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Princess to get $250,000 upgrade to comply with Disabilities Act

Decatur Daily - 10/28/2020

Oct. 28--The city of Decatur will spend $250,000 to bring the Princess Theatre into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and millions more may be needed to bring all city properties into compliance.

The Decatur City Council recently hired Frameworks Architecture as a consultant for an 8% commission to correct deficiencies revealed in a $63,000 ADA Architectural Report prepared last year by Evan Terry and Associates.

City Council President Paige Bibbee said the consultant found issues in every city building, and it will be too costly to make all the corrections at once.

"The city plans to budget about $100,000 a year to ADA updates like the $100,000 a year we've been budgeting for ADA ramps at crosswalks," Bibbee said. "The city hasn't done a good job of keeping up its buildings over the years."

Community Development Supervisor Allen Stover said the estimated cost of corrections contained in the report is $2.86 million, but about $500,000 wouldn't be needed because it applies to buildings that are being taken out of service or renovated, including Carrie Matthews Recreation Center and the existing Fire Station 5. Some of the remaining $2.3 million in corrections can be done in-house, according to Stover.

Stover said the report was done so the city could make changes to get all municipal buildings compliant with ADA requirements in anticipation that they would eventually need to be addressed.

Other than the Princess Theatre Center for the Performing Arts, city officials were hesitant to discuss in detail ADA issues found in municipal buildings.

CFO John Andrzejewski said many of the building updates are as simple and inexpensive as changing the height of a toilet paper holder.

"ADA is about access and use of the city facilities," Andrzejewski said.

The city owns the Princess Theatre so it is responsible for building upkeep and meeting state and federal building regulations, including the disabilities act.

The Princess, located on Second Avenue Southeast, is run as a nonprofit organization. The City Council budgeted $68,000 in its fiscal 2020 nonprofits allocation for the Princess, a $20,000 reduction from last year's annual appropriation. This money goes to promotions and program-related expenses.

The Terry report found 28 ADA compliance issues at the theater despite the recent addition of an elevator to The Loft.

However, the main theater is separate from The Loft area, so physically handicapped patrons are unable to reach the less expensive seats in the balcony.

Princess Executive Director Mary McDonald said the theater has 36 "mid-level priced" seats for the physically disabled on the front row of the main lower level, but the study says they need to be spread out more evenly around the theater.

Stover said the plan is to add more spots on the lower level that allow wheelchairs to be snapped in to secure physically disabled patrons to their seat location for the performance.

Some of the report's other findings are:

--The facility does not have the required ratio of high and low water fountains.

--Some doors close with too much force.

--Some fire extinguishers are mounted at an improper height.

--Restrooms have a number of issues, including lack of grab bars, the absence of an accessible urinal, and baby changing tables that are too high.

--Assisted listening devices aren't provided.

--Sales/service counters are too high.

-- bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.

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