City gets state, federal funds for automatic doors and business accessibility grants

Northamptons ADA coordinator announced the city has secured a $95,000 grant from the Massachusetts Office on Disability and $83,800 in Community Development Block Grant funding to install automatic door openers and support business accessibility improvements.

The grant will fund automatic door openers at the senior center and make progress on installations at City Hall, Memorial Hall and the Municipal Building, ADA coordinator Keith said. "They actually were on-site today for the first day to start installing some of those doors at the senior center," Keith said. He added that older doors in City Hall require additional review because of asbestos concerns.

Keith said the funding pairs with last years installation of accessible service desks and is part of the citys five-year Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) consolidated plan. He described the program as federal CDBG funding for entitlement communities and said the consolidated plan sets priorities for the next five years. "We are a what it's called, entitlement community... so it is federal," Keith said.

The CDBG allocation also includes a business grant program to help Main Street commercial properties create accessible entrances; Keith said about $60,000 is available to start that program but applications were not yet open. "We're not accepting applications, but we're focusing on Main Street businesses," he said. The program is structured so entrance work would come before restroom upgrades: "By the standards, you need to have an accessible route... it makes no sense to break an accessible restroom if the entrance is not accessible," Keith said.

Commissioners asked for budget details and whether the city used money from its revolving accessibility fund. Keith said no construction money came from the revolving fund: the $95,000 came from the Massachusetts Office on Disability and $83,800 from CDBG. He said the only local money used so far was for architectural fees previously authorized by the commission; the precise amount taken from the accessible fund was not specified and Keith said he would follow up with that figure.

Commissioners also raised questions about the stability of federal block grants and the role of the commission in planning. Keith said the consolidated-plan process included public meetings and outreach to community groups; he and staff said they would share notices of upcoming public hearings with the commission.

The coordinator also described non-physical access work in the ADA transition plan, including improving digital accessibility for city documents and the website, which automated checks show as roughly 80 to 90 percent accessible but still requires additional fixes.

Commissioners asked for continued updates and suggested the ADA coordinator attend more commission meetings to strengthen coordination between volunteers and city staff. Keith said he could provide updates and follow up with details on the revolving fund and the planned business grant program.