Welcome to the City of Fountain's NEW Website!

 
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ADA Compliance

ADA Policies, Procedures, and Forms

In accordance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), City of Fountain ("City") will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in the City's services, programs, or activities. You can find PDF copies of our ADA Notice and Grievance Procedures below. 

If you feel that you have been unable to access the City of Fountain government because of an accessibility issue, or have been discriminated against based on your disability, please fill out the ADA Grievance Form or Request for Accommodation form and submit to our office. 

ADA Coordinator - Rosa McCormick
116 S. Main Street
Fountain, CO  80817
719-322-2019
 

Your request or complaint will be investigated, and you will be contacted with the results, or how to further proceed.

These forms and processes are designed to provide you with the opportunity to quickly and effectively resolve any issue(s) as they relate to the City of Fountain and the ADA.

We will make reasonable modifications and accommodations to ensure that people with disabilities have equal opportunity to participate in all meetings and events. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to participate fully in a meeting or event, please Request an Accommodation or call us at 719-322-2019 at least 48 hours prior to the start of the meeting or event.

In accordance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), City of Fountain (“City”) will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in the City’s services, programs, or activities.

Employment:  The City 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 will generally, upon request, provide appropriate auxiliary 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 alternative formats, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures:  The City will make all reasonable modifications to policies and procedures to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all City programs, services, and activities.  For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in City offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

Surcharges:  The City 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.

Architectural Barriers:  The City will take all required action to provide access to its building and facilities to individuals with disabilities.

Fundamental Alterations/Undue Burden:  The ADA does not require the City of Fountain to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.

Requesting an Accommodation:  Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification to policies or procedures to participate in a City program, service, or activity should contact the City of Fountain ADA Coordinator, listed below, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.  For your convenience, the Request for Accommodation or Barrier Removal form is available below, or through the City of Fountain.  Alternative forms of this Notice are available.

Rosa McCormick, ADA Coordinator

City of Fountain
116 S. Main Street
Fountain, CO 80817
719-322-2019

Request an ADA Accommodation

 State and local governments (public entities) have obligations under Title II of the ADA to provide people with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in all services, programs and activities.

The City of Fountain’s draft ADA Transition Plan is focused on Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination based on disability for state and local government services.  To ensure access to all City services and programs, a self-evaluation is currently being conducted to determine gaps in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 
 
 

Components of an ADA Title II Transition Plan



The main components in an ADA Title II Transition Plan include: 

• Identification of transportation infrastructure like curb ramps and pedestrian signals, that aren’t fully compliant with ADA requirements

• Identification of making all of City of Fountain facilities, programs, policies, and procedures accessible 

• A timeline to make modifications for compliance

The transition plan will be submitted to City Council for approval after the public review period. We will welcome feedback on the draft as soon as the self-evaluations are complete. 

This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of The Americans Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”).  It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the City of Fountain. The City’s Personnel Policies and Procedures govern employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.

The complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant and location, date, and description of the problem.  A Complaint/Grievance Form can be obtained at the link at the bottom of this section. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the complaint will be made available for the persons with disabilities upon request.

The complaint should be submitted by the grievant and/or his/her designee as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:

Rosa McCormick
ADA Coordinator
116 S. Main Street
Fountain, CO 80817
719-322-2019
rosa@fountaincolorado.org

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the City of Fountain’s ADA Coordinator will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions.  Within 30 calendar days of the meeting the City of Fountain’s ADA Coordinator will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, such as large print, braille, or audio tape.  The response will explain the position of the City of Fountain and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If the response by the City of Fountain’s ADA Coordinator does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee may appeal the decision within 30 calendar days after receipt of the response, to the office of the City of Fountain Attorney or their designee.

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the City Attorney or his/her designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions.  Within 30 calendar days after the meeting, the City Attorney or his/her designee will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint.

All written complaints received by the City of Fountain’s ADA Coordinator, appeals to the office of the City of Fountain Attorney or their designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the City of Fountain for at least three years.  Alternative forms of this grievance procedure are available.

 Grievance Form

City of Fountain Website Accessibility Policy

Fountain's Digital Accessibility Policy

Summary

The City of Fountain is committed to providing equal access to all services, programs and activities in accordance with federal and state laws, including equal access to the City’s website.

Measures to Support Accessibility

The City of Fountain takes the following measures to ensure accessibility of the Fountain website:

Include accessibility as a requirement for all web content. Content must meet WCAG 2.1 AA and should meet AAA as feasible.

Assign clear accessibility goals and responsibilities.

Ensure content authors have accessibility knowledge and skills.

Include accessibility as part of the Fountain mission.

Include accessibility throughout Fountain internal policies.

Perform website usability testing with participants with disabilities.

Conformance Status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standard defines requirements to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. "Fully conforms" means that the content meets all the WCAG requirements at the specified Level without exceptions.

Compatibility with Browsers and Assistive Technology

The City of Fountain website is designed to be compatible with assistive technologies and the last two versions of major browsers.

In Internet Explorer 10, 11, and older browsers, some aspects of the website may not display optimally. The website is not designed for Internet Explorer 9 and earlier versions.

Technical Specifications

The Fountain website relies upon the following technologies for conformance with WCAG 2.1 AA:

HTML

ARIA

CSS

SVG

Assessment Approach

The City of Fountain assessed the accessibility of the Fountain website by self-evaluation.

Third party websites

Please note that the Fountain website may link to, or interface with, third party websites that we do not control. These third-party vendors may not have undertaken the efforts that The City of Fountain has undertaken to comply with WCAG 2.1 AA standards. The Fountain website informs users when they are about to leave the City of Fountain website and prompts confirmation on whether you wish to be redirected to a third party-controlled website. To maximize accessibility, Fountain is working with its vendors to encourage them to comply with these standards.  

Feedback

The City of Fountain welcomes feedback on the accessibility of its website. If you encounter accessibility barriers, please contact Fountain’s ADA Coordinator at:

Rosa McCormick

Phone:  719-322-2019

Email:  rosa@fountaincolorado.org 

We appreciate your patience as we continuously work to improve. Should you have problems accessing information on this website, please let us know. We also welcome your questions about this accessibility statement and comments on how to improve the site's accessibility.  

Due to current technology constraints, there are some instances where we are unable to provide information in an accessible format (e.g. mapping information).  We will be monitoring these sections and will develop accessible solutions as technology improves.

To comment on website accessibility, please contact us via email or follow the Grievance Form.  

The City will generally, upon request, provide appropriate auxiliary 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 alternative formats, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.

  • Hearing Loop Systems
  • City of Fountian Looped Locations  
  • Looping Systems locations
  • Fountain Council Chambers
  • Counter Loops
  • Utilities Customer Service
  • Police Department counter
  • City Hall
  • 1st Floor City Clerk Office & Planning Counter
  • 2nd Floor Admin Office
  • Court counter

Users guidance: Hearing loop systems 

Hearing Loop System Infographic-explanation of how it works

Basic Etiquette Tips for Communicating with Someone with Hearing Loss:

  • Be sure you have the person’s attention. Depending on the situation, you can extend your arm or wave your hand.
  • Rephrase, rather than repeat, sentences that the person doesn’t hear or understand.
  • When talking, be sure to face the person.
  • Speak clearly. Avoid chewing gum or obscuring your mouth with your hand or other item while speaking.
  • There is no need to shout or raise your voice. If the person is using a hearing aid, cochlear implant, or the portable neck loop, shouting will only distort your words.