The Inclusion and Adaptive Living Commission voted to send a letter to Flagstaff City Council endorsing Barrier Free Flagstaff’s accessibility expeditions and audits and encouraging city participation and broader community outreach.

The commission’s action formalizes support for BFF’s work documenting accessibility gaps in public facilities and public spaces and requests that the city consider the resulting audits and reports when planning repairs or remodels.

Russ, identified in the meeting as the founder of Barrier Free Flagstaff, described recent expeditions, including a review at Joe Montoya Senior Center and Thorpe Park. He said the group found “some things that they could do relatively inexpensively” and several items that would require larger investments, and noted organizers are producing a written report for each site. “That report goes to the staff at Joe Montoya and Pros in that case,” Russ said, describing how audit reports are routed to facility staff for follow-up.

Russ also said BFF is exploring an expedition at the Coconino County detention center and noted why the work matters for confined populations: “Just because a person is incarcerated does not mean their ADA rights go away.” Jason, who the meeting identified as a staff member at the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, has been advising BFF on legal issues related to those reviews.

Stacy, the city manager, told the commission the city can receive BFF reports and distribute them internally. “You can start with me, but we can get it distributed to our leadership team as well as our new risk manager,” she said. The commission amended the draft letter to replace repeated references to “city facilities” with broader language — “sites throughout our community” — to include municipal and nonmunicipal public spaces.

The motion to send the letter passed unanimously in the meeting with five members voting yes. Commissioners discussed timing of an upcoming expedition planned for July 25 at City Hall and the public library (noting July 26 as the ADA anniversary) and suggested additional, more visible activities downtown on a weekend to raise awareness among business owners and the public.

Commission members emphasized pairing expeditions and audits with education for city staff and business owners so that identified barriers are understood and addressed. Multiple speakers said expeditions produce lived-experience observations that audits and training can translate into durable changes.

The commission asked staff to make the amended letter final and forward it to City Council; members said they will track council response and follow up on any city actions informed by expedition reports.