Issues parallel Columbia-Centralia dinner train controversy
COLUMBIA, 9/27/10 (Beat Byte) -- A Boone County
restaurant owner who spends several thousand dollars improving an older
structure is hit with expensive complaints about compliance with the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The historic
dinner train proposed to run between Columbia and Centralia? Not
exactly, but disputes over disability access -- and the PR nightmare they can
create -- are closely related.
Acting on a complaint from a Centralia resident who uses a battery-powered
wheelchair for mobility, the Missouri Commission
on Human Rights (MCHR) is reportedly insisting that Centralia-based
JR's Diner spend nearly $6,000 on a ramp and electronic door
opening system.
On the corner of Singleton and Allen Streets in various incarnations over
the years, JR’s Diner seats 61 patrons. Owner Jodie Roberts recently
spent several thousand dollars on upgrades ranging from newer tables to a new
grill, steam table, and grease hood that alone cost $4,000.
John
Hinten filed the MCHR "Complaint of Discrimination" earlier this
year. Hinten claims that in December 2009 and January 2010, he was not able to
access "respondent’s place of business" because it was "not disability
accessible." In March, MCHR turned
away a similar complaint from Hinten against the City of
Centralia.
Hinten -- well-known in Centralia for disability advocacy -- turned up the
heat on JR's Diner with some fighting words and what Roberts told the Centralia
Fireside-Guard was a Facebook "Wall of Shame."
"The respondent has been notified numerous times," Hinten complained. "The
respondent refuses to acknowledge his responsibility as a business owner."
Roberts said she had never met nor spoken with Hinten, which may indicate
why he mis-identified her as a male (he/his) in the complaint. Though Hinten
says he telephoned Roberts, "John Hinten has never been in here," she told
Fireside-Guard reporter James Smith. "He had never talked to me
personally."
Roberts also says she has never had previous disability-related
complaints. You can open the JRs Diner door "with a finger," she explained.
"We have a clear view of the sidewalk. If somebody in a wheelchair comes up, we
open the door for them" -- or carry them in.
But ADA advocates and an ADA technical assistance manual say providing that
kind of help steals dignity. "Is carrying an individual with a disability
considered an acceptable method of achieving program access? Generally, it is
not," the manual reportedly reads. "Carrying is contrary to the goal of
providing accessible programs, which is to foster independence."
Since first receiving Hinten's complaint, Roberts told the
Fireside-Guard she's been tied up with fluctuating demands. A ramp and
electric door buzzer, for instance, have become a ramp and an electronic door,
with a $6,000 price tag Roberts said she can ill afford.
"MCHR then told me to send them the installation estimates and my tax
records for 2009," Roberts said. She also thinks the laws aren't being equally
applied, an argument the Columbia-Centralia dinner train has also
encountered. "The Chateau hairstyling place has a ramp, but they did not have
to put in an electric door. Why do I?" Roberts asked.
Thanks Mike for this great article!
ReplyDeleteI don't know about Ms. Roberts' specific situation but installation of an automatic electric door is not required by the ADA. However, if a business has an automatic door they are relieved of several other requirements for a door. Often automatic doors are suggested when there is a strutural problem providing the proper approach space. Ms. Roberts probably cannot comply with the ADA requirements for level approach under her current configuration and an automatic door could make it cheaper.
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