APR 29 1996

The Honorable Jerry F. Costello

Member, U.S. House of Representatives
327 W Main Street
Belleville, Illinois 62220

Dear Congressman Costello:

This letter is in response to your inquiry on behalf of your

constituent, Ron Boyer, concerning the requirements of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We apologize for the
delay in our response.

The Department of Justice's regulation under title III of

the ADA covers places of public accommodation, such as a place of
public gathering. The ADA places a relatively modest burden on
existing facilities, requiring that they remove barriers to
access where it is readily achievable or "easily accomplishable
and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense."
The regulation offers examples of barrier removal including
installing ramps, making curb cuts in sidewalks, installing grab
bars in toilet stalls, and making other modifications that
increase the accessibility of a facility. For further
information on the removal of barriers and the order of
priorities, please see section S 36.304 of the enclosed title III
regulation.

Only when a place of public accommodation or commercial

facility performs alterations or undertakes new construction does
the Federal law require strict adherence to specific standards
that are intended to provide physical access for persons with
disabilities. Please see sections S 36.401 and S 36.402 of the
regulation.

There may be State or local laws that are also applicable to

Mr. Boyer's situation. He should consult with local building
code officials to determine what is required.

Mr. Boyer inquired into the availability of funds to make

accessibility improvements. The Department of Justice does not
provide financial assistance for compliance with the ADA.

cc: Records Chrono Wodatch Hill Berger McDowney FOIA

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Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, awarded to

individual communities by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, can be used for the removal of architectural
barriers. Also, the Internal Revenue Service has established tax
credits and deductions that may assist small businesses in
complying with the ADA (see the enclosed information on tax
credits and deductions). The Internal Revenue Service can be
reached at 800-829-1040.

I hope this information is helpful to you in responding to

your constituent.

Sincerely,

Deval L. Patrick
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
Enclosures
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JERRY F. COSTELLO COMMITTEES:

12TH DISTRICT, ILLINOIS BUDGET
TRANSPORTATION &
INFRASTRUCTURE
PLEASE RESPOND TO THE SCIENCE
OFFICE CHECKED BELOW:

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES (ON LEAVE)

House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-1312

March 7, 1996

Mr. Andrew Foist

Assistant Attorney General for
Legislative Affairs
U.S. Department of Justice
10th and Constitution
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
Dear Andrew:

I am writing to inquire about possible federal assistance for a local VFW in

my Congressional district.

As you can note from the enclosed letter, Commander Boyer must comply with the
American with Disabilities Act and has requested my help in locating financial
assistance.

I would appreciate any information you could provide me in fulfilling

Commander Boyer's request. Please direct your communication to my Belleville
District Office to the attention of my district office manager Anne Risavy.

I appreciate you attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Jerry F. Costello
Member of Congress

JFC/amr

Enclosure

​VFW

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE U.S.

FAIRVIEW MEMORIAL POST NO. 8677
5325 North Illinois February 3, 1996
Fairview Heights, Illinois 62208

Congressman Costello
327 West Main Street
Belleville, Illinois 62220

Dear Congressman Costello,

This letter is to request your assistance on behalf of

Fairview Memorial Post 8677, Veterans of Foreign Wars of
the United States located in Fairview Heights, Illinois.

As you may know, our Post Home located on North Illinois

Street (Highway 159) is a very old structure dating back to
the days when it was a cow barn used in the dairy industry.
Over the years it has served the VFW Post and Ladies Auxiliary
membership very well.

Our Post Home is open to the public for various functions,

and it has now come the time that we must comply with the
mandatory Handicap Accessibility Law by providing bathroom
facilities for the handicapped men and women of our community.
The cost of construction for the new facilities is approximately
$93,000.00, which includes upgraded electrical power distribution
required by the city of Fairview Heights, prior to issuing an
occupancy permit after construction is completed.

Since compliance with the Handicap Accessibility Law is

mandatory, and since we are a charitable and non-profit
organization, we are asking your assistance in securing any
financial help that may be available in the form of a grant
or subsidy at the National, State or Local level of Government.

Over the years our membership has managed to allocate some

funds to our 'building fund'; however, there is not nearly
enough monies available to fund this project. We are forced to
obtain a loan from a private banking institution, and will be
required to surrender our Post Home and land as collateral for
a loan. Our ability to make loan payments on a loan to finance
this project is questionable.

Our Post Home has a long history of providing relief and

assistance to members of our community.

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES

01-04230

We also allow our Post Home to be used free-of-charge by

the following organizations:

* Red Cross blood drives

* Local, State and National election polling place for
Township voters
* Mayor of Fairview Heights to hold Public meetings and
'rap' sessions
* Boy Scouts of America
* Various Community events and functions

We are very proud that we may have the opportunity to

install handicap facilities for our handicapped citizenry,
but as you can see we would welcome any much-needed assistance
that may be provided to us.

We are thanking you in advance for any assistance you may

provide us, and hope to hear from you at your earliest
convenience.

Sincerely,

Ron Boyer
Commander

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