By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


Hamburg Township officials and staff are putting the final touches on a new transition plan for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.

At their most recent, the Hamburg Township Board of Trustees was presented the latest ADA Policies and Procedures Manual as drafted by township Parks and ADA Coordinator Deby Henneman. The document aims to provide a comprehensive overview of priorities and processes for handling ADA-related issues.

It lists 4 levels of priorities from highest to lowest potential needs. The highest priority involves the removal of barriers from parking up to, and through, doors from buildings or other specific areas like picnic shelters or playgrounds.

The transition plan additionally details the procedures and provides sample forms for requesting accommodations and filing a grievance.

Trustee Patricia Hughes encouraged all Board members to read the plan thoroughly as she said it assumes the township is “the bad guy.” Henneman said requests are rare, but they do happen, and as long as they have everything in order and know how to proceed as staff, they should be in great shape. The plan also includes areas the heads of specific departments need to start working on.

Supervisor Pat Hohl made a motion to direct all department heads to review and detail the document and to incorporate the recommended improvements into their budget after verifying and updating costs.