Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Second Workshop on Making Businesses Accessible

The City of Bloomington is offering a second workshop to educate builders, contractors and architects on federal and state regulations regarding accessibility of buildings for people with disabilities.

The City’s aim is to help businesses and organizations understand how to be fully accessible as they design and construct their buildings.

The City’s Council for Community Accessibility received funding through the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities and ADA-Indiana for its project entitled “Making Businesses Accessible: If We Build It Right, They Will Come!” The first workshop, offered on July 28, was a great success, with 33 building inspectors from Monroe and surrounding counties attending.

The final workshop will be on Wednesday, Aug. 19, for architects, builders and contractors, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street, Bloomington. The event is free for participants, and lunch will be provided.

Presenting will be representatives from the U.S. Access Board and the Great Lakes ADA Center, a program of the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Great Lakes ADA Center provides information, materials, technical assistance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The U.S. Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to enhancing accessibility for people with disabilities. It provides technical assistance and training on accessible design criteria and enforces accessibility standards that cover federally funded facilities.

For further information about the workshop, please contact Craig Brenner, Special Projects Coordinator, City of Bloomington Community and Family Resources Department, at 349-3471 or brennerc@bloomington.in.gov, or Barbara McKinney, Human Rights Director, City of Bloomington Legal Department, at 349-3429 or mckinneb@bloomington.in.gov.

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