Waynesboro honors accessibility advocate and updates ADA transition plan

Waynesboro City Council on July 28 issued a proclamation honoring the life and work of Charles “Charlie” Downs and received an update on the city’s Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan.

The council read a proclamation recognizing Downs’s decades of advocacy and noting his appointment in September 1992 as the city’s first ADA coordinator. Mayor Lee presented the proclamation to Downs’s wife, Mary Alice.

Contract ADA coordinator Gail Brunt told council she has more than 30 years’ experience in disability and community living and serves as executive director of Valley Associates for Independent Living. “The role of government entities under Title II of the ADA applies to our state and local governments,” Brunt said, summarizing the law’s requirement that programs, services and activities be accessible. She noted the ADA was enacted on July 26, 1990, and said the city is updating its transition plan to reflect ongoing needs.

Brunt said departments have participated in evaluations and accessibility training, and staff are considering accessibility in new projects. She listed recent work including sidewalk and curb ramp upgrades, retrofits to public facilities, website accessibility efforts and emergency planning with access strategies. Brunt said the city will review the capital improvement plan this fall to evaluate costs and priorities and that an updated ADA transition plan will be presented to council at a later date.

The proclamation and update were framed as part of the 35th anniversary of the ADA; the proclamation encouraged residents to continue advancing equal access and independent living for people of every ability.

The council did not take formal action on the transition plan during the meeting; staff described future presentations and capital-plan review as next steps.