The Traveling Wheelchair

Selectmen’s Meeting Room
10 Nickerson Ave
Middleboro, MA 02346
Phone: 508 -947-946-2415
http://www.middleborough.com/

Yesterday, my mom, friends and I traveled to  Middleborough Town Hall for a meeting with Mr. Charles Cristello, ADA Coordinator & Town Manager, Mr. Robert Whalen, Building Commissioner and Ms. Anna Nalevanko, Director of Office of Economic and Community Development. We scheduled the meeting to discuss the businesses in my hometown that are not wheelchair accessible due to a small one step at the entrance.

Our meeting was held in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room and I was delighted by the warm reception I received.

Pictured left to right: Mr. Robert Whalen, Kenny Cieplik,
Ms. Anna Nalevanko and Mr. Charles Cristello

I’ve lived in Middleborough for 20 years and LOVE my hometown! Yet, sadly not all the businesses in downtown Middleborough are accessible to me and others in wheelchairs due to a small step at the entry door. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, “businesses that provide goods and services to the public are already required to remove structural barriers to access by people with disabilities when removal is “readily achievable”. A one step entrance is considered “readily achievable” which means it is able to be done without much difficulty or expense.

The ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act is a wonderful civil rights law that was passed in 1990. The only problem is that not many have the power to enforce the ADA except for the Department of Justice. The ONLY Massachusetts city or town that I know of who can enforce ADA is the  Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities and Cambridge Human Rights Commission  due to an ‘ordinance amendment’ the Cambridge City Council unanimously passed on March 3, 2008.

Most Cities and Towns have an ADA Coordinator whose primarily responsibility is to ensure their town or city properties, programs & policies are ADA Compliant. They have no authority to enforce local businesses to be ADA compliant. They can however help educate and bring awareness to local businesses. Building Inspectors have no authority to enforce ADA either!

Mr. Cristello, Mr. Whalen and Ms. Nalevanko kindly listened to my mom, friends and I speak about how difficult it is for me to be excluded from some local businesses. They truly care about equal & full access for all citizens and offered to help educate local businesses on ADA Compliance.

1. Mr. Cristello told me he would be happy to send letters to the businesses I identified as having “readily achievable” barriers asking for their voluntary compliance with the ADA. 
2. Ms. Nalevanko offered to put some information into her newsletter which also goes out to local businesses.
3. They all said they would see if there is any grant funding that would help local businesses with paying for more costly ADA related renovations. 

I was ecstatic that they are willing to help!

Before we said our goodbyes, we asked if there have been any more sightings of ghosts at my hometown’s Town Hall. For those of you who have not heard; Middleborough Town Hall is haunted and people have heard footsteps late at night and ghosts speaking from the Grand Hall on the second floor. In 2008, two separate Paranormal Groups investigated the building, using photographic, thermal and audio equipment and both found evidence that ghosts do in fact reside in the Middleborough Town Hall.

I find this all intriguing. I do believe in good ghosts & spirits! I told them I even have a picture of me with an ‘Orb’ on my face. Orbs are believed to be a sign that a ghost is present! You can see this picture on my review of Middleborough Town Hall. Mr. Whalen, the very nice Building Commissioner told me he has a DVD video of the ghost sightings and will make a copy for me. He also showed me this really cool picture of an ‘Orb’ on the balcony in the Grand Hall!!

If you have a complaint regarding lack of access to a local business in your hometown, I highly recommend you make an appointment with your local ADA Coordinator. He/she cannot enforce ADA but they can help to educate businesses. I hope your ADA Coordinator is as caring as mine. You can find the name of your ADA Coordinator @ http://www.mass.gov/mod/MunicipalADACoordinators.html.

Now I can only hope that my local businesses care enough to make the needed accessibility changes so their business will be accessible to all citizens.

I give Mr. Charles Cristello, ADA Coordinator & Town Manager, Mr. Robert Whalen, Building Commissioner and Ms. Anna Nalevanko, Director of Office of Economic and Community Development all FIVE STARS PLUS for helping to make the world more sensitive, respectful, safer and accessible to all. THANK YOU!!