Thursday, April 21, 2005 | 10:51 a.m.
North Las Vegas is negotiating a settlement with the Justice Department that will cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars to address violations of a 1990 federal law requiring local governments to improve access for the disabled to government facilities and programs.
In January 2004, the Justice Department conducted an audit on 75 percent of North Las Vegas parks and facilities and in a 70-page report given to the city identified 182 violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city has spent $70,000 to correct 84 violations and projects it might spend as much as $500,000 in the 2006 budget that starts July 1.
The city's final bill, however, has yet to be tabulated, and City Manager Gregory Rose told the City Council Wednesday it will take a "significant amount of resources" to correct the violations. North Las Vegas has three years to comply and plans to budget for the improvements on an annual basis.
Justice Department spokesman Eric Holland acknowledged Wednesday the federal government has an active investigation but declined to elaborate. No other area cities are under investigation, but Holland said the federal review of North Las Vegas was warranted.
"Anytime there is a complaint and we feel there are enough facts to investigate, we will do that," Holland said.
On Wednesday, the North Las Vegas City Council received a briefing from city staff about the Justice Department investigation and the city's negotiations for a settlement.
During an interview, Rose called most of the violations "minor," but said the city is cooperating with federal officials and being aggressive in fixing the problems.
"We have worked in partnership with the DOJ," Rose said. "Since we have been made aware of the violations, we have cooperated and been aggressive. That is the right thing to do."
Among some of the inaccessibility violations cited by the Justice Department and corrected by the city was the replacement of a drinking fountain at City Hall for $1,758. The city spent $24,000 for restroom improvements at Hartke Park and Joe Kneip Park and $1,542 at the city's golf course to provide an accessible path to the clubhouse. Even the snack bar at the golf course was inaccessible to the disabled, and the city spent $70 for a table there.
Other violations requiring corrections included sidewalks with street lights or signage in the middle of them that hinders mobility by wheelchair users. Sidewalks will have to be expanded or signs moved in those cases, officials said.
Since 1999, the Justice Department has negotiated more than 100 settlement agreements to ensure that state facilities, counties, cities and other local governments comply with the law. The Justice Department can file lawsuits in federal court to enforce the legislation and seek fines up to $55,000 for the first violation and $110,000 for subsequent violations.
The council discussion of the Americans with Disabilities Act violations comes less than a week after a lawsuit was filed in federal court against the city by two deaf people who allege their civil rights were violated in part because the Police Department failed to provide a sign language interpreter or to communicate in writing following their arrests in two unrelated traffic cases in 2003 and 2004. The two, who are seeking $750,000 each from the city, said without the ability to communicate, they didn't know why they were being jailed.
The Department of Justice, which is aware of the lawsuit filed by Jeffrey Beardsley of Las Vegas and Collette Melissa Ward of North Las Vegas, has reviewed the police department's policies and procedures for providing communication for those who are deaf or hearing impaired. In it's settlement agreement, the Justice Department has called on the city to contract with sign language interpreters so the service is available when needed by the Police Department.
City Attorney Sean McGowan said the city will comply with the Department of Justice's request for sign language interpreters. He said the city is reviewing the allegations in the lawsuit and will be inteviewing officers.
Marina Kolias, the attorney for Beardsley and Ward, said the 70-page report from the Department of Justice is damning evidence that the city hasn't wanted to comply with a federal law in place for more than a decade. She attended Wednesday's council meeting with Ward and Beardsley to monitor the discussion.
"I take exception that they knew about these violations and waited for intervention from the Department of Justice before addressing the issues," Kolias said in an interview. "I have never heard of a memo that is 70 pages long. That tells you of the extent they are out of compliance. I think there is a mindset that they are either above the law or didn't need to comply with the law."
Rose, who has been with the city since October 2003, said he won't speculate on why the Americans with Disabilities Act violations occurred; his focus, he said, is on addressing the problems and complying with the regulations in the future. Rose further said that he doesn't know why North Las Vegas was singled out for an investigation but said no city is perfect in following the law.
Mayor Mike Montandon said he doesn't know reasons for all the violations but that the city is addressing them in its plan.
"I know we have things like stop signs in sidewalks, and people don't have enough room," Montandon said. "Some of those things have been there a long time, even before ADA, but we have got to fix them."
In a memo to the council, Assistant City Manager Dan Tarwater said the city is requesting the Department of Justice be less onerous in the settlement agreement. One section of the agreement calls for the entire consent decree to be violated if a deadline is missed by one day.
Kolias criticized the city for seeking relief from the Department of Justice, saying that it wouldn't need it if city officials were serious about fixing the violations.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, all government activities, services and programs are covered. That includes employment, public meetings, court activities, and programs of police, fire, voting, emergency management and parks and recreation departments. Even services on a government Web site must be made accessible to the disabled.
Facilities constructed after Jan. 26, 1992, must comply with ADA standards. That includes improving access for wheelchair users to a counter, drinking fountains, bathrooms, corridors and parking lots.
City facilities cited in the investigation include the the Brooks Annex, Utilities Department, Detention Center, Community Development Center, Seastrand Park, Flores Park, Silver Mesa Recreation Center and Pool, Goynes Park, Civic Center complex, City Hall and Public Safety Building.
According to the report, the city also needs to comply with improving accessibility for programs and services at the Municipal Courthouse, main library, Joe Kneip Park, Neighborhood Recreation Center, College Park, Community Development Center, Public Works, Community Golf Course, Hartke Park, Eldorado Park and Monte Vista Park.
The Justice Department requested the city report all streets that have been constructed or resurfaced since 1992. When streets are resurfaced, cities are required to reconfigure sidewalks and curbs to accommodate wheelchairs.
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