Andover Commission on Disabilities
The Andover Commission on Disabilities was created by a vote at Town Meeting in April of 1995. Andover citizen Mark J. Walker petitioned Town Meeting with a warrant article requesting a nine member appointed commission and funding for operational expenses. The Town initially voted to fund the Commission with $1500 for business expenses to launch their work, however Northeast Rehab Hospital donated the funds for the first year of the Commissions operation thereby relieving the Town of the first year's financial obligation. [1] The first nine member commission was officially appointed on October 2nd of that year. [2]
The first appointed commission included the following Andover residents: Mark J. Walker, Ch. Michael A. Warshawsky Gina B. LaFortune, Esq. Paul A. Clinton Neil R. Gordon David E. Ray Joanne J. Stephen James J. Wiseman Timothy J. McCarron. [3] The first official, public meeting was held on Wednesday October 11, 1995. [4]
The Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) was created under the Massachusetts General Laws in 1981. In 1985, MOD launched the Community Access Monitor Project which trained and certified people to survey accessibility in public buildings and spaces in the Commonwealth. [5] The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. By law, July 1992 was the stated time after which construction, alterations and modifications of public buildings and spaces had to be compliant with the law. [6] Massachusetts municipalities had a January 1995 deadline that required communities to file plans and evaluations for how they will provide accessibility to municipal buildings. [7] The Massachusetts Office on Disability, which launched in 1981, became the state coordinator for implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act.
REFERENCES
- ↑ Town of Andover Annual Town Report, 1995, https://archive.org/details/annualreportofto1995ando/page/n3/mode/2up
- ↑ Staruk, Don. Board of Selectmen appoints Disabilities Members, The Andover Townsman, October 5, 1995. https://archive.org/details/andover_townsman_1995-10-05/page/n7/mode/2up?q=%22Board+of+Selectmen+appoints+Disabilities+Members%22
- ↑ Town of Andover Annual Town Report, 1995. https://archive.org/embed/annualreportofto1995ando
- ↑ Staruk, Don. Commission to address needs of handicapped, The Andover Townsman, Sept 11, 1995 https://archive.org/details/andover_townsman_1995-09-28/page/n31/mode/2up
- ↑ Community Access Monitor Project, 1992 https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/items/ff2f76e6-dd4a-4117-923d-21cc39e91658
- ↑ Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_with_Disabilities_Act_of_1990
- ↑ Weld, Elizabeth New. Making life accessible to disabiled, The Boston Globe, Dec. 18, The1994.