County faces complaint from ACLU
A complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief has been filed against Pulaski County in regards to the courthouse not being Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant.
The complaint was filed on Dec. 27 by Ken Falk on behalf of Emily Hizer in the United States District Court Northern District of Indiana South Bend Division. Falk is an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union.
Although there are numerous issues regarding the courthouse not being ADA-compliant, the complaint cites two main problems in the lawsuit — the elevator and the bathrooms.
Hizer said she’s not seeking any damages, she just wants changes to be made to the building.
Recently, the Pulaski County Commissioners spent $50,000 for an engineering study to be completed on the courthouse. A plan of restoration, renovation and an addition was established. The project with a two-story addition was estimated to cost $6.5 million. Without the renovation of the building, the project would cost about $4.2 million.
When the project was presented to the commissioners, former commissioners Larry Brady and Terry Young voted to move forward with the project while commissioner Bud Krohn Jr. opposed the project. Commissioners Kenny Becker and Jerry Locke were sworn in on Dec. 20.
On June 15, 2016, the county council voted to not fund the project because of the new incoming commissioners and because of the concerns of the public.
According to the lawsuit, these problems are demeaning and embarrassing to people with disabilities. Hizer said she is aware that changes cannot be made overnight.
As part of the complaint process, the county has 21 days to respond to the allegations and can ask for an additional 30 days. The county can contest the complaint or agree that the issues in the lawsuit are problems that need to be addressed.
Falk said most times the cases are contested and he will work to get something to the court as soon as possible. If the county is ordered to comply and refused then fines could occur.