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Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl
He says stadium doesn't comply with ADA guides
A Tokay High graduate with a degenerative bone disorder has filed a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act over access at Lodi's Grape Bowl stadium.
Jeremy Hixson, who graduated from Tokay High School in May, filed a claim against city of Lodi employees, the Lodi Unified School District and the Lodi City Council on Friday.
Jeremy Hixson
"The adaptations should have been made a while ago," Hixson said. "They should have put the changes in earlier."
The freshman at University of the Pacific suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a condition that makes bones extremely fragile. He has suffered more than 30 bone fractures in his life and is confined to a wheelchair. He said his experiences with injuries have made him cautious about placing himself in unsafe situations.
His claim said the city of Lodi ignored the ADA mandates and hasn't made reasonable efforts to make the Grape Bowl compliant.
Hixson said the city's priorities are not in line with meeting ADA-compliance regulations. He said the city had 20 years to make the bathrooms, pathways and other amenities of the Grape Bowl ADA compliant. City officials said Hixson's claim was troubling. A claim must be filed against a public agency before a lawsuit can be lodged.
"I'm never surprised by a lawsuit," said Mayor Larry Hansen. "But I'm disappointed. I felt a real effort was made."
Hansen's feelings were shared by City Attorney Stephen Schwabauer.
"I'm certainly surprised," said Schwabauer. "The city spent over $10,000 to come up with accommodations."
Schwabauer said he understands the Grape Bowl has multimillion dollar problems and they have tried to remedy the situation, but money to make the improvements is scarce.
"We don't have money that grows on trees," he said.
He said improvements that comply with ADA regulations are being done on the Grape Bowl. The synthetic playing surface, a $1.2 million renovation to the stadium recently approved by the City Council, is one of those improvements. The synthetic turf will enable wheelchairs to more easily navigate the field, instead of getting caught in divots or uneven surfaces.
The city is also working on a plan to replace ramps, and ADA-compliant bathrooms are under construction.
"It's a day late and dollar short," Schwabauer said of Hixson's claim.
In April, Hixson sent a letter requesting Lodi Unified School District find a way that would enable him to be able to use his wheelchair on the Grape Bowl's field during the graduation ceremony.
In May, two days before he graduated, Hixson and the city reached an agreement he said was win-win at the time. Hixson rode in a golf cart to his seat and then used a rubber mat to access the podium.
He said the reason he filed the claim on Friday is because he was under the impression that the Grape Bowl wouldn't be used until it was made ADA-compliant.
Hixson said he also accepted the terms for his graduation because he didn't want the ceremony moved to the school's gymnasium. He said it would have unfairly punished his other classmates, who had no say in the matter.
Hixson said he doesn't want any events hosted at the Grape Bowl until ADA compliance issues are addressed.
Schwabauer said he would recommend that the city reject the claim.
The city has 45 days to either accept or reject the claim. It's considered rejected if they don't accept it. If the claim is rejected, Hixson has six months to file a lawsuit.
Contact Jordan Guinn at jordang@lodinews.com
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Reader Feedback
Jerome R. Kinderman wrote on Nov 28, 2009 6:07 PM:
Moreover, in order to make a claim against the city, something accurately described in the article, he will be required to come up with a dollar amount while also submitting data to substantiate his claim. Still, in light of the events led by Mr. Hixson prior to graduation in May, is anyone here really surprised by this?
Obviously there must be something missing in this story because I can't see where he has any standing to bring either the claim or the subsequent lawsuit. "
Lodian wrote on Nov 27, 2009 4:33 PM:
govagent wrote on Nov 27, 2009 9:42 AM:
freespeech wrote on Nov 26, 2009 6:20 PM:
kaceace wrote on Nov 25, 2009 7:34 PM:
kaceace wrote on Nov 25, 2009 7:17 PM:
What an outrageous statement to make. It implies that they city actually made accomodations of some sort.
Coming up with a plan and following a plan are two different things.
Allocating money is not the same as spending it.
It takes but a minute to "come up" with basic accommodations, like disabled parking, wheelchair seating & accessible restrooms. DUH! If they didn't make any accommodations how did they spend $10,000? They focused on the 1.2 million dollar field and other renovations with total disregard for the law. The city bickered and revised plans for years avoiding their responsibility. They didn't even get the most basic accommodations done! If they were able to say they spent the money and MADE accomodations they wouldn't be in this situation. "
Gator wrote on Nov 25, 2009 10:06 AM:
man road in a golf kart. So much for doing it under his own power. I had provided the information to the LNS in plenty of time to contact a supplier.
To file a law suit before working through all channels smacks of look at me
Look at me. Life doesn’t always deal a good hand to a lot of people but the
strong push on and make the best of it. A good example would be the wheel chair racers and single and double amputee runners in the New York City marathon.. “STRIVE TO PERSEVERE” "
jonsey wrote on Nov 25, 2009 9:15 AM:
sparky595 wrote on Nov 25, 2009 6:36 AM:
My feet hurt when I walk down the city sidewalks. I think I am going to sue to replace them with a rubber/cork matting for my comfort.
The sun is hot in the summer. I think I am going to sue Lodi until they plant large trees in all public areas that are missing them.
When I go to the Grape Festival, sometimes I hear bands playing music that I don't like. I am going to sue Lodi to put up sound barriers around the stage to contain the noise as I may be walking by to get a deep fried twinkie.
If these don't work, I'll keep looking for ways to sue Lodi, because I and the other .5 % of the population that may feel the same as me, need to show the other 99.5% of the population who's the boss around here. "
seriously lodi wrote on Nov 24, 2009 5:13 PM:
Lodiken wrote on Nov 24, 2009 3:11 PM:
wdbdgdad wrote on Nov 23, 2009 6:17 PM:
To Mr. Hixxon: My wife and I are both handicapped and we resent these law suits. They make non handicapped persons resent the "special treatment" that are so often demanded in these suits. They only hurt small businesses,like Chuck's and The Squeeze Inn, and tax payers in this poor economy. Be patent, look around, the changes are coming. Look at all the new wheelchair accessible street corners as well as all the restaurants and stores that weren't acessable ten years ago. Changes are not as quick as we might like, but they are coming as soon as they can be afforded by the city. "
RU4REAL wrote on Nov 23, 2009 5:01 PM:
richardh wrote on Nov 23, 2009 4:11 PM:
eddygreenlee wrote on Nov 21, 2009 1:39 PM:
dogs4you wrote on Nov 21, 2009 12:41 PM:
turricha2 wrote on Nov 21, 2009 12:13 PM:
mee thinks wrote on Nov 21, 2009 11:50 AM:
eddygreenlee wrote on Nov 21, 2009 11:33 AM:
stucknlodi wrote on Nov 21, 2009 9:11 AM:
with the improvements they are doing out at the grape bowl they still have not addressed getting from stockton street entrance to the stadium like everyone else. if you are handicap you have to been driven to the east side entrance to get to a ramp. I see another complaint to be filed. "
alf wrote on Nov 21, 2009 8:51 AM:
Whoa Nellie! wrote on Nov 21, 2009 8:38 AM:
My guess is that he has the same lawyer as the guy who is suing Chucks Restaurant in Stockton, and the woman who sued the original Squeeze Inn in Sac. "
ra wrote on Nov 21, 2009 6:55 AM:
ra wrote on Nov 21, 2009 6:39 AM:
veritas wrote on Nov 21, 2009 6:14 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.