LEYDEN — Town officials are beginning long-term planning for renovations and repairs needed across town facilities to bring them into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

After reviewing a report highlighting the town’s ADA needs, the Selectboard said an all-department meeting may be needed to figure out how the renovations can be incorporated into the town budget.

To improve accessibility, the town will need to invest in ramps, pathways and signs. Exposed pipes under bathroom sinks will need to be covered, and doorway thresholds will need to be lowered and evened out for wheelchair accessibility.

Selectboard Chair Katherine DiMatteo said she was surprised by the thoroughness of the report, particularly the inclusion of the playground and pavilion at Avery Field. The report looked at all town facilities, not just buildings, and noted how accessible they were and what improvements are needed. DiMatteo said she was happy to see Avery Field included as it needs some improvements, such as an accessible path from the parking lot to the pavilion, and a path to the bathroom and playground. The recreation area also needs wheelchair-accessible picnic tables.

The library and highway garage also need a fair amount of work to be deemed accessible. At Robertson Memorial Library, the town will need to widen the aisles between shelves and install an accessible ramp to meet ADA requirements. At both facilities, signs are needed to alert people to where the accessible parking is and how to open doors.

“The library is a huge problem,” DiMatteo said. “There’s a lot of things that I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to do.”

As of last week, the Selectboard did not have estimates for how much the various improvements would cost or how the project might be organized. They discussed whether it would be a town capital project or whether each department would have to take on the upgrades for their respective facilities and incorporate them into their own budgets.

The Selectboard plans to further review and discuss the ADA improvements with the different departments.

“We need to decide which of these things we can actually do,” DiMatteo said.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.