Helping the handicapped

SEBRING — When the building that houses the Boys and Girls Club in Sebring is repaired, it will have an American With Disabilities Act compliant restroom.

That may be a small consolation to some, given the heavy damage Hurricane Irma inflicted on the building, but the addition is a step forward.

Over the years, many such improvements have been made in the city to help it become more friendly to those with disabilities, Sebring City Administrator Scott Noethlich said.

Most of the focus has been on entrances to buildings, handicapped parking, curb cuts and accessible restrooms.

For buildings predating the ADA, the federal requirement kicks into play if more than half of the structure is remodeled or rebuilt.

The repairs to the Boys and Girls Club building, which is owned by the city, probably won’t meet the 50 percent threshold but the city still plans to add the ADA-compliant restrooms. Those include entrances and stalls wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair.

Entrance ramps and other features have been completed at the police and fire department buildings to make them ADA compliant, Noethlich said.

The buildings don’t have elevators, but the basement of the Sebring Police Department and the second story of the Sebring Fire Department aren’t openly accessible to the public.

The city also has made progress in making sidewalks ADA compliant, Noethlich said. Curb cuts have been made with rubber covers that help people with wheel chairs and canes negotiate street crossings.

“Anything that gets replaced,” is brought up to ADA requirements, he said.

As for entrances, not only must doorways be adequately wide but restrictions on the heaviness of the doors apply.

Noethlich said sometimes the city is contacted by a member of the public concerned about ADA compliance. Recently, that led to more handicapped parking spaces at the Max Long athletic complex, he said.

The U.S. Military Sea Services Museum, which occupies a city-owned building, made its entrance and restroom ADA compliant although it wasn’t required to do so. That’s in part because a lot of the visitors are elderly veterans who may be physically handicapped.

The Highlands Art League has talked about adding an elevator to its museum.

Privately owned buildings are also subject to ADA requirement if more than 50 percent of the building is being rehabilitated.