Restaurant Seeks Relief From Code Preliminary City Budget Also On Council’s Agenda

When Jim Duncan got approval to build The Wine Cellar in 1992, he agreed to install handicapped access in the future.

Now he’s sold his other restaurant - Jimmy D’s - and handicapped people can’t simply go across the street to get the same menu as at the Wine Cellar. So, Duncan’s agreement has kicked in.

But the price tag of complying with the Americans With Disabilities Act has grown. Updating the Wine Cellar isn’t as simple anymore as installing an elevator.

New building codes call for such expensive changes as a fire-resistant area in the restaurant, where people could wait to be rescued, said City Administrator Ken Thompson.

The City Council will consider waiving the extra building-code requirements at its meeting this evening. The question boils down to “Is it fair to make him do things he wouldn’t have had to do in the early 1990s?” Thompson said.

The council also is expected to approve next year’s $33.4 million preliminary city budget. Public hearings will be held Aug. 24, 29 and 31.

The final budget will be adopted in early September.

The proposed budget is about $4 million more than last year’s. Much of the increase will cover water and sewer projects that are covered by water and sewer fees.

The budget also calls for $400,000 to go to a 3 percent salary increase for city workers. Administration spending is supposed to drop $12,000, while the finance department is asking for $13,000 more.

The police budget would rise from $2.9 million last year to $3.04 million this year. The fire department’s budget would increase about $100,000 to $1.6 million.

The building inspection budget calls for $385,303, about $30,000 more than last year. That increase is paid for from building permit fees.

, DataTimes