Santa Rosa is considering legal action to recoup some of the money it spent on the $4 million Fountaingrove fire station that failed to fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Newgate Court station is now fully operational and the problems fixed, thanks to a nearly $200,000 change order that brought the kitchen cabinets, bathroom stalls, exercise room doors and other features in line with ADA requirements.
But the City Council has been meeting behind closed doors to discuss whether it has any legal recourse against the contractors involved in the project, according to people with knowledge of the issue.
As the long-delayed firehouse — built to improve response times to the hillside Fountaingrove neighborhood — was nearing completion in the spring of 2015, the city realized that the building did not comply with the latest public accessibly requirements.
How that could happen — especially given that the city was and remains under a federal Department of Justice order to ensure its facilities comply with the landmark law — has been the subject of an internal review ordered by City Manager Sean McGlynn.