On Tuesday, the Troup County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to change the Government Center’s Greenville Street entrance to an emergency only exit. The door did not meet Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines and would be expensive to bring into compliance, according to officials.

 “We did have an inspection from the federal government on our ADA compliance, and they told us the door on the Greenville [Street] side does not meet ADA standards,” County Manager Tod Tentler said. “We have a letter from our specialist, Lee Martin, who has looked into this issue, and he is recommending that it is a very expensive fix. His first option would be to close that door and make it an [emergency] exit only if that is possible.”

The commission originally discussed the door closure at its retreat in September and again at a work session on Sept. 27, but they agreed that they wanted to vote on the closure in a meeting after hearing from the Troup County Sheriff’s Office regarding any safety concerns. Sheriff James Woodruff attended the meeting Tuesday and confirmed that the necessary changes could be implemented.

“[The county is] saying that it will be an emergency exit only,” Woodruff said. “It will not be a regular exit. The only time that you can go out it will be if there is an emergency.”

According to Tentler, it would cost thousands of dollars to build a ramp at that location, and he did not feel that the ramp would be attractive or efficient once built. He said the staff recommendation was to make it into an emergency exit.

“We will have to do some rearranging and put some buzzers on some doors, but we think that is by far our best option,” Tentler said. “We are recommending today that we close that door, and probably give us 30 to 60 days to get everything in place to do it.”

County Commission Chairman Patrick Crews said other options had been considered. Commissioner Lewis Davis asked what part of the requirements had changed to make the door non-compliant, but according to Tentler, the door never met ADA requirements.

“This was unfortunately not ADA compliant when it was opened,” Tentler said. 

“When they did that inspection, they were going to laws that were [there] before this building was built. … We just happened to have the Department of Justice come down and pick us to do a little audit.”

The Troup County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 9 a.m. at 100 Ridley Ave.

The Troup County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 9 a.m. at 100 Ridley Ave.