News

By Jane Smith

    Boynton Beach officials wanted to keep their federal housing grants, so they are renovating their City Hall parking lot to comply with disability guidelines.
    “The city receives funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development,” said Jeff Livergood, public works/engineering director. “To continue to receive it, the parking lot had to be ADA-compliant by June 2015.”
    That means the city spent about $75,000 to reconstruct ramps and install railings. Interior signs now have Braille and round door knobs now are lever style.
    The bulk of the work was done by early December.
    Unlike other coastal cities, handicapped people did not complain or file a lawsuit against the city for lack of access to Boynton Beach’s City Hall. Its parking lot had ramps, but not the right grade, Livergood said. It also did not have the rails to make it easier for disabled people to enter City Hall to attend meetings, pay utility bills, etc.
    The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, by states and local governments, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation and telecommunications.
    Now Boynton Beach city workers will install landscaping and a new irrigation system that uses reclaimed water, Livergood said.
    He described it as a process homeowners go through when they are redoing their kitchens. “You get all new appliances, even though you might not need them,” Livergood said.
    Glenda Hall, the city’s forestry and grounds manager, said in late December she will soon have her list of plants. They likely will include foxtail palms, holly trees — either dahoon or East Palatka, coonties, various bromeliads and other low-maintenance and salt-tolerant plants.