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Resident files formal ADA complaint; urges town to start sidewalk program
Summary
David Meihls filed a formal ADA complaint alleging Waynetown failed to complete its ADA sidewalk inventory and allowed an improperly installed sidewalk in the public right of way. He urged the council to start a sidewalk program for repairs and accessibility, offering to provide designs and help with prioritization.
A Waynetown resident and the town’s pro‑bono ADA consultant, David Meihls, told the council July 9 that he has filed a formal Americans with Disabilities Act complaint against the town and urged immediate action to address sidewalk accessibility.
Meihls said he prepared the town’s ADA Transition Plan several years ago and that the plan required the town to complete a sidewalk inventory to identify noncompliant or missing sidewalks. He told the council the town has not completed that inventory and that a recently installed sidewalk in the public right of way — poured and paid for by a local group — fails to meet the cross‑slope and ramp standards the town adopted in its plan.
"We need a plan and we need to start doing this from the start," Meihls said, asking the council to budget for a sidewalk program and suggesting starting small, for example with roughly $50,000 a year aimed at repairs and accessibility priorities. He said quick fixes — such as rubber wedges at some business entrances — could help immediate access while a formal program is developed. Meihls offered to draw designs for entrance fixes to the ice cream shop and laundromat and said he would work pro bono on planning steps.
Town Attorney David Peebles reminded the council that federal ADA requirements can override local ordinances and recommended that Utility Superintendent John and Meihls work together as the council prepares the 2026 budget. Council discussion touched on INDOT jurisdiction for State Highway sidewalks and whether prior Community Crossings grant rounds allowed sidewalk work; Meihls said more recent rounds have allowed concurrent sidewalks with street projects.
Meihls emphasized prioritizing routes to essential services — mail, grocery stores, town hall, fire department and parks — and asked the council to initiate a sidewalk inventory as required by the ADA Transition Plan.
The council did not adopt a specific sidewalk budget at the meeting but directed staff to work with Meihls during budget preparation.
