FACT SHEET

Settlement Agreement between the United States of America and the Town of Warrenton, Virginia

On September 28, 2011 the Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with the Town of Warrenton, Virginia under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

The Department of Justice initiated a compliance review of Warrenton in July, 2009 as part of Project Civic Access, a Department initiative to ensure greater access for persons with disabilities to state and local government programs, services, activities, and facilities. An on-site survey of Warrenton's buildings, programs, and services was conducted in early October, 2009. Warrenton officials worked cooperatively with the Department throughout the compliance review in order to reach a settlement agreement.

Facilities covered by the agreement include: Town Hall, Police Facility, Aquatic and Recreation Facility, Visitor's Center, Public Works Facility, Salvation Army Building, Academy Hill Park, Eva Walker Park, Rady Park, Gold Park, Mosby Museum, and Municipal Parking Lots. The Department also reviewed Warrenton's employment policies, grievance procedures, and effective communications provisions.

Under the agreement announced today, Warrenton officials will take several important steps to improve access for individuals with disabilities. The text of the settlement agreement specifies the particular modifications that Warrenton will make to each of the programs, services, and facilities covered by the agreement as well as the timeframes for making each change. Among other things, Warrenton has agreed to:

• Make physical modifications to its facilities so that parking, routes into the buildings, entrances, public telephones, restrooms, service counters, and drinking fountains are accessible to people with disabilities.
• Survey other facilities and programs and make modifications wherever necessary to achieve full compliance with ADA requirements.
• Ensure that buildings and outdoor facilities that will be built or altered by or on behalf of the town comply with the ADA's architectural requirements.
• Post, publish, and distribute a notice to inform members of the public of the provisions of Title II and their applicability to the Town's programs, services, and activities.
• Ensure that the official website is accessible to people with disabilities.
• Develop a method for providing information for interested persons with disabilities concerning the existence and location of the Town's accessible services, activities, and programs.
• Install signs at any inaccessible entrance to a facility directing users to an accessible entrance or to information about other accessible facilities.
• Implement a comprehensive plan to improve the accessibility of the Town's sidewalks, transportation stops and pedestrian crossings by installing accessible curb ramps throughout the Town.

Warrenton is located in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia and is the county seat of Fauquier County. Warrenton had its origin at the junction of the Falmouth-Winchester and Alexandria-Culpeper roads, where a trading post known as the Red Store was established. At the time of the Revolutionary War a settlement had begun, and by 1790 the first courthouse was built, a jail was erected and an academy named for General Joseph Warren, a Revolutionary War hero, was founded. The Town of Warrenton was incorporated as the county seat in 1810. It received the Preserve America Community Award in 2009, and Old Town Warrenton was recently named Prettiest Painted Places in America by the Paint Quality Institute.

The Department will actively monitor compliance with the settlement agreement, which will remain in effect for three years from September 28, 2011, or until all actions required by the Agreement have been completed, whichever is later.

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