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Home My WebLink AboutIR 0731INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-0731 p�T�A4 Grp 4 i { i7 Y rF rn 1075 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council August 15, 2023 Page 1 of 4 SUBJECT: PROPOSED PREPARATION OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) COMPLIANCE PLAN The purpose of this informal report is to discuss an upcoming (August 22) Mayor and Council Communication (M&C) authorizing a professional services agreement with Kimley Horn to assess the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and to prepare the scope of work for a full ADA transition plan. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act' of 1973 ("Section 504"), as amended, prohibits discrimination, on the basis of disability, in programs receiving federal financial assistance. The Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), enacted in 1990 and amended in 2008, further extends protections for persons with disabilities to ensure that they had an "equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency"2 in all activities of state and local agencies, regardless of whether the agency receives federal financial assistance or not. The ADA has five titles: • Title I: Employment; • Title II: Public Services (state and local government activities, which is further divided into Part A — Prohibition Against Discrimination and Other Generally Applicable Provisions and Part B — Actions Applicable to Public Transportation Provided by Public Entities Considered Discriminatory); • Title III: Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities; • Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions; and • Title V: Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs. The City of Fort Worth is required to comply with Title II of ADA. Title II covers a broad range of activities, including: • Effective communication with persons with disabilities, including the provision of accessible documents, accessible websites and the provision of auxiliary aids or services. • Accessible programs and activities, which includes making reasonable accommodations/ modifications in policies, programs, procedures, and activities to ensure that a person with a disability can access said programs and activities. • Conforming to specific ADA standards in the construction of new public facilities and altering existing facilities. • Accessible public transportation, including sidewalks, curb ramps, street crossings and more. • Compliance procedures, including who may file a complaint, the time for filing a complaint, where to file a complaint, and compliance reviews. 129 USC Ch. 794 Z 42 USC Ch. 126: Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities, Sec. 12101. Findings and purpose, (7). ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-0731 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council August 15, 2023 Page 2 of 4 SUBJECT: PROPOSED PREPARATION OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) COMPLIANCE PLAN ADA transition plans are required by ADA and Section 504 for public agencies with more than 50 employees.3 Under ADA, public agencies were required to submit an ADA transition plan within six months of January 26, 1992, and according to 28 CFR §35.150(d), required that the plan include, at a minimum: • Identification of physical obstacles in the public agency's facilities that limit accessibility of its programs or activities to individuals with disabilities. • Description, in detail, the methods that will be used to make the facilities accessible; • A schedule specifying the necessary steps to achieve compliance with this section and, if the time period of the transition plan is longer than one year, identify the steps that will be taken during each year of the transition period; and • Indication of the official responsible for implementation of the plan. In compliance with the requirement to have a transition plan within six months of January 26, 1992, the Fort Worth City Council adopted its plan on July 21, 1992. This plan is the last officially adopted ADA transition plan on file with the City Secretary. According to the Federal Highway Administration and industry best practices, public agencies should routinely update their ADA transition plans to ensure that the ongoing needs of the community continue to be met. Additionally, in accordance with 23 CFR, 200.9(b)(7), the Texas Department of Transportation ("TxDOT") is responsible for developing and implementing an effective subrecipient monitoring program that conducts reviews of cities, counties, consultant contractors, suppliers, universities and colleges, planning agencies and other recipients of federal -aid highway funds with whom it does business. The City is a subrecipient of federal funding through TxDOT. As noted previously, the last formal update to the City's transition plan occurred in 1992. Since 1990, Fort Worth's population has almost doubled in population from 447,619 (1990 Census) to more than 956,000 residents today. Additionally, technology has also advanced rapidly since 1990 with the creation of the internet, email, smart phones, texting, social media, artificial intelligence, and more. Consequently, the City's 1992 plan does not take into account new facilities, streets, sidewalks, curb cuts, and more; nor does it take into account any new policies, programs, activities, procedures and/or practices implemented since that time or address all the new ways technology is used by the City for residents to access programs, activities and services. Based on these factors, City staff is recommending that we prepare a comprehensive update of the 1992 plan. In order to prepare such an update, the City Manager's recommended fiscal year 2024 budget includes $250,000 to hire a consultant to develop, as phase one of a multi -phased approach, an 3 28 CFR §35.150(d) ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-0731 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council August 15, 2023 Page 3 of 4 SUBJECT: PROPOSED PREPARATION OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) COMPLIANCE PLAN ADA compliance plan. This plan would document the City's efforts related to Title II compliance; include an inventory of City programs, services, activities, and facilities to be evaluated in future phases; recommend a required community outreach strategy plan; and include a budget and schedule to complete a full ADA transition plan. Consultation services will not include work associated with future phases that will be required to fully update the plan. Future phases of the update could include, but are not limited to: • Physical evaluations of buildings, parks, public rights -of -way curb ramps, sidewalks and pedestrian crossings through cross streets and driveways, pedestrian equipment at signalized intersections, unpaved pedestrian trails, and pedestrian bridges including determination of compliance status, possible solutions, cost estimates to implement possible solutions, and prioritization of evaluated facilities for implementation; • Evaluations of programs, services, activities, employment practices, ordinances, emergency management plans, website, and design standards; • Community and stakeholder engagement; and an • Update of the City's transition plan to document additional work. Work associated with updating phase one, as well as future phases, of the plan update will include collaborations with numerous departmental municipal service function areas, including the Law Department, Communications and Public Engagement, Development Services, Diversity and Inclusion, IT Solutions, Park and Recreation, Property Management, Transportation and Public Works, and others as necessary. The consultant services will have a nine (9) month duration. Deliverables will include a project kick-off meeting, with a summary of action items from the meeting; monthly progress reports for the duration of the project; bi-weekly status calls with the City; 135 hours of efforts, in coordination with the City, to gather information related to City programs, services, and activities, including information available on the City's website for City boards, commissions, and departments to provide an inventory of programs, services and activities; 125 hours of effort to conduct an inventory of City facilities; the consultant will document the City's efforts to date regarding ADA compliance of the facilities identified in the facility inventory; the consultant will coordinate with City staff to develop the transition plan framework; the consultant will conduct up to two meetings with City staff to provide project updates; and, the consultant will assist the City in establishing a public outreach program to gain insight and feedback from the disability community, including conducting up to three meetings with the Mayor's Committee on Persons with Disabilities. Preliminary research and consultation has identified possible funding for the future phases necessary to fully update the City's plan, including the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) discretionary program and TxDOT Transportation Alternative (TA) funding. The SS4A program funds "regional, local and Tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-0731 p�T�A4 Grp 4 i { i7 Y rF rn 1075 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council August 15, 2023 Page 4 of 4 SUBJECT: PROPOSED PREPARATION OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) COMPLIANCE PLAN serious injuries."4 The SS4A program provides funding for two types of grants: Planning and Demonstration Grants and Implementation Grants. ADA transition plans are included under the Planning and Demonstration Grants. SS4A grants may pay up to 80 percent of total eligible activity costs, and recipients are required to contribute a local matching share of no less than 20 percent of eligible activity costs. The TxDOT TA program provides funding towards non - infrastructure projects (planning documents) to assist communities to develop non -motorized transportation networks. TA eligible activities can include development of active transportation planning documents (e.g., bike plans, ADA transition plans, Vision Zero plans).5 Any questions regarding this informal report should be directed to Fernando Costa, Assistant City Manager, at 817-392-6122, or Christina Brooks, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, at 817-392- 8988. David Cooke City Manager 4 https://www.transportation.gov/grants/SS4A 5 https:Hftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot/ptn/bicycle/2023-ta-call-for-projects-workshop-siides.pdf ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS