Agenda - 05-16-2017-12-2 - Information Item - Orange County Facilities Accessibility Self-Assessment Final Report Cover Memo

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INFORMATION ITEM "" � nr�mmuii uumi�� '""."�^ uuuuuuuuuuo ��If imuuuuum uuuuuuuor°i� �mi ��r of miuuimmuu 11, To: Board of Orange County Commissioners From: Brennan Bouma, Sustainability Coordinator Date: May 16, 2017 Subject: Final Report on Orange County Facilities Accessibility Self-Assessment In the 25 years since its passing, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) code has gone through several major updates. Because accessibility is a federal civil rights issue and because Orange County is committed to maintaining fully accessible facilities for all of our residents, all new and existing County facilities are updated as the requirements are updated. Beyond our normal preventive and corrective maintenance activities, ensuring our facilities are meeting the latest accessibility code requirements as our facilities are used and maintained over time requires periodic self-assessments. On June 2nd, 2015, the Board of Orange County Commissioners celebrated the 25th anniversary of the ADA with a "Proclamation Supporting the Implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act." This proclamation launched the Facilities Accessibility Self-Assessment and its subsequent implementation planning. The assessment was expanded on February 2nd, 2016 by petition from the Board of Orange County Commissioners to assess the accessibility and connectivity of all County sidewalks. At this time, 46 facilities and 5.1 miles of sidewalks have been assessed on a set of more than 50 accessibility criteria. This Facilities Accessibility Self-Assessment was designed and conducted in partnership with the Orange County Human Relations Commission, the Disability Awareness Council, several disabled volunteers, and many dedicated County staff. Assessments took place over more than a year's time from June 2, 2015 to December 1, 2016 This self-assessment would not have been successful without the dedicated support of co- organizer James Davis and the Facilities Accessibility Subcommittee of the Orange County Space Study Working Group. Efforts to address the issues found through this accessibility self-assessment are underway. More details on the assessment process, those involved, the findings, and the implementation progress can be found in the attached report. Best Regards, Brennan Bouma P.O. Box 8181 * 131 West Margaret Lane,3`d Floor* Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 Telephone: (919)245-2626 E-mail: bbouma @orangecountync.gov