U.S. Justice Department ends ADA compliance dispute in Florence
Florence City Council was informed at its regular meeting July 3 that an investigation by the United States Department of Justice into violations of Americans with Disabilities Act regulations has been closed.
In a letter to city attorney Marilyn Wilder, ADA Mediation Program officer Lisa Levine announced a decision by her office "to discontinue the investigation without pursuing it to full resolution."
Levine said the decision by the department of justice was made after careful review of the case, and in light of the department's heavy workload and limited resources.
Earlier, Levine's office had assigned the case to a mediation service and a hearing was held in Florence to try and resolve the dispute. That hearing was not open to the public.
The letter from Levine acknowledges that the mediators failed to fully resolve the issue.
Included in the communication is a notice that the decision to discontinue the investigation should not be viewed as a finding in favor of the city. Levine states her office may at any time decide to re-open the investigation.
Florence ADA compliance officer Del Leeds said he was pleased with the outcome.
"The complaint was not all bad," he said. "We have made some great strides in making Florence more compliant.
"The notice from the justice department doesn't mean we can just stop working toward compliance," he added. "We need to continue to improve our handicap and senior citizen accessibility. It's the law."
Anyone with questions about ADA issues in Florence and the ordinances relating to them can get more information from the city office at 878-4296 or from Leeds at 878-4622.
