HIGHLAND — Officials here marked a milestone Monday that is significant both to the city of Highland and the disabled community.

After some 15 years of having a City Hall that did not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the city broke ground Monday evening on a new administration building at 5445 W. Town Square Park. Completion is expected by the end of next year.

Plans for a new justice center, to be built on the same lot as the new City Hall, are also under way. Both buildings will be fully ADA-compliant.

"We're excited we're going to be in a building that's completely accessible," City Administrator Barry Edwards said.

The Disability Law Center in Salt Lake City filed a lawsuit against the city about a year ago because the city's current administration building is not accessible to people with mobility problems. The city modified one of its entrances to allow for an automatic door and installed a doorbell for those who require additional assistance. But those improvements were not enough for disabled people to easily access the building, said law center attorney Leslie Schaar.

"We've been arguing about this for a while," Schaar said. "Two-and-a-half years ago what we were asking for was to make the services accessible. We kept asking for that and asking for that, and as a last resort we filed a lawsuit a year ago.

"It wasn't until we did that that they started getting moving on this and saying, 'We really do need to do this.' It seemed to do the trick because a year later, here we are."

Schaar said as soon as she sees a signed contract from the city that guarantees a time period when the building will be completed, she will drop the lawsuit.

Mayor Jay Franson said the city has been planning to build a new City Hall for the past three years and the timing of the lawsuit was coincidental.

Franson said the new City Hall is noteworthy not only because it will be ADA compliant but because the building is evidence of the city's commitment to fulfilling its growth with a vision.

"What's more important (about the building) is it's an indication of not only the town's growth but the vision the city planners had 10-12 years ago when they designed this town center," Franson said. "It's significant that the town has made the commitment to the town center, and when we get this (built), it's going to generate" more activity in the area.

Edwards said the city has enough in its cash reserves to pay for the approximately $4.5 million City Hall. The city has bonded some $6 million to pay for the new justice center and fire station.

---

E-mail: achoate@desnews.com