To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Departmental
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:
title
Humboldt County Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance Project Update
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Receive an update regarding Humboldt County’s ADA Compliance Project.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
ADA Internal Service Fund (3552)
2020 Finance Plan
All County Funds
DISCUSSION:
July 26, 2023, marked the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) being signed into law. This historic civil rights law protects the rights of people with disabilities. The ADA provides comprehensive civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities in the areas of employment, public accommodations, State and local government services, and telecommunications. A primary goal of the ADA is to ensure equal participation in public life for all Americans with disabilities.
On Sept. 7, 2016, the county entered into a consent decree with the Department of Justice (DOJ) kicking off Humboldt County’s ADA Compliance Project. The consent decree consisted of specified access barriers to be remediated in pre-determined timeframes and then bringing all county programs services and activities into compliance with the ADA.
On March 13, 2020, due to Humboldt County’s success in remediating barriers identified in the consent decree the consent decree expired based on the DOJ’s decision not to take further action against the county. Humboldt County remains committed to making its programs, services, and activities accessible to all as defined in Title I and Title II of the ADA.
On June 29, 2021, your Board adopted the Humboldt County ADA Compliance Plan. The ADA Compliance Plan assists the county in identifying policies, programs, practices, and architectural barriers to accessibility and provides guidance in developing solutions to remove barriers to access. The ADA Compliance Plan was adopted with a 20-year time period for barrier removal at county owned and leased facilities and is a fluid document, subject to change based on lease negotiations, relocation of programs and availability of funding. The remediation of barriers may be modified based on community needs, changes in programs, services, or activities. This timeframe also allows the county required flexibility in the compliance process and allows for new opportunities to be explored. The ADA Compliance Plan focuses on remediation of approximately 11,461 architectural barriers to access in county owned and leased facilities, many of which were identified by the county’s consultant during the consent decree. Of these barriers, the ADA Compliance Team has remediated 2,739 barriers to access since the adoption of the compliance plan. The compliance plan also identifies barriers to county policies, programs, and practices.
Since the beginning of the ADA Compliance Project, the county has remediated approximately 9,624 of its access barriers or 48% of all barriers identified, and 92% of the barriers specifically identified in the consent decree. It should be noted that a barrier may consist of a single sign or as much as 11 showers inside the housing units at the correctional facility, for example.
In addition to the barrier remediation at county facilities, the Public Works Roads and Engineering Department has been working to install compliant curb ramps throughout the county to increase the accessibility in public rights of way as identified in the consent decree. There are currently 1,442 curb ramps identified as county responsibility, of this number, 241 curb ramps have been certified as compliant. Annual curb ramp projects are expected to certify the compliance of 80-100 curb ramps per year depending upon project budgets. The next two phases of curb ramp projects for 2023 and 2024 are Phase 3, 100 curb ramps within Arcata and McKinleyville neighborhoods, and Phase 4, 80 curb ramps in the locations of King Salmon, Fields Landing, Redway, and Garberville.
While there has been a large focus on architectural barriers to public facing services, the ADA Compliance Team also works with departments to resolves barriers to access for employee workspaces such as the District Attorney’s Flooring Project and the Auditor-Controller Renovation Project. Furthermore, through barrier remediation, the ADA Compliance Team can address deferred maintenance issues and other improvements to county programs.
Outdoor public spaces are another aspect of ADA compliance that must be made accessible in accordance with the United States Access Board’s Outdoor Developed Areas Guidelines. Public Works’ Parks and Trails opened the McKay Community Forest with approximately .02 miles of accessible trails on Sept. 7, 2023. The Clam Beach County Park Beach Mat was installed on Feb. 14, 2023, providing approximately 600 feet of accessible beach access. Clam Beach County Park and A.W. Way County Park both now have accessible campsites and restrooms, and Freshwater Park has an accessible inclusive playground.
The county has also made great strides in in achieving website accessibility. With the help of County IT, the county website is routinely monitored for ADA compliance to ensure that visitors with disabilities can navigate the county website with ease and the County Administrative Office is happy to announce the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 budget book this year will be available in an accessible format. The ADA Compliance Team, County IT and County Administrative Office are working with departments to ensure information materials for the public are in compliance with ADA standards.
The county currently has 11 Certified ADA Coordinators who meet quarterly to address issues and share information around the ADA, one of which is the county’s ADA Coordinator, Karen Clower, who is housed in the County Administrative Office. Each of the Certified ADA Coordinators play varying roles in the county and have different areas of expertise.
Title II ADA Compliance Team 3
Title II Aviation 1
Title I, Title II including website County Administrative Office 1
Title II (website) County Information Technology 1
Title II Correctional Facility 1
Title II Department of Health and Human Services 1
Title I Human Resources 3
ADA Compliance projects in FY 2023-24 include and are not limited to:
• Courthouse 4th Street ADA Modification Project estimated to be complete Dec.29, 2023;
• Courthouse Restroom ADA Modification Project estimated to be complete June 30, 2024;
• Auditor-Controller Tenant Improvement and ADA Modification Project estimated to be complete March 2024;
• District Attorney Flooring Project estimated to be complete Dec. 29, 2023;
• Big Lagoon Day Use and Campground ADA Modification Project estimated to be complete June 30, 2024;
• Agriculture Building ADA Modification Project estimated to be complete June 30, 2024;
• Ferndale Veterans Building ADA Modification Project estimated to be complete March 30, 2024;
• Economic Development/Child Support Services Tenant Improvement Project estimated to be complete June 30, 2024;
• Juvenile Hall Access Barriers estimated to be complete Nov. 15, 2023;
• Fortuna Library ADA Modification Project in partnership with the City of Fortuna estimated to be complete June 30, 2024;
• ACV Car Rental Service Counters estimated to be complete Aug. 28, 2023;
• Clark Complex ADA Modification Project estimated to be complete Sept. 1, 2023; and
• 929 Koster Phase II ADA Modification Project estimated to be complete Dec. 29, 2023
ADA Compliance Plan Projects Completed in FY 2022-23 include and are not limited to:
• Correctional Facilities Jail Showers Project
• Garberville Public Health ADA Project
• Clam Beach County Park Beach Mat
The ADA Compliance Team has seen increased awareness around the ADA and would like to thank our county departments for their dedication to ensuring equal access to all.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
|
Expenditures (multiple funds) |
FYs 17-18 -22-23 To Date |
FY 23-24 Projected |
FYs 17-18 -39-40 Project Total |
|
Finance Plan |
$5,200,404 |
$4,905,097 |
$20,396,743 |
|
Non-General Fund |
$1,545,560 |
$993,481 |
$8,062,995 |
|
Grants |
$250 |
$856,067 |
$1,056,442 |
|
General Fund |
$6,208,040 |
$936,160 |
$12,088,218 |
|
Total Expenditures |
$12,954,254 |
$7,690,805 |
$41,604,398 |
*Projected amounts are estimates and are subject to change.
In 2021, it was estimated that county costs for ADA barrier removal would be $40.2 million. Due to cost increases in the construction industry and based on current project estimates this amount has increase and the current estimate is $41.6 million through the term of the ADA Compliance Plan in FY 39-40.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports the following areas of your Board’s Strategic Framework.
Core Roles: Provide for and maintain infrastructure
New Initiatives: Foster transparent, accessible, welcoming and user friendly services
Strategic Plan: 4.2 - Create a community where county programs services and facilities are accessible to all with disabilities
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
N/A
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Board discretion
ATTACHMENTS:
Humboldt County ADA Compliance Plan Timeline 2023
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: I-1, K-3
Meeting of: 6/29/2021, 10/20/2020
File No.: 21-351, 20-1318