People with disabilities will have an easier time navigating the Frances W. Davidson Memorial Center for Homelessness, also known as the Mt. Barton homeless shelter, as Lauderdale County moves forward with a project to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors on Monday, Feb. 5, voted to begin advertising the projects for bids from contractors after discussing the project in its work session on Thursday, Feb. 1.

In the work session, Liz Dudley of Engineering Plus said the project has been in development for some time, but the county is finally ready to move forward with the construction.

“We’ve been working it for awhile, but we’re ready to advertise,” she said.

While the ADA compliance project will include installing ramps leading to the entrances of the shelter, the majority of the work will be on the interior of the building. Mark Davis of Davis Purdy Architects said the project includes renovating bathrooms in the men’s and women’s dormitories to be wheelchair accessible. ADA accessible facilities are also set to go in the shelter’s family room and in the hallway restroom, he said.

The county is partially funding the project through a Community Development Block Grant which will cover up to $137,493. Davis said the costs of materials continues to fluctuate quite a bit, which makes a reliable cost estimate hard to determine, but the initial estimate was roughly $300,000. That figure, however, is two years old, and costs have changed significantly since then, he said.

To help the county stay within budget, Davis said the project is being bid with two alternates. The first will include only renovating one of the men’s dormitory bathrooms and the other will eliminate the hall bathroom renovation, he said.

Supervisor Joe Norwood Sr., whose district includes the homeless shelter, said he will not support removing the hall bathroom project. Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency in January operated a warming shelter at the facility due to subzero temperatures, he said, and one of the frequently requested amenities was a shower.

The shelter also receives frequent requests for showers outside of emergency operations as some of the homeless population is not interested in staying in the shelter but would still like to bathe, Norwood said. Having those individuals use the dormitory showers can be done, but it may seem like an invasion of privacy to those already staying in the shelter, he said.

A pre-bid meeting on the project is set for March 12, with the county opening bids on March 18.

Norwood said he is interested in moving quickly as the county is unable to apply for additional CDGB funds until this project is closed out.