Winnebago County Retains RAC
The Forest Preserve District of Winnebago County retained RAC this month for a series of services. RAC will update the language used by the Forest Preserve District in regard to how it invites people with disabilities to use their sites. RAC will also refine some of the processes used by the District. Other services to be provided will include technical assistance on ADA issues, and recommendations for which Forest Preserve District sites should be made accessible.
Allocation of Costs in Illinois Park District Projects
An executive director of an Illinois special recreation association (SRA) requested information and clarification about the allocation of costs for projects with partner agencies. An SRA is an intergovernmental partnership of local park and recreation agencies. Those agencies, as long as they are in a partnership, can use a special recreation levy (the section 5-8 levy) to fund the costs of the SRA. Therefore, most SRAs have included partner government projects as SRA projects.
A frequent issue is how much of a project may be funded by the SRA tax levied by the partner government. This is not a black-and-white issue, but below are some of the questions and some of our answers on this subject. By the way, this is not legal advice, just some answers based on our experience in this area. Agencies should seek legal advice from qualified counsel.
1. Is there any type of agreed upon percentage that architects/playground designers etc. use as far as costs for accessibility in a building/playground?
ANSWER: No. The US Access Board previously reported that the cost of incorporating access in a typical newly constructed building is in the range of 1% to 1.5% of the building costs.
It is my opinion that costs for recreation facility access is often higher. Golf access, swimming pool access, and definitely playground access, do increase the cost by more than 1.5%. I would say, it is closer to 5%.
2. Is there a way of actually tracking the true cost of an accessibility feature?
ANSWER: Absolutely. Both the architects and the contractor already have the costs of access elements, such as toilet stalls, door levers, power door openers, concrete ramps, detectable warnings at parking areas, and so forth. Today, no architect that I am aware of bundles these in one sheet. For example, there is an Electrical Sheet or a Plumbing Sheet for a newly constructed recreation facility. Both provide boatloads of detail about electrical and plumbing at the facility. However, there is not an Access Sheet for that facility.
3. Are districts/departments getting away from separating out the accessibility costs for a public building as they become (should be) just a part of today’s buildings?
ANSWER: That’s difficult to answer. The fact is, a park district does, under the right circumstances, have access to the 5-8 levy if accessibility is a “program” in the joint agreement. Certainly here in Illinois, if a park district is looking to use the 5-8 levy, it will (and I think must) identify and tally access costs before requesting the use of 5-8 funds.
In Omaha, Albuquerque, Groton, or Baltimore, perhaps those entities don’t distribute costs that way. That makes sense though, because they don’t have the 5-8 levy. Some of those cities, however, may indeed be the ones who stand up and complain about “unfunded federal mandates.” That likely means somebody in Finance or the City Manager’s Office has indeed tracked access costs on a big project, like a convention center, recreation facility, police station, firehouse, or something similar.
4. It seems to me that the architects our districts have used all come in with various “industry” standards. Do you know if there are such standards?
ANSWER: The Access Board allows tolerances, but did not set a tolerance metric. By that I mean the Board didn’t say that the maximum ramp slope is 8.33%. With a tolerance of 1% (which would equal .0833), a ramp slope could come in as high as 8.4133% and still be compliant. Instead the Access Board said that tolerances are based on “various industry standards.” So the problem here is that there is not a black-and-white answer. Within each industry there are some designated tolerances. This varies greatly from industry to industry.
As to whether there are industry standards for access costs, I disagree that any exist.
Pro Bono Work by RAC
RAC was the featured sponsor of the June 16, 2009 Illinois Association of Park Districts' Golf Tour event at Oak Grove Golf Course in Harvard, Illinois. As part of our sponsorship, we donated free consulting services to three of the attendees. The winners were selected in a drawing.
John Wilson of Lan-Oak Park District received one (1) hour of consulting on anything related to access and inclusion. John and RAC President John McGovern will meet on August 3 to discuss how Lan-Oak will utilize their free hour of consultation.
Joe Vallez of the North Berwyn Park District received two (2) hours of consulting. RAC will evaluate the entries and doors of the Berwyn Cultural Center and make recommendations to the Park District about how it can improve entry access.
Finally, Colette Kubiesa of the Elmhurst Park District received three (3) hours of consulting. Rich Grodsky, Elmhurst Park District Executive Director, and John McGovern will meet this month to discuss the most productive use of their free hours of consultation.
Washington, D.C. News
So, how did you spend your summer vacation?
In early July RAC President John McGovern went to Washington D.C. and it wasn’t for vacation. During a series of meetings at the National Recreation and Parks Association headquarters in Ashburn, VA, he signed an agreement to develop a series of accessibility training courses about recreation environments. The courses will address both minimum requirements and smart practices in the field. He’ll license the courses to NRPA. For more information on the courses, reach NRPA at www.nrpa.org. Look for the rollout of these courses in late fall of 2009.
McGovern then held meetings with officials at both the US Access Board and the US Department of Justice ADA Enforcement Office. In our never-ending effort to stay current on how the US Access Board Recreation Guidelines affect you, and how the Department of Justice perceives enforcement of the ADA, these meetings will help RAC help you in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act…and better serve your communities.
NRPA National Award
The National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) announced RAC President John McGovern will be the recipient of the 2009 National Distinguished Professional Award at the 2009 NRPA Congress.
“A supporter of his nomination stated that he is always encouraging parks and recreation agencies to 'do the right thing.' That's exactly why we pursued John when we planned to open Recreation Accessibility Consultants. John was pretty excited to hear the news of this award. He thinks he is a behind the scenes kind of guy," said W-T Engineering President Scott Triphahn.
In a recent interview regarding his nomination John McGovern stated, “My passion for civil rights was a motivating factor for attending law school. I am very proud of my work with the US Department of Justice in encouraging their involvement in the National Institute on Recreation Inclusion. I have also enjoyed my work with the US Access Board on the development of recreation design guidelines. “
McGovern has also been involved in the efforts of the NRPA to better serve US Armed Forces personnel who return home with physical injuries. Both Triphahn and McGovern expressed strong sentiments regarding support of our US military personnel. Both men agreed that it is critical that parks and other recreational facilities in their home communities are designed to include equipment to accommodate their special needs.
As one of the nominators said, “John McGovern provides a resounding drumbeat of leadership, professionalism, inspiration, and talent that he has shared time and time again.”
Congratulations John on your tireless efforts on “doing the right thing!”