FACT SHEET

Settlement Agreement between the United States of America

and

the City of Wills Point, Texas

 

On July 24, 2012, the Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with the City of Wills Point, Texas, under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

The Department of Justice initiated a compliance review of the City of Wills Point in February, 2010, 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 the City's buildings, programs, and services was conducted in April, 2010. City staff worked cooperatively with the Department throughout the compliance review process in order to reach an agreement.

Facilities and programs surveyed by the Department and covered by the agreement include: Cartwright Community Center, Lester Park Ballfield, Northside Ballpark, City Hall & Police Department, Municipal Center, Senior Activity Center, Sewer Treatment Plant, Chamber of Commerce & Community Center, and the Historical Society Museum.  The Department also reviewed the City's emergency management procedures, employment policies, and sidewalks.

The text of the settlement agreement specifies the modifications the City of Wills Point will be making to its programs, services, and facilities.  Among other things, the City has agreed to:

• Make physical modifications to its facilities so that parking, routes into the buildings, entrances, restrooms, service counters, and drinking fountains are accessible to people with disabilities.
• Post, publish, and distribute a notice to inform members of the public of the provisions of Title II and their applicability to the City's programs, services, and activities.
• Train staff in using Texas's telephone relay service for telephone communications with individuals who are deaf, hard or hearing, or have speech disabilities.
• Develop policies and procedures and perform necessary planning to ensure that individuals with disabilities are afforded equal, integrated access to emergency management programs, including emergency preparedness, notification, evacuation, sheltering, response, clean up, and recovery.
• Develop a method for providing information for interested persons with disabilities concerning the existence and location of the City's accessible services, activities, and programs.
• Ensure that the City's official website and other web-based services are accessible to persons with disabilities.
• Install signs at any inaccessible entrance to a facility directing individuals with disabilities to an accessible entrance or to information about accessing programs and services at other accessible facilities.
• Implement a plan to ensure the accessibility of sidewalks and curb ramps throughout the City of Wills Point, Texas.
• Amend its employment policies, as necessary, to comply with the regulations of the U.S. Employment Opportunity Commission implementing Title I of the ADA, codified at 29 C.F.R. Part 1630.

Wills Point was founded in 1873 and was named after its first American settler, William Wills. The area is known for its annual Bluebird Festival, which celebrates the large number of bluebirds in the area and the continued efforts to preserve the bluebird population.  The City has a total area of 3.1 square miles and is located 38 miles east of Dallas.  According to census data, the City has a total population of 3,496 and approximately 23.8 percent of residents have a disability.

The agreement requires most actions to be completed within three years.  For the required accessibility modifications to sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, transportation stops and curb ramps, the City will work with the disability community to prioritize and complete these modifications within five years.  The Department will actively monitor compliance with the agreement until it has confirmed that all required actions have been completed.

 

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