MACHIAS – The building is more than 150 years old, but that did not stop the federal government from presenting the county commissioners with a laundry list of improvements needed to bring the county courthouse into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

When it was built, no one was thinking about ADA.

Now, by modern standards, counters are too high and the toilets are too low.

The county recently entered into an agreement in principle with the Department of Justice to bring the building into compliance. Once the agreement is signed, the county will have three years to complete the renovations.

In 2003, the county received a telephone call from a Department of Justice representative saying they were going to visit the courthouse. County Clerk Joyce Thompson said she questioned the department to learn if the visit was as a result of a complaint.

“They assured me we were chosen randomly,” Thompson said.

Although the selection process was random, the county is not unknown to the department because of federal funding. “We do receive funding from the Department of Justice for some of their programs for the Sheriff’s Department,” she said.

Thompson said that justice officials were amazed upon their initial visit at how small the county is in terms of population.

“They were very surprised when they visited that it was so low-scale; they really expected it would be much more elaborate,” she said. “So when they saw the deficiencies they understood the economy.”

The inspectors combed all corners of the courthouse. “We traveled to each and every office, they talked with the people, they looked and measured and checked everything,” she said. “Probably the biggest area we had issues with are the bathrooms.”

The majority of renovations required are quite minor. The bathroom on the second floor is inaccessible because the hot water pipes are not insulated, the toilet paper dispenser is inaccessible because it was mounted at 25 inches above the finished floor and the rear grab bar at the toilet is inaccessible because it is mounted at 371/2 inches above the finished floor.

The inspectors also want doors in the building enlarged to accommodate wheelchairs.

The smaller issues can be resolved quickly.

Major issues will take more time, such as changes to the front parking lot to accommodate van parking.

“Although the front, back and lower back parking lots have a total of 102 parking spaces, an inadequate number are designated as reserved for people with disabilities,” the agreement said. “Van accessible spaces shall be a minimum of 96 inches wide and served by access aisles at least 96 inches wide.”

The county clerk said she was very optimistic that the county could meet each guideline set by the feds, but she could not find grant money to help.

“I am checking out things, but it really isn’t going very far,” she said.