Clarksville, TN – The City of Clarksville has launched a City Website Dashboard to track goals and progress in its aggressive and forward-thinking Accessibility Enhancement capital project.
This capital project, created by the Clarksville City Council in 2023, allows for multi-year planning and funding for projects that increase and enhance accessibility at all City buildings and facilities, for all citizens.
While the City offers many accessible options and venues, Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts has asked city employees to use this opportunity to be constantly observant, and thinking outside the box in many cases, about public accessibility – and wherever possible, improving access to any City-owned properties for all people, regardless of their limitations.
“I am grateful to our city employees who are committed to improving accessibility for all our citizens,” said Mayor Pitts. “It has been a joy to sit in on the meetings of the City’s Accessibility Enhancement Committee and watch them collaborate across departments to create plans and solve the challenges.
“Special thanks to Lauren Winters, City Grants Director, for leading the effort that will make us an ever better city for everyone,” he said.
The concept originated from the “Spend a Day in My Wheels” challenge that several City leaders were invited to participate in, courtesy of Alex Johnson and Permobil Foundation, and facilitated by Stephanie Watson and Emily Mills.
The challenge participants had conversations about making the City more accessible based on their personal wheelchair experiences.
“When we began looking at accessibility opportunities within our City, the idea arose to create a capital project to allow these improvements to have flexibility in funding, and better-tailored timelines,” said Lauren Winters.
“The capital project allows for multiple projects to be included, without the limitations of a fiscal year end date. This funding format also allows the Accessibility Enhancement Committee to request additional funding in future fiscal years as more accessibility enhancements are identified.
“In addition to the capital project, we also are seeking grant funding to further our initiatives. For example, this summer the City installed an adult-sized changing table at Wilma Rudolph Event Center, utilizing grant funding,” Winters said.
“Thank you to Mayor Pitts for being a continuous supporter of the Accessibility Enhancements initiative. Any time we can work together to make our hometown more accessible and inclusive, it is a win for everyone in our community,” she said.
The intent of this Accessibility Enhancement initiative and capital project is to continuously address and remedy accessibility issues, for all ability types and limitations.
This includes any physical, sensory, or mobility limitations, or constraints.
The ultimate goal is to generate projects for the broadest spectrum of access improvements.
The Accessibility Enhancement Committee formed by Mayor Pitts will continually share progress and plans for improving accessibility with the public through the designated webpage.
As this project evolves, additional completed and planned projects tabs will appear on the dashboard.
Projects for the Accessibility Enhancement dashboard can be suggested by the general public. To enter a project for possible inclusion on the Accessibility Enhancement capital project list, please email tessa.luntz@cityofclarksville.com to provide that feedback.
Here are the City of Clarksville’s appointed Accessibility Enhancement Committee members, now meeting routinely to make the City more accessible:
Tessa Luntz | Director, Human Resources
Lauren Winters | Grants Director
Brandon Sather | Project Coordinator, Municipal Properties
John Hilborn | Project Manager, Municipal Properties
Amie Wilson | Chief Information Officer
David Smith | Director, Clarksville Street Department
Mike Ringgenberg | Director, Clarksville Transit System
Jimmy Settle | Communications Director
Michael Palmore | Director, Building & Facilities Maintenance
Patricia Nesbitt | Business Analyst, Clarksville Transit System
Robert Forest | Captain, Clarksville Fire Rescue
Daniel Lane | Captain, Clarksville Police Department
Casey Williams | Communications Specialist
Bob Kendrick | Codes Enforcement Manager, Building & Codes
Charles Simon | Grounds & Facilities Maintenance Supervisor, BFM
Charles Bentley | Ground & Facilities Maintenance Manager, Parks & Rec
Yolanda Davis | Senior Human Resources Specialist, CDE Lightband
Brandy Slaughter | Executive Assistant, Clarksville Gas, Water and Sewer
To view the Accessibility Enhancement dashboard and learn more about the capital project, visit www.clarksvilletn.gov/1260/Accessibility-Enhancements .
