There's also three columns that the City

09:04of Taunton can use to update and enter any information as they are addressing

09:08issues. There's also two columns, ADA citation and MA/AB citation. This is

09:15where you can look to see why something is not up to standards. I'm going to

09:23highlight some of the kind of common issues we noticed in buildings, municipal

09:28buildings and schools. Sometimes we often see a lack of clear depth at a

09:33toilet. This is often caused by a shelf, a table, or in this instance a partition

09:38that blocks the approach to the toilet. We also see service counselors that are

09:42higher than allowed. They shouldn't be higher than 36 inches, and this is

09:46another common issue that we see where they're higher than that. In the high

09:50school we noticed that a wheelchair was not located on an accessible route due

09:53to the slope where the space was located. At City Hall at one of the

09:57accessible entrances there was no international symbol of accessibility

10:01at the entrance. Parks and recreation had a lack of an accessible toilet room,

10:05something we see somewhat frequently in different areas. And then in the

10:10permitting center this was one instance where there was an accessibility issue

10:13at a ramp. This instance was lack of the required clear length at the

10:18landing. I'm also going to touch on some issues noticed at parks and parking

10:25facilities. I'll start with the parks. Something we often see are lack of

10:29accessible route to park amenities or if they're provided lack of an

10:33accessible route to areas of sport activity. When a playground is provided

10:37there can also be a lack of an impact attenuating surface. This is engineered

10:42wood fiber, which is difficult to keep maintained and is not allowed by the MAAB.

10:46At the parking facilities we saw one where there was no accessible parking

10:51spaces. We saw a parking facility where there were pay stations that were not

10:55located on an accessible route. And then sometimes where parking spaces were

10:59provided there would be excessive slopes in it or the access aisle. There's also

11:05the evaluation of the City of Taunton website and I move on to those findings

11:09as well. Some of the ones I want to highlight are insufficient focus

11:13indicators for people who have low vision or only use the keyboard. Color

11:18contrast failed to meet WCAG contrast requirements. When zoomed in, web page

11:24content can sometimes be inaccessible or overlapped by other content on the web

11:29page. And sometimes the headline headings were missing or improperly

11:35formatted which made navigating difficult for people who use screen

11:38readers. I'd also like to mention that the DOJ requires municipalities that

11:42have 50,000 or more residents to have their website meet specific requirements

11:47by April 26 of 2027. Now the only thing we don't only document things that are

11:55not in compliance we do also like to document things that are good or been

11:59doing have been done well that we'd like to call out and highlight. I'll

12:04highlight a few of these at City Hall. There were many examples of service

12:08counters that were lower lower or at 36 inches. Davell Park was actually a large

12:15source of some really good examples. In this photo they have an accessible

12:18bocce ball court. At South Street Playground they had equipment that was

12:22lowered that allowed children who use wheelchairs to use them and interact

12:25with them. Mulcahay had varied seating in their media center that allowed any

12:31users to choose what seat they wanted and where they wanted to be. We noticed

12:36in a few stairwells there were evacuation chairs that can be used in

12:40emergency and at Taunton High School there was a sign with the international

12:44symbol of access for hearing loss at their auditorium. At City Hall there were

12:55clear high contrast wayfinding signage that made navigating the building a

12:59little bit easier. Back to Mulcahay there were quiet cafes that are soundproof

13:04that allowed students to choose what type of sensory input they wanted to

13:08experience at that time. There was a Hoyer lift in Taunton High School's

13:13nurse's office. South Street Playground is another example of where is is an

13:19example of where we saw an impact attenuating surface. It is this rubber port

13:22in place. It's a little bit safer for the kids to fall on and it's certainly a

13:26more accessible surface for any kids who use wheelchairs or whoever might be

13:29with them. In the City Hall we saw recessed baby changing tables in the

13:35toilet rooms, men's and women's toilet rooms. And then back to Davil there were

13:40accessible cornhole boards in the park as well. There are also labels for

13:46companion seats at Taunton High School in the football stadium bleachers. And

13:49then DPW there's a sidewalk in the bottom right. It is an improved sidewalk

13:54compared to what was seen in the 2015 evaluations. One last slide. Flannery

14:02Playground is another example of an impact attenuating surface. In Davil

14:07Park there is an accessible route around the horseshoe game and there's

14:11an accessible shuffleboard area. In Mulcahay there were designated areas to

14:16congregate within the hallways and there were sensory rooms that students may

14:21choose to use if they need to. In the toilet rooms additionally there was a

14:25the flooring material was still non-slip or slip resistant when wet. And then

14:31bottom right is a photo from Walker Park. This is in a gazebo with an

14:35accessible route to it. Those were our findings and things we wanted to

14:41highlight. Thank you very much. So a little bit of background which some of

14:47you already know. In 2015 we had IHCD also did an evaluation and it's been

14:55worked on since that time to try to get as much done and accomplished as

14:59possible. The thing to remember is this is a fluid plan and so there there's no

15:05like cutoff date for it. So as we take things off and we accomplish stuff we

15:08usually find more things to keep adding to it and that's the way it's supposed

15:11to work until we suddenly didn't have any ADA issues which I don't see

15:15happening. It can be overwhelming for all the department heads because

15:20initially and I'm not sure if it's going to be handled the same way but

15:24what happened the last time is all the department had received their portion

15:27of the plan with the issues identified and then you have to address all of

15:34those. If you don't have any knowledge of ADA that can be a little bit

15:40overwhelming which is why we wanted people to know that this Commission is

15:43more than happy to help in any way with you know calls or site visits and

15:48explaining what needs to be done, the ways to resolve things. Some of it's

15:52very easy that there are mats that need to be secured, there's furniture that's

15:57in the wrong place and it's blocking exercise and some of its structural and

16:01so that's always another issue as to how to resolve some of the structures

16:04but again we are more than happy to help because this is the actual plan

16:09and there's a few pages to it. It's on the website, the spreadsheets can be a

16:17little bit tricky unless you've got a few more on it just that you can look at

16:20because it's it's quite extensive and you need to sort of look across to see

16:25but it is spelled out a little bit more this time as to what the actual standard

16:33is or reg is that that's in violation. Where before is a little bit more

16:37difficult to figure out what was wrong but now at least you can cross reference

16:41it and you do need to be able to look at both the state regulation and the

16:44federal regulation and you have to use whichever is the more restrictive

16:49regulation but it's it's important to look at both because as much as we'd

16:53like to think that they align they don't always align. I think they're

16:57supposed to be working on getting them closer in alignment but I'm not sure

17:00when that's supposed to be happening so you do need to make sure that you're

17:03looking at both but that's again in the area where this commission can sometimes

17:07help with that. The newer ones so those good pictures that was nice to see

17:13because those are actually newer buildings and I was hoping they weren't

17:17going to find some bad things there because we were all pretty involved with

17:20dealing with some of those buildings there's been a lot that's been done

17:24across the city both within buildings and within the just the community as a

17:30whole in terms of streets and curb cuts and traffic lights there's been a ton

17:36of work that's been done I know it looks like we still have a lot of work

17:40to do but there's been a lot that's been accomplished which is nice and I

17:45think another thing that's important that you did mention is it's not just

17:49because people have a tendency just look at the buildings and the structures but

17:52it's also programming and so you really have to keep in mind when you're doing a

17:56program that it has to be accessible has to be in a building that's accessible

18:00has to be whether it needs to be in you know we offer this at the City Council

18:04meetings if anybody needs it in large print if somebody needs it on flash

18:09drive everything has to be accessible you really need to think that every

18:14single thing that goes on in the city you have to think about ADA and that's

18:18not what everybody's first thought is and it really needs to stop being ADA

18:22any little pop-up event that happens has to meet ADA and so if anybody has

18:27questions about it they can always just contact one of us and ask whether or not

18:31something needs to be done that isn't you know they didn't think of sometimes

18:35it's nothing more than moving it to a better site that might be more

18:38accessible I don't know if anybody has any input that they'd like to provide

18:44or any questions for anything I just like to say that I like the fact that

18:48you all highlighted some of the findings and gave some good examples but also

18:53highlighted the positive not just the negative because a lot has been done

18:56Scott thank you I just want to point out the hard work that the committee

19:04does or the Commission for ADA and our Mr. Carmichael and Mr. Scanlon are

19:10always there available trying to keep up with this I want to thank those guys

19:14too thank you for the presentation and we'll continue to work on this and be

19:19available to help anybody with any questions and you know just as a plan is

19:23fluid you know we have a lot of people who come and go within the city so 11

19:29years ago the people that sort of knew what needed to be done and would walk

19:32into a building a new if there was furniture in the wrong location or if

19:35there's signage that was missing some of those people are no longer here and so

19:40now it's a whole new experience for people to walk in and look at a site

19:44and realize that there are some ADA issues that need to be addressed and so

19:49that's I mean the whole point of it is just to continue to always be moving

19:52forward and making things as accessible as possible within the city so I

19:56appreciate this being upgraded and updated just a lot of reading and again

20:04every department will probably be getting their their section and if

20:10anybody has any issues or questions or concerns certainly feel free to to

20:15contact us and we're more than happy to to help out so any input from anybody

20:21in the audience - does anybody in the audience would you like to say anything

20:26you have any input I would like to say as you were mentioning Chris I would

20:32like to I do see him in one second I would like to thank Chris we had an

20:36issue here in this building just recently and I had emailed Chris and

20:40he's so busy with so many things and I appreciate within a week everything had

20:45been resolved here and and I do appreciate that but and it was great

20:53because you know even when I was emailing you we all knew that you were

20:56busy with so many things in the city and you're not everything is a high

21:00priority to everybody because the person who's trying to deal with that

21:03issue that's a high priority so it was it was really appreciated that it was

21:08addressed so quickly did you have a question

21:14sure yeah thank you and you just give us your name sure absolutely I'm Steve

21:24Higgins full disclosure Taun resident but I also am the executive director

21:30Independence Associates which is the independent living services Taunton I

21:34think you know IACD was actually adaptive environments back when you did

21:39the last one which is exciting a lot of times you know we receive the calls the

21:44complaints about what's happening in a city or town in our area Taunton has

21:49been proactive but there's times that we take things like an ADA plan and we

21:53say that we've done okay and the problem is a lot of times that we

21:57haven't some of the things that have happened in our city like in the last

22:01five to ten years and you know that take away accessibility sometimes but

22:06they meet accessibility standards which is just annoying is when we do things

22:11like we want to make Main Street beautiful so we put up fences along

22:15Main Street so now if you had a wheelchair accessible van there's so

22:20many fewer parking spaces that you can park in because you can't open your

22:24ramp and you can't get out of your van we experienced that in our family and

22:27then the other challenge that we see in Taunton as well as other communities is

22:33when we do a job of repaving a street we always don't do a really good job of

22:39making sure the sidewalks are fully accessible and the obstacles are gone

22:43you know I know like right now we're working on Caswell Street and the work

22:47that's going on around Martin School but the same up around First Street and

22:50some of the other areas and it always seems that accessibility many times gets

22:56drawn to us as it's it's not taken into account until after the fact and so my

23:03encouragement to the city is that we got a long way to go we're not where we

23:09need to be yet and accessibility can't be an afterthought

23:13accessibility has to be something that we're taking into account and everything

23:18that we're doing and you know many many times you know again a full disclosure

23:23when somebody files for a variance in the city of Taunton or in any of the 31

23:29cities and towns around here I read the variance it comes across my desk and I

23:35read through it and report that back to the AAB if any of the consumers or folks

23:40are concerned with what the variance is and things like that so I just like to

23:44encourage the city to really take a proactive approach to making sure that

23:49access is at the top of everything one of the questions that I did have is in

23:55regards to alternative format does the city actually have a Braille machine can

24:01they produce Braille on-demand things like that it's a simple device it's

24:07something that pretty much any city or town can have in a worst-case scenario

24:12there's one on my desk at Independence Associates in East Bridgewater and we

24:16can produce Braille if the city really needs it and and to do things like that

24:20but those are just some of the simple things that sometimes get missed you

24:24know are we truly able to produce alternative formats in the ways that

24:30they're required and then again with the new regulations on the federal

24:34website stuff that's coming into effect next year will we be able to address the

24:39issues with the website to be sure that anyone with a sighted disability or

24:44other disabilities can navigate the website fully you do that but appreciate

24:50that and the opportunity to talk thanks thanks Steve thank you sure I want to

25:03say thank you Chris Carmichael superintendent of buildings I want to

25:07say thank you for the presentation I thought it was great and we've been

25:10using the last survey and then the current survey actually so well but I

25:16did want to address some of the comments that were made prior to any

25:18construction project we do a full ADA review both of the 93 and the ADA act

25:25and then also 521 CMR that's first and foremost we don't get a permit issued

25:31by the building department unless we do so and that goes for roads and streets

25:36as well we're fully compliant with all of that I myself spent three million

25:41dollars last year at a coil just bringing the classroom

25:46sideways approach in the compliance as well as passenger lifts and sidewalks

25:51and and accessible parking spaces so that is first and foremost when we do a

25:56project I just want to let everybody know that so again thank you for your

25:59report we'll be using it in the future any questions I'd like to see closed

26:11captioning brought into play especially for all of these meetings I mean even

26:18when you're at home in the sound isn't really great projecting like last night

26:23the pixels were it was a mess so even if you had closed captioning at least

26:28you could read it you know so that's one thing I would really love to see

26:32well as as you mentioned and as you all mentioned there some of those things

26:37have to be addressed by April of 27 so there there we've already spoken about

26:44the need for there to be closed captioning you know and again as many advances as

26:50we've made in many things we've got done there's always stuff that hasn't been

26:53addressed yet that needs to get addressed so you know hopefully we'll

26:57continue as we've done in the past we look at this book we've give everybody

27:01that but they need to be taken care of and we keep moving forward and I say it

27:06all the time and I can't stress it enough people just have to get in this

27:10mindset that anything that you're doing you need to think about the ADA because

27:15we don't want to come in after the fact and we've had some of those situations

27:19where something has gotten completed and then we we come in and people are not

27:24happy and so it's always good to be ahead of the game so as soon as you're

27:30doing it you know as Chris was saying in the building part so some of these

27:35departments it's just constant is always done when you get to some of the

27:40smaller departments or you we will also look at private businesses that aren't

27:45thinking about things that need to be addressed it just needs to be thought

27:49of right from the very beginning that ADA is going to come into play and so

27:54hopefully this information if anybody is watching from home there they're

28:00thinking about things that they need to be addressing as well and we are more

28:05than happy to to help out in any way that we can so I don't have anything

28:10further for the meeting I think we're all set I appreciate you both

28:15coming in and I thank you again for the presentation and if we're all set we'll

28:21adjourn thank you