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Council receives ADA compliance report; longtime ADA coordinator to retire
Summary
City ADA coordinator Lindell Bright delivered the annual ADA compliance update and announced his upcoming retirement after a decade in the role. Council unanimously adopted the report.
Lindell Bright, St. Petersburg—s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator, delivered the city—s annual ADA compliance report Thursday and confirmed he is retiring after 10 years as the city—s ADA coordinator and 17 years of city service.
Bright described the city—s self-evaluation and transition planning work, including a multi-year self-evaluation report prepared in 2014——6 and the role of departmental accessibility liaisons across city government. "When we started initial process... we actually went to mayor Christman and talked to him that we needed this to get done," Bright said, describing the development of the city—s ADA compliance roadmap.
Bright urged continued investment in Title II (state and local government obligations) and Title I (employment accommodations), noting that city employees sometimes hesitate to request accommodations. He also emphasized outreach to communities of color and other groups that may be reluctant to use disability services. Assistant Anita Dreyer and CAPI vice chair Ross Silvers spoke in support of the committee—s work; longtime CAPI members praised Bright—s leadership and urged continued engagement after his retirement.
The council voted unanimously to adopt the ADA compliance report. "This work is not in vain," Council Member Corey Givens told Bright during remarks thanking him for his advocacy. Council members and staff highlighted services the city has funded and supported, including closed captioning for city meetings, beach wheelchairs and ADA training for staff, and they called for maintaining institutional knowledge and training for a successor.
Why it matters: The ADA compliance report documents the city—s obligations and progress under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and sets priorities for accessibility in city facilities, programs and employment practices. Bright called for continued training, department-level accountability and attention to Title I employment accommodations for city staff.
What—s next: Council adopted the compliance report and acknowledged Bright—s retirement; staff and the mayor—s office will continue work on ADA training, transition planning and identifying a successor for the ADA coordinator role.
