News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cumberland County has completed its transition plan to upgrade county facilities with ADA compliance issues.
Mayor Allen Foster said this might be the first time the county has done a complete review of these needs. Foster said this will be a multi-year project, but the county will first address buildings the community uses the most.
“We want to get the areas that are most used, fixed first,” Foster said. “Things like the courthouse and our fairgrounds, the community complex area out there. Things that the public are in and out of the most are the things that are going to be the highest priority.”
Foster said this will fix issues like bathroom accessibility, sink height and door latches for residents with disabilities. He said the county’s amount of older buildings increase the need to upgrade.
“We’ve got a lot of older buildings, some historic,” Foster said. “Our courthouse was built in 1905 and other buildings, that just as time goes by, they no longer meet ADA standards.”
Foster said money will be allocated in every budget moving forward to fund these upgrades. He said this will help reduce the needs as time passes.
“We have someone that’s in charge of the plan now,” Foster said. “They’re going to review it annually, to make sure we are making progress against it.”
Foster said the ADA transition plan was completed in December. He said Tennessee is requiring all counties and cities to have an ADA transition plan.
