The circumstances surrounding the building inspection of the
Hamlin Township municipal building in Hazel Hurst remains a
mystery.

Hazel Hurst resident Dennis Champion contacted The Era early in
April to report the municipal building was not handicapped
accessible, but was being used regardless.

Champion, who was left paralyzed from the arms down after a
construction accident more than a year ago, uses a wheelchair.
Because of that, he said as recently as Thursday, he cannot enter
the building.

The building was built last fall by Geer Building Contractors,
and according to reports, has been used for at least three regular
monthly supervisors’ meetings so far this year – the most recent
meeting in April.

Local inspection official Greg Garthwaite of Middle Department
Inspection Agency in Mount Jewett, did not perform the inspection,
he told The Era in mid-April. He went on to say it was his
understanding that the state Department of Labor and Industry would
have been the inspecting agency.

Lisa Aaron, a spokesperson with the Pennsylvania Department of
Labor and Industry, said Tuesday that Hamlin Township “opted in” to
the federal Uniform Construction Code on June 14, 2004. When a
township “opts in” officials agree to supply their residents with
an inspection agency to use.

The UCC is meant to “establish a uniform construction code,
impose powers and duties on municipalities and the Department of
Labor and Industry; provide for enforcement; impose penalties; and
make repeals,” according to the Department of Labor and Industry
Web site.

“They (Hamlin Township) are not a recent opt in,” Aaron said,
adding a local inspector would have been responsible for making
sure the new building was up to code, including meeting ADA
(American with Disabilities Act) regulations.

The ADA is an act that was passed by Congress in 1990 to
prohibit discrimination based on disability.

If there is no local inspector with the certification to perform
an ADA inspection, Aaron said, then the municipality can apply
through the state Department of Labor and Industry, and a state
official will perform the inspection.

When constructing the handicapped ramp and related alterations
at his Hazel Hurst home in the last year, Champion said an
inspector from Meadville did the building inspections. He could not
recall, however, if the person was from a private firm or the state
department.

It does not appear, however, that the same step was taken
regarding the township building.

“We are not showing anything at all in our system,” Aaron said
Tuesday when asked if Hamlin Township had made any application for
a state inspection. She added there was nothing from Hamlin
Township even as far back as the Fire and Panic Act, which she said
pre-dated the UCC regulations set forth in 2004.

“So, questions regarding the inspection should be tossed back to
local officials,” she said. Aaron also said she had no record of a
certificate of occupancy or final inspection from any local
inspection official for Hamlin Township.

Another spokesperson at the state Department of Labor and
Industry said Friday a local official who may have information
regarding the building inspection at the municipal building would
be Lane Wolfe. No one was available Friday afternoon at the
toll-free telephone number given for Wolfe, however, and there was
no way to leave a message. There was no listing for Lane Wolfe in
the residential listing of the McKean-Potter area telephone
book.

A construction worker himself of nearly 20 years, Champion said
that, in his opinion, the municipal building was definitely in
violation of building codes and should not yet be open to the
public.

“I went by there today,” Champion said Tuesday, “and they put
down some number fours and number twos (types of gravel), but I
still can’t get through it in my wheelchair.”

Champion said there are still no handicapped parking spaces or
related signage, let alone a ramp, all of which are required of
public buildings per the ADA.

The Era went out to Hazel Hurst Thursday afternoon to take a
look at the Hamlin Township municipal building and saw that
Champion’s allegations seem legitimate – at least from the
outside.

There are no handicapped parking spaces, no related signage and
no ramp at either door. The loose gravel covering the drive which
leads to the front door of the building gives way under foot, which
would seemingly make wheelchair travel difficult as Champion
alleges.

There is about a foot-high drop from the back door to the
ground, where a single stepping stone has been placed to function
as a stair.

It was unclear if the inside of the building is handicapped
accessible. The Era did not enter the building Thursday.

Hamlin Township supervisor Richard Keesler said Tuesday that he
took issue with the first Era article on the matter, which ran
April 10, because the building is “100 percent handicapped
accessible,” he said.

When asked about the lack of handicapped parking spaces, signage
and ramps, Keesler refused to comment further and abruptly ended
the telephone conversation.

Supervisor William Kilmer, who initially agreed with Champion
and said he was lobbying for the same changes at the building, said
Tuesday “the driveway (at the municipal building) is all fixed
up.”

Kilmer said the parking lot signs are being made, and officials
are “moving right along with it now.” He added the parking lot and
ramps are also in the process of being constructed.

“They’re right on top of it now,” he said. “I’m satisfied that
they are moving along,” Kilmer added. He also said Tuesday,
however, that he “hasn’t had time to look into the inspection.”

A message left Tuesday at the home of the third Hamlin Township
supervisor, Thomas Kreiner, was not returned as of Friday. Calls
went unanswered at Geer Building Contractors in Mount Jewett, and
at least one message was not returned.