POST FALLS — The Post Falls City Council voted Tuesday to approve Phase 1 of a transition plan to remain in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Public Works Director John Beacham said there are a number of ways a deficiency can develop, one being if a building was constructed prior to 1990.  

“Sidewalks don’t stay flat, so a lot of deficiencies can accumulate that way,” Beacham said.  

Another way deficiencies can occur is if city policies are not compliant with the current interpretation of the law, even if they were developed in good faith.

“The interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act has also changed over the course of its existence,” Beacham said. 

The prior plan was completed in 2008. The two-phase, $190,000 project is to be contracted through Matrix.   

Post Falls set aside $40,000 in both fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 for the project.

Beacham said the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act requires state and local governments to have all programs, services and activities be accessible. 

Deputy City Administrator Warren Wilson said just because there was a transition plan in 2008 doesn’t alleviate the city from future risk of noncompliance. 

“This is part of an ongoing obligation, every city, every governmental entity has to be in compliance with the ADA,” Wilson said. 

He pointed out the pitfalls of being caught without an updated transition plan. 

“The hammer is you might have the Department of Justice come knock on your door. That happened to the city of Moscow,” Wilson said. 

City Councilor Samantha Steigleder was frustrated by the cost of the project and said it was redundant since ADA is already taken into consideration for new construction. 

“I have real concerns with this request. I think that it’s really great that we do it, but this seems like something that the scope of it seems very large,” Steigleder said. 

City Councilor Nathan Ziegler said he also wasn’t happy about the way the federal obligations are ever-changing, but that it is a requirement. 

“We have to determine if what we already did is up to the current standard,” Ziegler said. 

Beacham said it has nearly been 20 years since the last transition plan was put in place, but Post Falls should be updating the plan more often.

Steigleder said most facilities should already be in compliance. 

“We're constantly building new things, talking about our facilities master plans and what we’re doing. I just can’t imagine that a lot of this isn’t already evaluated there and maybe we could bring the scope in,” Steigleder said.   

Steigleder asked if the cost of using a robot to check the level of sidewalks was necessary. 

“My understanding is that the robot is the less expensive option rather than having a person with a level and a ruler checking the side slopes on the sidewalks,” Beacham said. “The robot can sense the pitch of it, whereas an engineer with a level and a ruler, which is the other way you check it, is going to be far more expensive.”   

When asked if city staff could train and check for compliance on the same level as the consultants, Beacham said over time, it was possible.

However, the use of a specialized consultant places less of a burden on city employees. 

“The nuance there is every time we build something, we do build it to ADA standards. That by itself is not sufficient to show that you are in compliance with the act,” Beacham said. “So, you have to do more than just meet the code every time you build something new.”    

City Councilor Marc Lucca said he didn’t want to “draw the ire” of federal agencies and asked if that was a danger if a new plan wasn’t created and followed. 

“I have the same heartburn over spending money on this, it’s not that I don’t want us to be in compliance, but I’m wondering with this amount of money, what is the risk of not doing it?” Lucca asked. 

Phase 1 of the project includes data integration planning, field investigation, community outreach and a hypothetical off-ramp in case Phase 2 isn’t funded. 

The first phase is expected to be completed by September. 

Phase 2 includes a policy review, community outreach, plan development and project completion. 

Mayor Randy Westlund said the consultant fee seemed like any other required city audit. 

"The feds carry a pretty big stick, so I’d like to stay on their good side,” Westlund said. 

City Councilor Joe Malloy called the ADA transition plan overdue for updating. 

“I would I also argue that one of the deficiencies of the 2008 plan is that two thirds of the city didn’t exist in 2008, so if the feds were to come here and say, ‘Hey, where’s your plan?’” Malloy said.