Danvers accessibility commission urges town to fill ADA coordinator gap, offers to support HRIC

Members of the Danvers Accessibility Commission told the town at their July 24 meeting the municipality lacks a full-time staffer to handle many ADA responsibilities and that gap is hampering complaint handling, outreach and coordination.

Commissioners said Tim (a current town staff member) focuses on ADA compliance for building plans and construction, leaving other ADA responsibilities without a clear contact after the departure of an employee the group identified as Jasmine.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the vacancy leaves no clear point of contact for residents reporting accessibility problems beyond building‑plan review, limiting the town’s ability to receive and remedy grievances and to coordinate community outreach.

Key points from the discussion

- Scope gap: A commission member said Tim “controls kinda this 1 area of ADA compliance, that is buildings,” and that other ADA responsibilities have “no contact right now.” Commissioners called that absence a priority issue for their advocacy to town leadership.

- Coordination with HRIC and naming the role: The commission reported outreach from the Human Rights and Inclusion Committee (HRIC) chair, Johan, who asked the commission to join HRIC in urging the town manager to create or refill a staff position to cover community outreach, grievance coordination and ADA compliance work. Commissioners discussed alternative job titles intended to broaden appeal and reduce political sensitivity, including “community engagement coordinator,” “community engagement director,” or similar titles emphasizing outreach and engagement rather than only ADA enforcement.

- Subcommittee and support at upcoming meeting: The commission agreed to send two members to a planned meeting with the town manager and HRIC to support filling the role. JD and Mara volunteered to represent the commission at the meeting; JD said she would text Johan and prepare talking points (a bulleted rationale) to explain why the position is necessary.

Context and quotes

Commission members emphasized that the previous staffer (Jasmine) performed work now missing from the town’s operations. One member said the vacancy is not merely a matter of preference but a legislative and operational need: “that is legislated needs to do,” referring to mandated ADA functions the town must maintain.

The commission also discussed preferred role language to broaden candidate pools and to emphasize outreach: “community engagement coordinator” or “community engagement director” were mentioned as possible alternatives.

Ending

The commission will prepare brief talking points and identify two members (JD and Mara) to attend a forthcoming HRIC/town manager meeting in support of creating or refilling a position to manage ADA coordination and community outreach. JD will notify HRIC (Johan) and follow up with Mara on next steps.