Designed to bring people together, a streetscape project in Marietta Borough has become a source of controversy rising to the level of a federal discrimination complaint.

Marietta's town square at Gay and Market streets was spruced up last summer with a new coat of paint for the flagpole, new street lights and landscaping. In addition, two stamped concrete walkways replaced crumbling flagstone.

The project budget was $31,000, and half of that amount was paid with a grant from the Urban Enhancement Fund approved by Lancaster County commissioners.

Before the concrete was dry, resident Bruce Gibson noticed there were no curb ramps to allow people with mobility impairments to pass through the square, an oval island measuring 82 by 36 feet.

Gibson said earlier this month the square is inviting because curb cuts already exist at sidewalks bordering the square and aligning with the two new walkways through it.

Gibson, who has physical and hearing disabilities, expressed his concern to Jody Shaffner, borough secretary-treasurer, while contractor Doug Lamb was still on the job. Gibson suggested facetiously that the square be accessible to all or no one and presumed she would understand that compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act was the only option.

"It's a civil rights issue, so it's not multiple choice," Gibson said.

However, he suspected borough officials hastily decided to close the square to pedestrians after he raised the ADA issue with Shaffner.

Two memorial plaques donated by Marietta Restoration Associates were removed from the square. Four no-pedestrian crossing signs were erected. And a contractor cut and removed 18 inches from the ends of the new walkways where they abut the curb. Now the square — which was to become the focal point of the community and promote tourism in advance of the borough's bicentennial celebration in 2012 — remains closed to all.

That's not the solution Gibson and other borough residents wanted.

Stacey VonStein, a Marietta resident, filed a discrimination complaint on Oct. 5, 2009, with the Department of Justice under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Title II prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in services, programs and activities provided by state and local governments, according to the website www.ada.gov/smtown.htm.

The Department of Justice will not comment on complaints because they are confidential between the agency and the complainant. VonStein gave a reporter a copy of his complaint which states that discrimination occurred upon completion of the square project announced at the July 14, 2009, council meeting.

In the ADA complaint, VonStein named council president Miriam Fletcher as an individual responsible for acts of discrimination. VonStein said Fletcher signed her name on the county grant application certifying that Marietta "will not discriminate on the basis of handicap under the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, Section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended."

Fletcher has not returned a reporter's phone calls during the past two weeks.

"Why did they go to great length to destroy what they got grant money to improve?" Gibson said two weeks ago while standing on the front porch of his home with VonStein and a reporter.

"I'm tired of taxpayer money spent on projects done incorrectly," VonStein added.

Both men wondered how much money was spent on alterations to ban pedestrians from the square.

Borough officials on Friday applied for a 2010 Lancaster County Urban Enhancement Fund grant for $31,622 toward an estimated cost of $95,826.50 to install ADA-compliant handicapped ramps and defined crosswalks. Locations include the borough's business district and Gay and Market streets surrounding the town square. Under the plan, the square would remain closed to the public.

Lucinda Hampton, a county employee who administers the Urban Enhancement Fund, confirmed grant money, if awarded, may be used for a different phase of the same project for which funds were dispersed in previous years.

Shaffner said Friday the borough will construct new ramps and crosswalks at Gay and Market streets regardless of whether the borough receives a grant.

In a letter to the Lancaster County Planning Commission, dated Sept. 10, 2009, Shaffner told Hampton she met with borough solicitor Mike Davis after two residents raised concerns about the square not being handicapped accessible. Shaffner then suggested steps to make the square "a visual area and not a gathering area."

In the same letter to Hampton, Shaffner suggested that white posts and a chain be installed around the inside curb line no later than Sept. 25.

She noted in the letter that council member Barbara Wilson, streets and highway chair, was in charge of steps to close the square to the public. Wilson, who serves on council as vice president, resigned her committee post at the end of the year.

Now, nearly nine months after the deadline, a fence has yet to be installed.

Wilson did not return a reporter's phone calls.

In a letter to Shaffner dated Sept 11, 2009, engineer Darrell Becker, vice president of ARRO Group of Lancaster, wrote: "Because access to and from the island should be prohibited at some locations because of poor sight distance and because it will be difficult to control the access, I recommend that access to the island from all points be prohibited."

The letter was questioned by VonStein, who said, "Look around the county at other small towns with squares, some with more traffic such as Lititz, and you can walk through their squares safely." VonStein said he does not recall any accidents at the square when it was open to the public, and he challenged the borough to show evidence of a safety issue.

VonStein said, "I have not seen the engineer's report, but why wasn't the engineer's report done beforehand? It's all a cover-up. I don't think borough council took action to close the square at a public meeting. There was no public input. I think it was done arbitrarily."

In July 2009, VonStein said he asked an inspector why there were no ADA curb cuts. VonStein said, "The guy replied, 'The borough didn't want them.' "

Shaffner said Friday, "It wasn't done deceptively." She asserted the square was never intended to be open to the public.

Upon completion of the project, VonStein wrote to councilwoman Kasey Barninger, who was responsible for implementing and completing the square project. In her written reply to VonStein, Barninger stated the square was not intended as a public access area.

However, Barninger said in a Lancaster newspaper story published June 2, 2008, at the time the project was planned, "Fixing up the square encourages use. … When I was a kid growing up, we used to use the square for everything, even as a Civil War re-enactment site during Christmas time."

Last week, Barninger resigned from council. She could not be reached for comment, and her phone has been disconnected.

The square once served as a trolley stop. It was used for decades for public events including a flag raising during the annual Memorial Day Parade. Until recently, a bench also graced the square.

"It would have been far easier to admit they made a mistake and fix it," VonStein said. "Instead, they are taking away things that would have brought people to the square — the monuments and the bench."

jkensinger@lnpnews.com