Below is a message from GMRPTC Executive Director Renee Mattson. You can reach her at renee.mattson@gmrptcommission.org.

(Left) Jennifer, Renee, Roger and Brooke at the finish line!

Seems there has been an abrupt shift from summer to fall in recent days, at least in the northern part of the state.

I recently had the opportunity to spend a day with our accessibility expert Jennifer Skulski who did an accessibility audit at Lyon County Garvin Park. Jennifer happened to be in Minnesota that week doing another audit and things worked out well to be able to add Garvin Park to the schedule.

It was a very, very informative and eye-opening day at Garvin, joined by Brooke Kor the County Park Program Supervisor and Roger Schroeder the County Environmental Administrator.  Garvin reached out for assistance in how to best upgrade their facilities to better meet the needs of those needing special accommodations. Jennifer reviewed the facilities not just for mobility access but also for those with sight and hearing impairments.

As we’ve started our journey at GMRPTC to learn more about how to do better on the accessibility front, to demonstrate “Commitment not just Compliance,” Joe and I have been serious about becoming more educated in this area and have learned we have a lot more TO learn.

What we discovered at the Garvin Park access audit is that we simply cannot depend on engineers or architects to provide plans, we need to ensure they understand the requirements about the correct way to build something. We cannot depend on a provider of a pre-built shower/restroom facility to get the specifications right; we need to verify the plans prior to purchase.

These were disappointing findings and underscored the sad fact that “professionals” are not required to be educated in accessibility and ADA guidelines. Though, hopefully that lack in education will change soon.

Jennifer overall was pretty happy with the facilities we toured; she had some pointed suggestions for improvements that Brooke and Roger committed to making. She also had a statement of high praise for a stick-built restroom/shower facility, calling it “the nicest bathhouse I’ve EVER seen!”. 

So, this all brings me back to the accessibility forums that GMRPTC hosts every quarter. The investment of your time, just an hour and a half every three months, is beyond worthwhile. We know of course that schedules are busy, there is never enough time to do everything we want. If you miss a forum, good news! They are ALL archived on our website, so you can watch them at your leisure when you do have the time. And perhaps think about watching them with your staff so that everyone has the opportunity to learn what we can do to make our parks and trails welcoming to all who visit.

Thanks for your commitment to enhancing access.

(Above) Jennifer checking the height of the protruding object, which should be 80” of clearance, and if not, there should be a cane detectible object at the base, and there is.

(Above) Bathroom check, and it checked out.