Above: The Town is evaluating what needs to be improved to comply with federal accessibility regulations. As part of the effort, they are seeking public input. (images L-R cropped from a federal primer and Southborough’s report.)
The Town of Southborough is seeking feedback on plans to improve accessibility and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Town recently issued a completed report consisting of a “Self-Evaluation” and a “Transition Plan” for improvements. Selectmen are scheduled to discuss the plan at their July 13th meeting. In advance, they are asking the public to weigh in:
The Town of Southborough has received a draft report from a recent ADA Study and Self-Assessment. During their July 13, 2021 meeting, the Board of Selectmen will be reviewing the report with members of the ADA Committee and other interested individuals. As part of this process, it is incumbent upon us to seek feedback on the report. Please e-mail those comments to ada@southboroughma.com [or deliver them to the Selectmen’s Office] by July 8, 2021.
A disclaimer in the report explains the scope of the report:
This Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan is a “planning” document which is intended to identify areas of non compliance under the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act as it pertains to the provision of services, programs, and activities. In doing so, this Plan provides an evaluation of policies and procedures and provides recommendations and sample documents for compliance. This Plan also includes a facilities assessment to identify non-conforming building and site conditions including a description and applicable regulatory standards for compliance.
You can read the full report here.
Starting on page 27, the report is peppered with Self-Evaluation notes (boxed areas of blue text). The notes highlight specific issues and recommendations for designated topics. Assessments of specific municipal buildings along with documented issues (and photos) begins on page 47. Assessments recreational facilities begins on page 117. (At that point, you’ll want to disregard the page numbers in the Table of Contents which cease to correlate to the print or online page numbers. But the TOC does seem to be accurate for the order in which items are covered.)
