The committee that oversees the Disability Access Fee met Wednesday morning — for the first time in about a year — to discuss how to use $486,067 of student and University money that has built up during the past two years.
At a roundtable discussion, the Campus Access Site Team, comprised of Facility Services employees, one student, Director of the Office of Disability Services Benjamin Cornwell and Student Government President-elect Michelle Gieg, tentatively decided that most of the money will be used to continue repairing and modifying sidewalks and curb cuts — wheelchair slopes from the sidewalk to the street.
When SG reallocated a Spring Sports fee in 2002 and created a fund to pay for disability-access improvements, students and administrators organized CAST to assess which areas of campus are least accessible for students with disabilities. Several students who use wheelchairs accompanied Facility Services workers, who then made a priority list of necessary improvements.
The University matched the student-collected fee and former Chancellor Mark Emmert convinced the state to match that — bringing in about $250,000.
With the money, landscape specialists began repaving sidewalks, creating new curb cuts and repairing ramps.
Fred Fellner, assistant landscape architect with Facility Services, said his department repaired hundreds of campus sites that CAST observed in 2002.
Now, as the money from 2002 is nearly all spent, the committee decided the $486,067 that has accrued in the past two years will be best spent finishing the sidewalk and curb-cut renovations that allow people who move around in wheelchairs to access buildings and parking lots.
Emmett David, director for Facility Development, said that instead of answering new complaints about repairing buildings or going back to fix minor problems in areas already repaired, the committee should finish the last two areas that were previously marked for major repairs.
“I think we ought to stay the course,” David told the committee.
But Cornwell said his office has been fielding complaints about a few handicapped-accessible bathrooms in the Quad for years — and some of the money needs to go toward fixing them.
The committee decided to put about $75,000 toward restroom renovations in Coates Hall.
David said $75,000 could fund renovations for anywhere from two to six restrooms. He said workers will have to survey each restroom before his office knows how much it will cost to repair them.
The committee also scheduled a campus tour for 9 a.m. on April 13, starting in front of the Union.
The tour will walk around campus, finding inaccessible areas in need of repair.
Dennis Mitchell, landscape architect manager for Facility Services, recommended that Cornwell invite students with disabilities to join the campus walk and the CAST committee.
In her new capacity as SG president, Gieg said she would like the committee to set up a Web site — similar to the Tech Fee Web site — so students can track the progress of their student fee and, through digital maps, see exactly where their money is being used on campus.
To participate in the campus tour or get involved in CAST, contact Cornwell at the Office of Disability Services.