mark handler
SAWHORSE
Hotels Forced to Make Costly Changes to Stay Legal
A new portion of the Americans with Disabilities Act is set to take affect March 15th and some Springfield hotel owners tell us the industry isn't ready.
Joanna Small and Jason Crow
Reporter and Photographer
10:15 p.m. CST, February 23, 2012
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Some Ozarks hotel owners openly admit they're not going to meet a fast-approaching deadline from the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Changes made in 2010 have to be implemented by March 15th. Some hotels aren't even in compliance with the more than 20-year-old original Americans with Disabilities Act.
William Stork is preparing dinner. He wasn't always a chef, but wheelchair bound for the past decade he was forced to adopt new hobbies when his old one went by the wayside.
"Absolutely could still swim. But where do I go?" he asks.
There's a pool in Stork's neighborhood, but no device to lift him in and out of it. When the disabled veteran goes to the VA hospital in Arkansas-
"No, there's no lift, nothing in our traveling, no."
Stork doesn't understand it.
"It just blows my mind," says Stork.
Gordon Elliott is sympathetic but he does understand it.
"If you can't do it you just can't do it," Elliott tells us.
Elliott owns 17 hotels, mostly in Springfield. He admits they're not all compliant with the original Americans with Disabilities Act from the early 1990s, but he's working on it.
"The rules were what was a reasonable accommodation so at that point it was if you were remodeling something try to bring it up to date and make it more accessible," says Elliott.
A 2010 addition to the act is more like a requirement-- a permanent lift on all hotel pools and spas. Elliott bought his for the Lamplighter Inn South about a year ago. He says confusion on the Justice Department's end has left others in a bind.
"They just got answers maybe three weeks ago that no, we're not going to accept mobile units; they have to be fixed and operational all the time," he tells us, referring to new information disseminated to all Best Westerns. He owns some of those as well.
In the last year Elliott has made seven rooms here completely handicap accessible, but he says the new ada standards are too high.
"Now the pool lift, a lot of people think is really never going to get used."
Stork begs to differ. He'd rather be swimming than chopping potatoes.
"We're going to limit you, imprison you, take some things away from you. That's not right," Stork concludes.
The Lamplighter Inn South has made some other significant changes. Elliott had a portion of the counter in the front lobby lowered so those in wheelchairs can reach it.
He also moved breakfast out of the lobby into a separate room so there aren't any tables or chairs acting as obstacles in the main entrance.
Stork says Springfield, in general, still has an accessibility issue. He says all too often he goes into public places, like retail stores, and can't get to the second floor because there's not elevator.
A new portion of the Americans with Disabilities Act is set to take affect March 15th and some Springfield hotel owners tell us the industry isn't ready.
Joanna Small and Jason Crow
Reporter and Photographer
10:15 p.m. CST, February 23, 2012
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Some Ozarks hotel owners openly admit they're not going to meet a fast-approaching deadline from the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Changes made in 2010 have to be implemented by March 15th. Some hotels aren't even in compliance with the more than 20-year-old original Americans with Disabilities Act.
William Stork is preparing dinner. He wasn't always a chef, but wheelchair bound for the past decade he was forced to adopt new hobbies when his old one went by the wayside.
"Absolutely could still swim. But where do I go?" he asks.
There's a pool in Stork's neighborhood, but no device to lift him in and out of it. When the disabled veteran goes to the VA hospital in Arkansas-
"No, there's no lift, nothing in our traveling, no."
Stork doesn't understand it.
"It just blows my mind," says Stork.
Gordon Elliott is sympathetic but he does understand it.
"If you can't do it you just can't do it," Elliott tells us.
Elliott owns 17 hotels, mostly in Springfield. He admits they're not all compliant with the original Americans with Disabilities Act from the early 1990s, but he's working on it.
"The rules were what was a reasonable accommodation so at that point it was if you were remodeling something try to bring it up to date and make it more accessible," says Elliott.
A 2010 addition to the act is more like a requirement-- a permanent lift on all hotel pools and spas. Elliott bought his for the Lamplighter Inn South about a year ago. He says confusion on the Justice Department's end has left others in a bind.
"They just got answers maybe three weeks ago that no, we're not going to accept mobile units; they have to be fixed and operational all the time," he tells us, referring to new information disseminated to all Best Westerns. He owns some of those as well.
In the last year Elliott has made seven rooms here completely handicap accessible, but he says the new ada standards are too high.
"Now the pool lift, a lot of people think is really never going to get used."
Stork begs to differ. He'd rather be swimming than chopping potatoes.
"We're going to limit you, imprison you, take some things away from you. That's not right," Stork concludes.
The Lamplighter Inn South has made some other significant changes. Elliott had a portion of the counter in the front lobby lowered so those in wheelchairs can reach it.
He also moved breakfast out of the lobby into a separate room so there aren't any tables or chairs acting as obstacles in the main entrance.
Stork says Springfield, in general, still has an accessibility issue. He says all too often he goes into public places, like retail stores, and can't get to the second floor because there's not elevator.