ARCHITECTURAL ACCESSIBILITY BOARD
State Fire Marshal’s Office
2307 MacArthur Road, New Castle
Telephone: (302) 323-5365
Thursday, September 8, 2011
1:30 P.M.
MINUTES
I. CALL TO ORDER
The September 9, 2011 meeting of the State of Delaware’s Architectural Accessibility Board was called to order by the chairman, Ada Stokes. In addition to Ms. Stokes, the record will show that the following board members participated in the meeting, either by telephone (T) or by their actual presence (P): Neil Himelein (P); Armando Liberti (P); Chang Yoon (P); Sumner Spence (P).
II. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
A motion to approve the minutes of the Board’s previous meeting, held on July 14, 2011, was made and seconded. By a unanimous vote, the minutes were approved as recorded.
III. DISCUSSION OF AGENDA
The Chief Administrator added two (2) cases to the agenda, as follows:
- 11063 Delaware Tech. – Dental Health Center
- 11064 Elections Training Facility
IV. CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR’S UPDATE
The Chief Administrator reported to the Board on his activities for the month. Theactivities were routine in nature and consisted of normal field inspections, complaint issues, and accessibility inquires.
V. SUBMISSIONS REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT
Because there was no meeting of the Board in August, the case summary recommendations consisted of those cases reviewed by the Submission Review Committee from their July 28th meeting and their August 25th meeting. A total of twelve (12) case recommendations were presented to the Board from these meetings. Along with the two (2) cases added to the agenda by the Chief Administrator, the summaries for all fourteen (14) cases/projects are attached as a part of these minutes.
VI. OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business to discuss.
VII. NEW BUSINESS
A. The 2009 edition of the ANSI standards for accessible buildings and facilities was recently published. Once the new ’09 edition is received, the current Delaware accessibility standards will be edited to conform with this new printing, specifically the provision numbers for applicable items.
B. The legislative provision/code regarding the new state law requiring automated doors was discussed. It was felt that, even though this is a building code issue, rather than an accessibility issue, the requirement would impact the Board’s accessibility reviews. Further, this requirement was deemed to be questionable, since it appeared to be general in nature, and not supported by any other local or national code. Additional discussion would be necessary by the AAB to determine how it should fit into the Board’s approval/veto obligations for State of Delaware buildings and facilities.
VIII. SCHEDULE OF NEXT MEETING
The August meeting of the AAB was cancelled. The next meeting of the AAB will be held on Thursday, October 13, 2011, at 1:30 PM, at the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
With nothing further to review or discuss, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Dan A. Muterspaw
Chief Administrator, AAB
DAM/mas
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11045OWNER / Department of State
Historical and Cultural Affairs
PROJECT / Woodburn Mansion
Basement Alterations
DESIGNED BY / Bernardon Haber Holloway
CONTACT PERSON / Doug Hertsenberg, BHH
Larry Schrock
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / Mr. Hertsenberg and Mr. Don Hadley (from the State Department) presented this project to the committee and explained the proposed alterations for this building and its connection to the Hall House building. It was determined that vertical access was not required for the basement area because only security personnel would be occupying that space. Alterations to all other elements and spaces, including the new ramp to the first floor area, appeared to be designed correctly. Although not a part of this project, it was pointed out that the toilet rooms should be upgraded to be accessible.
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11050
OWNER / Department of Corrections
PROJECT / Howard Young Prison
Kitchen Addition and Alterations
DESIGNED BY / R G Architects, LLC
CONTACT PERSON / Gerald Rozanski
Beverly Bartlett
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / This project proposes a new kitchen addition to this existing facility. There will also be some additional interior alterations. After discussing several confusing items with the design architect (pertaining to some building code issues), it was determined that the architectural design included the appropriate and/or required accessibility elements and spaces.
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11052
OWNER / New Castle County Vo-Tech School District
PROJECT / Howard High School
School of Technology Alterations
DESIGNED BY / BSA+A
CONTACT PERSON / Tony Vassolotti
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / During the July meeting of the Submissions Review Committee, this plan was found to be confusing in its scope of work. Mr. Vassolotti was present at the August review meeting to explain, in detail, this phase of the work. Most of the work deals with the entrance to the school. There are some interior alterations also included within this phase. The ‘path of travel’ provision is covered by the entrance alterations. Some accessibility errors that pertained to the ramp and steps were corrected and the final plan was acceptable.
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11054
OWNER / Department of Corrections
PROJECT / Sussex Corrections Institute
Sprinkler Installation & Fire Alarm Modifications
DESIGNED BY / Mahaffy & Associates, Inc.
CONTACT PERSON / Scott Parlow
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / This proposed work does not impact or affect any of the accessible elements or spaces of this building
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11055
OWNER / Cape Henlopen School District
PROJECT / Beacon Middle School
Security Upgrades
DESIGNED BY / Furlow Associates
CONTACT PERSON / William J. Slusser
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / The work to be preformed for this project does not affect the accessibility of any of the elements or spaces in this facility
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11056
OWNER / Cape Henlopen School District
PROJECT / Mariner Middle School
Security Upgrades
DESIGNED BY / Furlow Associates
CONTACT PERSON / William J. Slusser
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / The work to be preformed for this project does not affect the accessibility of any of the elements or spaces in this facility.
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11057
OWNER / Department of Corrections
PROJECT / James T. Vaughn Correctional Institution
Burner/Flame Safeguard Contact System
Replacement
DESIGNED BY / Mahaffy Associates, Inc.
CONTACT PERSON / Scott Parlow
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / The proposed work will not affect the usability or accessibility of any elements/spaces.
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11058
OWNER / Department of State
PROJECT / Nos. 15 & 21 The Green
Building Envelope Conservation
DESIGNED BY / Bernardon Haber Holloway
CONTACT PERSON / Kevin Rychlicki
Larry Schrock
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / The work being proposed to restore/conserve the exterior of these two buildings will consist of masonry, woodwork and painting. In addition, the roof and windows will be repaired. None of the work will affect the accessibility of any elements and/or spaces.
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11059
OWNER / Milford School District
PROJECT / Milford High School
Ramp/Stair Replacement
DESIGNED BY / StudioJAED
CONTACT PERSON / Phillip R. Conte
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / The project is to upgrade an existing ramp and adjacent set of steps for the purpose of improved accessibility. The design for these alterations appears to be acceptable.
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11060
OWNER / Delaware Technical & Community College
PROJECT / Stanton Campus – SECT
New Construction
DESIGNED BY / BSA+A
CONTACT PERSON / Tony Vassolotti
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / A small addition is being added on to one of the existing buildings for the purpose of having a classroom setting for sustainable energy. The design appeared to be accessible, with the exception of the following:
1. The curb ramps detail didn’t match the curb ramp design for the front walkway.
2. The door to the accessible stall in Toilet Room #106 didn’t have the appropriate maneuvering space on its pull side.
These items were corrected and the design now appeared to be acceptable.
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11061
OWNER / Delaware Technical & Community College
PROJECT / Terry Campus – Terry Building
Elevator Systems Renovations
DESIGNED BY / Mahaffy & Associates, Inc.
CONTACT PERSON / Scott D. Parlow
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / This project consists of renovating the mechanical, HVAC, electrical, fire protection, and life safety systems of the elevator (but not the elevator, itself). This work will not affect the accessibility or usability of this building.
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11062
OWNER / DelDOT (Street Transportation Funds)
PROJECT / Town of Ellendale
Main Street Facilities Renovations
DESIGNED BY / Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc.
CONTACT PERSON / Daniel Ridgely
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / The project calls for interior alterations and renovations to an existing building being used by the State of Delaware for social services activities. The alterations (for the most part) appeared to be compliant, but the existing gang toilet rooms were not being upgraded. In its place, two new single user toilet rooms are being constructed nearby. The Administrator’s site inspection confirmed that correcting/upgrading the two existing toilet rooms was not an option. The planned improvements were deemed correct.
BOARD ACTION / Approved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11063
OWNER / Department of Education
PROJECT / DTCC – Wilmington Campus
Dental Health Center Renovations
DESIGNED BY / ABHA Architects
CONTACT PERSON / Scott Lester
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / The existing dental center will be renovated to achieve greater working/learning space. There was no detail provided for the work tables/lavs in the laboratory. In addition, there was no detail provided for the toilet rooms serving the primary function area and it could not be determined if the ADA’s path of travel provision was being followed within the scope of work for this project.
BOARD ACTION / Disapproved
SUBMISSION NUMBER / 11064
OWNER / Department of Elections
PROJECT / Training Facility
Alterations/fit-out
DESIGNED BY / Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc.
CONTACT PERSON / Daniel Ridgely
PREVIOUS ACTION / None
COMMENTS / There was work previously pre-formed in the front office section of this facility. The larger, warehouse space (that makes up the majority of this building) is now being altered to create a training area, training office and toilet rooms. While the design appears to be accessible, there was a lack of detail provided for:
1. the handrails being installed on an existing non-compliant ramp and set of steps.
2. the mounting height of the urinal in the men’s toilet room.
BOARD ACTION / Disapproved