PRINCE FREDERICK — Calvert County has finished 31 of the 46 policy and procedure changes in its Americans with Disabilities Act plan, nearly double the 17 it had completed a year ago, staff told commissioners Oct. 20. The harder part, fixing physical barriers at county buildings and parks, is just picking up speed and is scheduled to run into the 2040s.
Kiko Nash, who serves as both special projects manager for the Department of Community Resources and the county’s ADA coordinator, gave the Board of County Commissioners the annual update on the county’s ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan. Phase one of barrier removal alone runs through fiscal 2032, she said, and the full five-phase plan extends to fiscal 2041.
Nash said the goal is to build accessibility into how the county runs programs, communications and facilities, rather than treating it as something to address only when a complaint comes in. Departments track their assigned items on an internal dashboard built by Technology Services, which their ADA liaisons update as they go. Most of the 15 remaining items are in progress or waiting on other work to finish first, she said.
What changed this year
- A way to report broken curb ramps and sidewalks. Residents can now use a reporting tool on the county’s ADA web page to request a new curb ramp or a repair near a county building or facility, and upload a photo. Community Resources and Public Works staff monitor the requests.
- No fee for personal care attendants. A new policy, written with Parks and Recreation, the Office on Aging, the Calvert Marine Museum and the county attorney, generally waives admission or registration fees for an attendant someone needs in order to take part in a county program. Some third-party consumable costs are excepted.
- Service animal training. A video on the county’s service animal policy is now part of required annual training for all county employees, and a second video features residents who use service animals talking about their own experiences.
- Employee-side changes. Human Resources now keeps employees’ medical and accommodation records separate from personnel files, refined its grievance procedure for workplace ADA complaints and revised job descriptions.
- Relay and interpreters. ADA liaisons were trained by Maryland Relay on handling calls from residents who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled, and the county has issued solicitations for on-call American Sign Language interpretation and braille transcription contracts.
The county also ran its first social media campaign for ADA Awareness Month in July, tied to the anniversary of the law’s signing on July 26, 1990. Nash said the campaign drew three complaints, which staff treated as a sign residents know how to raise concerns.
The physical work ahead
Public Works has hired a safety officer, Gerry Day, who is coordinating barrier removal. The current project is asphalt work at Southern Community Center, scheduled to begin this fall. Next is the parking lot at Calvert Pines Senior Center, where accessible van parking, grading, space dimensions and signage are among the plan’s top-priority barriers.
Smaller fixes are already in place: new directional signs at Calvert Pines and Twin Beaches Library, a rear accessible ramp at the courthouse annex at 18419 Main St., and posted grievance procedures in about 27 of the county’s most visited buildings.
Nash singled out Parks and Recreation for going beyond the plan, citing accessible pathways and playground features at Cove Point Park, improved restrooms and an ADA-compliant pickleball court at Hallowing Point Park, a new accessible tennis and pickleball facility at Dunkirk District Park, an accessible golf cart and tee device at Chesapeake Hills Golf Course, and a beach wheelchair and mobility mat at Breezy Point. Parks and Recreation plans a web page listing accessible features at each park.
A federal deadline for websites
Digital accessibility is the next pressure point. Under the Justice Department’s 2024 rule on web accessibility for state and local governments, jurisdictions with 50,000 or more people must comply by April 26, 2027, after the department extended the original deadline by a year. Nash said Technology Services is reviewing the software and vendor platforms departments use and working with Procurement so new contracts require compliance up front, while the county’s communications office scans county web pages with monitoring software and trains departments on alt text and other practices.
A commissioner noted that four years ago the county seemed to be on the ground floor of ADA compliance and asked whether it was on the road to finishing. Nash said it is, but called it a very long road. She said ADA coordinators in other jurisdictions are often surprised by Calvert’s progress on policy, that the physical work was slow to start but is gaining momentum, and that the county now has funding set aside for both barrier removal and interpreting services. Community Resources Director Jennifer Moreland added that the county uses a dedicated fund to fix ADA problems when a facility is already being renovated.
Residents can send accessibility concerns to the county ADA coordinator at adacoordinator@calvertcountymd.gov. In neighboring St. Mary’s County this week, commissioners honored the leaders of an effort to build wheelchair-accessible boat service to St. Clement’s Island.
