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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Idaho to spend $400K to bring renovated Capitol in compliance with ADA

Sloping, curving walkways, including this one, will have to be torn out and replaced as part of $400,000 in modifications to bring Idaho's newly renovated state capitol into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Betsy Z. Russell)
Sloping, curving walkways, including this one, will have to be torn out and replaced as part of $400,000 in modifications to bring Idaho's newly renovated state capitol into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Betsy Z. Russell)

Five years after completing a three-year, $120 million renovation of its state capitol, Idaho is preparing to spend another $400,000 to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act – after state officials wrongly assumed the historic structure was exempt.

“We were operating under the premise that we were not fully reconstructing the capitol building,” Jan Frew, state deputy public works administrator, told lawmakers last week. “It’s a historic building, so we were utilizing many of the exemptions that are allowed for historic buildings.” Those included, for example, making all programs in the building accessible, but not all doors and entrances.

But the U.S. Department of Justice received a complaint that the building renovation didn’t meet the law’s requirements, and after an extensive investigation, negotiated 110 changes with state officials. Receiving a complaint, Frew said, “triggers them to come out and look at absolutely everything.” The work will start this summer and be completed by July of 2017; it includes everything from adding wheelchair-accessible seating to the House and Senate galleries, to installing signage throughout the building that includes Braille, to pouring new concrete ramps.

“When the Department of Justice became involved, their main interpretation was that if you’re spending $120 million, whether it’s new or existing, every part of the capitol building should be accessible,” Frew said. “They didn’t think that the historic building exceptions should apply any more.” You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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