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SAWHORSE
Civic Center debate heats up as feds put pressure on ADA issues
September 16, 2014 5:00 am • John Lee McLaughlin Journal staff
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/civic-center-debate-heats-up-as-feds-put-pressure-on/article_4ee69fdf-2b7d-52fa-99ab-fbd1a1b69c02.html
The threat of federal pressure to fix accessibility issues at the civic center seems to have finally been realized.
More than two years after a formal complaint was lodged against the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center over lack of access for disabled people, the U.S. Department of Justice contacted Rapid City in a first step toward requiring that the city-owned facility be made to comply with the Americans with Disability Act.
It may be happenstance, but the correspondence from the federal government to Rapid City officials comes as local leaders are finalizing plans for a proposed civic center expansion. The $180 million plan would include a state-of-the-art arena. The expansion would alleviate nearly $38 million in ADA non-compliance issues identified in the existing Barnett Arena, which opened in 1977.
The Rapid City Council went into a nearly 30-minute executive session on Monday night to consult with City Attorney Joel Landeen on the ramifications of a potential lawsuit with the federal government if the ADA issues aren't resolved. After its closed meeting, the council did not take any formal action.
Landeen said before the meeting that belated action from the Department of Justice is only an initial step toward compliance.
"(The Department of Justice's) first step is to seek voluntary compliance, so they enter into settlement agreements," Landeen said. "And that is kind of where we are right now, is discussing a settlement agreement."
Despite the city's plans to build anew at the civic center, Landeen said the Department of Justice will require an ADA remedy sooner rather than later, but also may allow some leeway for the city to implement a fix.
After the executive session Monday night, he said the settlement agreement with the Department of Justice is based on findings from when the agency toured the entire civic center in 2011. A recommendation to meet the settlement, he said, could surface in as little as two weeks.
"They'll want us to make a decision, but we would have some time to get into compliance," Landeen said. "I think, ultimately, the city has indicated that we would like to get (the facility) into compliance as much as possible, make it as accessible as possible."
A formal ADA complaint was filed in August 2012 and came just after the council — acting as the Vision Fund Committee — voiced unanimous support to explore spending up to $150 million to expand the civic center, a project that included a new 15,000- to 20,000-seat arena.
While the expansion was soon halted to gather additional public input on such a massive project, more than $70 million worth of upgrades were identified to bring the civic center up to snuff with current code and event requirements in the following two years.
Of that price tag, nearly $38 million in ADA noncompliance was tallied at Barnett Arena through a city-commissioned study.
The result was a list of more than 400 potential ADA issues ranging from the placement of mirrors and soap dispensers in restroom facilities to a lack of railings and inadequate door widths.
Rather than spend $70 million on just upgrades, a Civic Center Futures Committee — an 18-member group of influential citizens that was formed in November 2012 to gather additional public input on the expansion — recommended in the summer of 2013 that the city execute a study on what a new arena would entail and cost.
In September 2013, the council approved $500,000 to fund that study, which also produced a proposed $180 million design for a nearly 300,000 square-foot arena with seating for up to 19,000.
Since then, the dais approved the proposed design and a $180 million price cap on the expansion. Actually building a new arena, however, remains contingent on an acceptable financing package coming forward. Final approval of the expansion may also require ratification from the voting public.
As currently proposed, the arena will be paid via bonds issued by the city that are backed by the Vision Fund, which comes from an existing half-cent sales tax. Another $20 million in bonds may also be issued to build two new fire stations.
Altogether, the expansion package could cost about $390 million, including financing, over a 30-year repayment period.
On Monday night, the council voted 9-1 to approve a contract with Dorsey & Whitney of Minneapolis to develop a recommendation on a bonding package for the expansion. Alderman Ron Weifenbach voted against the contract.
[Editor's note: This article has been changed to reflect a correction. Alderman Ron Weifenbach voted against contracting Dorsey & Whitney to develop a bonding package recommendation.]
Contact John Lee McLaughlin at 394-8421 or john.mclaughlin@rapidcityjournal.com
September 16, 2014 5:00 am • John Lee McLaughlin Journal staff
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/civic-center-debate-heats-up-as-feds-put-pressure-on/article_4ee69fdf-2b7d-52fa-99ab-fbd1a1b69c02.html
The threat of federal pressure to fix accessibility issues at the civic center seems to have finally been realized.
More than two years after a formal complaint was lodged against the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center over lack of access for disabled people, the U.S. Department of Justice contacted Rapid City in a first step toward requiring that the city-owned facility be made to comply with the Americans with Disability Act.
It may be happenstance, but the correspondence from the federal government to Rapid City officials comes as local leaders are finalizing plans for a proposed civic center expansion. The $180 million plan would include a state-of-the-art arena. The expansion would alleviate nearly $38 million in ADA non-compliance issues identified in the existing Barnett Arena, which opened in 1977.
The Rapid City Council went into a nearly 30-minute executive session on Monday night to consult with City Attorney Joel Landeen on the ramifications of a potential lawsuit with the federal government if the ADA issues aren't resolved. After its closed meeting, the council did not take any formal action.
Landeen said before the meeting that belated action from the Department of Justice is only an initial step toward compliance.
"(The Department of Justice's) first step is to seek voluntary compliance, so they enter into settlement agreements," Landeen said. "And that is kind of where we are right now, is discussing a settlement agreement."
Despite the city's plans to build anew at the civic center, Landeen said the Department of Justice will require an ADA remedy sooner rather than later, but also may allow some leeway for the city to implement a fix.
After the executive session Monday night, he said the settlement agreement with the Department of Justice is based on findings from when the agency toured the entire civic center in 2011. A recommendation to meet the settlement, he said, could surface in as little as two weeks.
"They'll want us to make a decision, but we would have some time to get into compliance," Landeen said. "I think, ultimately, the city has indicated that we would like to get (the facility) into compliance as much as possible, make it as accessible as possible."
A formal ADA complaint was filed in August 2012 and came just after the council — acting as the Vision Fund Committee — voiced unanimous support to explore spending up to $150 million to expand the civic center, a project that included a new 15,000- to 20,000-seat arena.
While the expansion was soon halted to gather additional public input on such a massive project, more than $70 million worth of upgrades were identified to bring the civic center up to snuff with current code and event requirements in the following two years.
Of that price tag, nearly $38 million in ADA noncompliance was tallied at Barnett Arena through a city-commissioned study.
The result was a list of more than 400 potential ADA issues ranging from the placement of mirrors and soap dispensers in restroom facilities to a lack of railings and inadequate door widths.
Rather than spend $70 million on just upgrades, a Civic Center Futures Committee — an 18-member group of influential citizens that was formed in November 2012 to gather additional public input on the expansion — recommended in the summer of 2013 that the city execute a study on what a new arena would entail and cost.
In September 2013, the council approved $500,000 to fund that study, which also produced a proposed $180 million design for a nearly 300,000 square-foot arena with seating for up to 19,000.
Since then, the dais approved the proposed design and a $180 million price cap on the expansion. Actually building a new arena, however, remains contingent on an acceptable financing package coming forward. Final approval of the expansion may also require ratification from the voting public.
As currently proposed, the arena will be paid via bonds issued by the city that are backed by the Vision Fund, which comes from an existing half-cent sales tax. Another $20 million in bonds may also be issued to build two new fire stations.
Altogether, the expansion package could cost about $390 million, including financing, over a 30-year repayment period.
On Monday night, the council voted 9-1 to approve a contract with Dorsey & Whitney of Minneapolis to develop a recommendation on a bonding package for the expansion. Alderman Ron Weifenbach voted against the contract.
[Editor's note: This article has been changed to reflect a correction. Alderman Ron Weifenbach voted against contracting Dorsey & Whitney to develop a bonding package recommendation.]
Contact John Lee McLaughlin at 394-8421 or john.mclaughlin@rapidcityjournal.com