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ADA Information
Public Notice Under The Americans With Disabilities Act
In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), the City of Cookeville will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.
Employment
The City of Cookeville does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title I of the ADA.
Effective Communication
The City of Cookeville will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the City's programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.
Modifications to Polices and Procedures
The City of Cookeville will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in City offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.
Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity of the City of Cookeville, should contact the office of Gail Fowler, ADA/504 Coordinator, as soon as possible but no later than 72 hours before the scheduled event.
The ADA does not require the City of Cookeville to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.
The City of Cookeville will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy, such as retrieving items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs.
Complaints that a program, service, or activity of the City of Cookeville is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to the ADA/504 Coordinator.
ADA/504 Coordinator Contact Information
Carl Sells, ADA/504 Coordinator
45 E Broad St
Cookeville, TN 38501
(931) 520-5256
Tennessee Relay: 7-1-1
csells@cookeville-tn.gov
Below describes the primary role and responsibilities of the ADA/504 Coordinator:
- Ensure that all citizens in the community and members of our workforce have an opportunity to participate in all programs, services, and activities;
- Mitigate ADA violations;
- Serve as primary point of contact for ADA/504 compliance, for both employer and members of the public;
- Manage the self-evaluation process of the programmatic barriers in all programs, services, and activities offered by the City of Cookeville;
- Establish a complaint or grievance procedure to respond to complaints of noncompliance from the public;
- Develop an active ADA Transition Plan to include self-evaluation findings for all programs, services, and activities; and
- Maintaining the availability of the ADA Transition Plan for public inspection for three years after completion.
Below is a list of qualifications that are recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice:
- Familiarity with the entity’s structures, activities, and employees;
- Knowledge of the ADA and other laws addressing the rights of people with disabilities, such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act;
- Experience with people with a broad range of disabilities;
- Knowledge of various alternative formats and alternative technologies that enable people with disabilities to communicate, participate, and perform tasks;
- Ability to work cooperatively with local entities and people with disabilities;
- Familiarity with local disability advocacy groups and other disability groups;
- Skills and training in negotiation and mediation; and
- Organizational and analytical skills.