AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S Courthouse
Designs, funding are challenges when modifying courthouses
Natural and Cultural Resources Council funds for projects in 66 historic county courthouses and five courthouse annexes. A significant number of those projects — 65 using $2,995,551 — were for projects addressing compliance with the Ameri- cans with Disabilities Act (ADA). AHPP Technical Assistance Coordinators Paul Porter and Brian Driscoll were asked for their thoughts on the major ADA issues in historic Arkansas courthouses. “Te toughest design challenges in making courthouses ADA accessible is locating the elevators and coming up with enough funds to do them using AHPP and other financial resources,” Porter replied. “Most of our courthouses have ADA modified entrances and ramps. We added a new courthouse annex to the program this year and are doing an ADA entrance and restrooms for it, the Cleburne County Bank in Heber Springs. Integrating an elevator, ramps, chair lifts and restrooms into each of these courthouses requires a lot of planning and forethought. During the planning process, the architects and engineers look at the traffic and use patterns of the building to determine the most-used places and the least-used places as county residents conduct their business. Based on that data and the historic configura- tion of the respective building, they can determine the best place to locate these features and follow the federal guidelines for the location of ADA ramps and en- trance doors, chair lifts and elevators.” Driscoll observed: “For some of the
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courthouses the most critical issue is still the lack of ADA accessibility to the main
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ince 1989, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program (AHPP) has awarded 451 grants distrib- uting $21,250,000 in Arkansas
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Among the many programs and services of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is the County Courthouse Restoration Grant Program. Created in 1989, this grant program has helped to extend the lives of courthouses that hold vital links to community pride and local history. Tese grants are funded through the Real Estate Transfer Tax, administered by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council. Since the beginning of the pro- gram, the AHPP has awarded more than $21.25 million to 71 historic courthouses and courthouse annexes around the state for use in rehabilitating, preserving and protecting these important historic resources. Since 1993, Little River County has received 10 grants totaling $415,113 for the Little River County Courthouse in Ashdown.
Arkansas Historic Preservation Program County Courthouse Restoration Grants awarded to Little River County
FY1993 FY1994 FY1997 FY1999 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2012 FY2014 FY2016
TOTAL:
Restore roof and guttering Repair interior water damage Restore sidewalk
Clean and restore exterior wood and brick Foundation, masonry, drainage restoration Replace gutters
Restoration Master Plan Exterior restoration Roof restoration
ADA accommodations
$15,000 $15,000 $8,000
$23,460 $34,350 $65,959 $10,000 $70,000 $101,988 $71,356
$415,113
floor of the building. While most historic courthouses have addressed this most basic requirement in some way such as an exterior chairlift, a ramp constructed on an entrance or an elevator added to accommodate entry from sidewalk level, some active courthouses still lack this basic access. Challenges to provid- ing first-floor access are often due to the design of the building. Some of the more grand styles of public buildings looked to grand stairways, elevated porticos and large window openings to convey the sense of significance and prominence. All of these features make providing acces- sibility more difficult. Te installation of commercial-grade elevators that access three floors is the most expensive ADA is- sue we deal with. I personally believe that the Americans with Disabilities Act has had the greatest impact on how public buildings are constructed today. Most of these buildings, including commercial buildings, libraries, college facilities and municipal buildings, are now constructed with the main entrances at ground level. “Once access to the main floor of a
courthouse has been provided there are a number of other issues that remain. I
believe access to courtrooms has been one of the big problems and has resulted in some counties moving their court functions to other locations and leaving their historic courtrooms unused. Tis is especially true for those counties that don’t have elevators. Tere also have been problems with accessibility of witness and jury boxes and judge’s benches in the courtrooms. Tese accommodations often get overlooked. “Another issue is accessible restrooms.
Historic courthouses often had small rest- rooms tucked into inconvenient locations in the building. I have seen some that resemble closets placed under stairways and many are located in out-of-the-way locations on the lower floors. Providing enough space to meet ADA requirements often results in the need to use space originally allocated for other courthouse functions. Te need for 32 inches of clear space in door openings has resulted in the wholesale replacement or reconfiguration of office doorways in some courthouses. “Meeting ADA requirements has prob- ably been the single most pervasive and expensive issue we have dealt with in the county courthouse grant program.”
COUNTY LINES, FALL 2016
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