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Tippecanoe County accessibility coalition restarts, plans outreach, reporting tool and business-focused events
Summary
An accessibility coalition in Tippecanoe County met Jan. 28 to relaunch activities after a COVID hiatus, agreed to pursue media and business outreach, explore a website reporting tool and GIS mapping, and set meetings April 1 and April 29.
The Tippecanoe County ACT group — an accessibility coalition of county and city representatives and community volunteers — met Jan. 28 and agreed to restart regular meetings, begin outreach to media and businesses, and explore a web-based reporting and mapping tool for accessibility concerns.
Participants emphasized public awareness and business engagement as immediate priorities. Nicole, representing the City of West Lafayette, and county participants said they plan to contact local media (TV 18 and the Journal & Courier were discussed) and Great Lafayette Commerce to publicize the coalition’s work and recruit business partners. The group discussed producing a mission statement and using existing notification systems and newsletters to reach subscribers.
The coalition also discussed technical tools and programs: developing a reporting form or mapping tool on the county website (staff suggested consulting Shelley in the highway department about tools already used for highway issue reports), creating an “ADA checklist” for small businesses, and a possible sticker/GIS project to identify accessible businesses and locations. Participants cited an example of a local community group that ran “17 programs in 31 days” during a recent awareness effort as a model for concentrated outreach.
Members highlighted ongoing county efforts that the coalition can publicize: the parks department’s ADA transition planning, planned restroom renovations at the county courthouse to improve first-floor accessibility, and regular maintenance work guided by the county’s executive maintenance director, Tony. The coalition said those examples could be used to show concrete progress when recruiting partners.
On scheduling, the group set a small working-group meeting for Tuesday, April 1, at 9 a.m. to advance planning and agreed to hold its next quarterly meeting on Tuesday, April 29. The April 29 meeting was discussed as a full-day window (10 a.m.–1 p.m. was proposed) with an additional afternoon session aimed at business owners (participants suggested 1–2 p.m. or 2 p.m.) so business representatives could attend during the day.
The coalition also agreed to invite the Indiana ADA Association to the April 29 meeting and to reach out to Purdue University’s bike/ped or accessibility contacts as potential partners given ongoing campus construction and sidewalk work. Participants noted that many local business owners are receptive to low-cost accessibility fixes once they understand what to do and why it benefits both customers and liability exposure.
Paul moved to adjourn at the close of the meeting; the motion was adopted by consensus and the meeting ended.
