Title
Resolution to Adopt an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan for Ann Arbor Parks
Memorandum
In 2022, Altura Solutions, LLC (Altura) was awarded a professional services agreement to complete a Parks ADA Compliance Assessment and Transition Plan. The goal of the plan was to complete an assessment of City-owned recreation facilities, community centers, community-wide parks, natural areas, and neighborhood parks. Altura serves as the sole consultant providing project management and accessibility consulting services to develop a plan. The plan would be designed to help identify and prioritize improvements and recommend solutions for accessibility.
Development of the Transition Plan began in May 2022 with site assessments and was completed in November 2023. From May to July 2022, 160 Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation-owned parks and facilities were evaluated for architectural barriers using the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design and the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines. In addition to assessing physical spaces, Altura led stakeholder participation through public meetings, open houses, and online surveys. Approximately 100 existing Programs, Services, and Activities (PSA) were also collected through interviews and feedback from the various Parks divisions. Altura also provided staff training opportunities regarding ADA Title II compliance for Parks staff to help educate on requirements and opportunities for improvement.
Following the review of parks and programming, training sessions, and engagement, Altura provided Parks and Recreation with a final draft of the transition plan in the fall of 2023. This draft has been reviewed by Parks staff and provided to PAC following the December 2023 meeting for review. Staff believe that the report provides an accurate account of current conditions and appropriate recommendations to help achieve accessibility as required by ADA Title II. The report is attached to this item and the report and all appendices are available at the City’s ADA Transition Plan website: <https://www.a2gov.org/departments/Parks-Recreation/administrative/Pages/ada-plan.aspx>
The Plan provides recommendations to facilitate the City’s Parks and Recreation Unit in complying with ADA Title II requirements. The detailed recommendations can be found in Chapter 4. The following actions are the recommendations that the City can take to have an immediate impact:
1. Appoint a full-time ADA Coordinator or person responsible for implementing the Plan
2. Formalize an ADA Liaison system within the department
3. Commit consistent funding annually for the next 30 years to achieve program access
4. Create a system to track ADA requests from residents and track the progress of the request
The City of Ann Arbor has hired an Accessibility Coordinator through Office of Organizational Equity who will support Parks implementation of this plan and coordinate necessary reporting.
Budget/Fiscal Impact: The Ann Arbor Parks ADA Transition plan, as proposed, would require an investment $19,000,000 in today’s dollars to implement the recommended improvements. By developing this plan, the City is able to spread this cost over the next 30 years as long as regular and consistent progress is made. Staff are working on a financing strategy for the plan that will very likely include federal and state resources, philanthropic dollars, innovative financing tools such as public-private partnerships, and others.
Additionally, staff are working closely on current and planned projects to ensure improvements meet the necessary ADA requirements. For the first few years of the plan, staff will work to mitigate lower-cost PSA barriers while using planned routine maintenance and capital projects to address some physical barriers outlined in the plan.
However, as this plan moves into future fiscal years, dedicated funding and planning will be necessary to support the transition plan. Primary funding at that point would likely come from the Parks Maintenance and Capital Improvements millage fund budget. This dedicated funding would potentially adjust other necessary park improvements or repairs.
The Park Advisory Commission unanimously supported adopting this Plan at its March 19, 2024 meeting.
Parks staff also presented the plan to the Commission on Disability Issues on April 17, 2024, who supported the adoption of this plan.
Finally, this ADA Transition Plan is a living document that can be modified over time based on the Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation Unit’s priorities and available resources. The Plan should serve as the starting point and outline for Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation to remove identified architectural barriers to achieve program access. The Plan may be modified to reflect the community’s evolving needs and, as funding and other resources become available, to assist in the implementation of the Plan.
Staff
Prepared by: Adam Fercho, Landscape Architect
Reviewed by: Josh Landefeld, Parks Manager
Derek Delacourt, Community Services Area Administrator
Approved by: Milton Dohoney Jr., City Administrator
Body
Whereas, The City of Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Services has a vast system designed to provide opportunities to all residents;
Whereas, Parks staff recognized that there may be some unintentional barriers within our system that make some of our facilities and programs less inclusive;
Whereas, Altura Solutions, LLC (Altura) was awarded a professional services agreement to complete a Parks ADA Compliance Assessment and Transition Plan;
Whereas, Throughout 2022, Altura completed a comprehensive review of Ann Arbor’s parks, facilities and programs;
Whereas, Following the review of parks and programming, training sessions, and engagement, Altura provided Parks and Recreation with a final draft of the Transition Plan in the fall of 2023;
Whereas, The Transition Plan provides recommendations to facilitate the City’s Parks and Recreation Unit in complying with ADA Title II requirements.
Whereas, The Park Advisory Commission unanimously supported adopting the proposed Transition Plan at its March 19, 2024 meeting; and
Whereas, Parks staff also presented the plan to CODI on April 17, 2024 who supported the adoption of this plan;
Whereas, The Ann Arbor Parks ADA Transition Plan, as proposed, would require an investment of $19,000,000 in today’s dollars to implement the recommended improvements;
Whereas, Staff are working on a financing strategy for the Transition Plan that will very likely include federal and state resources, philanthropic dollars, innovative financing tools such as public-private partnerships, and others;
Whereas, In future fiscal years dedicated funding and planning will be necessary to support the Transition Plan;
Whereas, The Transition Plan will be reported on annually and updated regularly;
Whereas, The Transition Plan should serve as the starting point and outline for Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation to remove identified architectural barriers to achieve program access; and
Whereas, As with all projects requiring significant City investment, relevant components of the Transition Plan would come before the Park Advisory Commission and City Council for ultimate authorization;
RESOLVED, That Ann Arbor City Council adopts the proposed Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan for Ann Arbor Parks to demonstrate a commitment to inclusion and equity within our parks;
RESOLVED, That Ann Arbor City Council requests the City Administrator begin and continually work to identify funding opportunities to help support implementation of the Transition Plan; and
RESOLVED, That Ann Arbor City Council requests that the City Administrator begin or continue work to implement the Transition Plan and provide at least an annual update to PAC and City Council on progress.