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SMITHVILLE — City Council last week approved three measures to bring Smithville into compliance with its recent accessibility audit.
City Manager Robert Tamble told the council July 14 that the Texas Department of Transportation’s audit identified several areas where Smithville needed to formalize its policies and procedures to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. Specifically, the city needed to adopt a formal ADA grievance policy and complaint form, implement a non-discrimination policy and establish an accessibility task force.
“This actually will signify your commitment to ADA compliance and accessibility throughout the community,” Tamble said.
While Smithville has already been following ADA guidelines, according to Tamble, those practices had not been officially documented — a requirement for eligibility in future grant applications.
Under the new grievance policy, City Secretary Jennifer Lynch will serve as the city’s ADA compliance coordinator. The policy outlines how residents can file complaints and how the city will respond.
Tamble also noted that Smithville already has a 12-member accessibility task force that has been meeting with strong community participation.
“This allows us to continue making improvements and soliciting ideas from the citizens of how to make our community more ADA accessible,” he said.
OTHER ACTION
Also during the meeting, Janice Bruno, executive director of the Smithville Workforce Training Center, provided an update on the Smithville Business Innovation Center, which broke ground in January.
The facility will provide job training, career development and business support services, particularly targeting underserved communities in Bastrop, Lee, Fayette and Caldwell
Photo by Niko Demetriou
counties, according to officials.
“We’re actually engaging, empowering and employing employers and participants in four counties,” Bruno said. “We’re not just in Bastrop County.”
To date, the program has enrolled 415 individuals, with 252 completing training. Of those, 214 have been placed in higher-wage jobs, and 91 remain in training, reports show. While a recent grant is helping support retail hospitality training, healthcare remains the largest area of instruction.
Susie Cannon, project coordinator with the Smithville Chamber of Commerce, also presented updates on local tourism initiatives. She highlighted the mailing of 400 copies of local magazine “78957” to tourism centers and chambers across Texas, a new ad placement in Texas Highways Magazine and the launch of a survey on the Visit Smithville website to gather feedback from visitors and prospective tourists.
The Chamber introduced a dedicated email address, [email protected], along with a new logo and updated letterhead. Cannon added that the Chamber is working with TourTexas.com on a destination content plan to further promote tourism in the area.
The city’s second budget workshop is scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, at City Hall. Last month’s workshop lasted more than five hours and Mayor Pro Tem Jimmy Jenkins said this upcoming session is expected to be lengthy as well.
