City seeks to revive sidewalk program

CELINA - City officials want to overhaul outdated sidewalk and curb policies and revive a long-dormant sidewalk program.

Council members on Monday night again discussed the subject, stressing the importance of developing a uniform approach to addressing infrastructure throughout Celina.

"There are a lot of issues here. It's not just a matter of fixing a sidewalk or curb," councilman June Scott said. "There's a lot to think about here on who did what, how did it happen, who's responsible? We need to really look at this a little more closely."

The city's sidewalk program has been on hold since 2009, and plans to reinstate it in 2012 were scrapped after an assessment of sidewalks in Ward 3 - the southwest part of Celina - showed $320,000 worth of replacements or repairs were needed. The city had only $40,000 earmarked to pay upfront costs.

Previously, residents were given 75 days to repair or replace damaged walks that were not part of a reconstruction project. They could have the city contract out the work and bill them for the work.

Residents using a city-authorized contractor either paid the city 98 percent of the cost or had the full bill assessed to their property taxes over five years.

Councilors the last few years have questioned why residents received new sidewalks for free if they lived on streets undergoing grant-funded reconstructions but others were required to pay 98 percent of the cost.

Furthermore, city voters in November approved a ballot issue allowing funds from a 0.5 percent additional income tax levy for police and fire services to also help pay for much-needed street repairs.

The ballot language allows funds to be used for "the additional purposes of making public right-of-way improvements to city streets, curbs, sidewalks, alleys and for items and materials which are incidental and related to any such public right-of-way improvements within the city."

"Whether sidewalks are a small percentage of (the street work to be done) or not, there's a lot of walkers out there and a lot of folks we want to make sure are safe," mayor Jeff Hazel said.

Council members want to revive the program but are considering picking up a larger portion of the tab.

Hazel said residents are already contributing to the sidewalk program simply by paying their income taxes.

"They are already participating with this, and we need to step up to the plate as well," Hazel said. "I do not believe the ... 2 percent is all that the city should pay on something that it requires."

Councilors seemed to agree and said the city should pay as much as 50 percent of the cost.

Also, councilors are considering picking up all the costs for sidewalks replaced as part of a street reconstruction project. Since at least 2004, every grant-funded street project has included new sidewalks at no additional cost to property owners.

Now that the city has its own funding source for street repairs and replacements, some councilors feel the city should pay for new sidewalks when reconstructing residential streets.

Councilors also have proposed that property owners be assessed the cost of curbs and gutters during a street reconstruction project if none had been there.

Councilman Jeff Larmore said city officials are on the same page. He asked administrators to prepare legislation for counselors to review and fine-tune.

"Trying to get our old ordinance up to current times and what we're actually doing and not contradicting things in it, I think that's the main (thing)," he said. "There's no rush to do that."

Hazel also pointed out that much street work is being done this summer.

"We're going to be spending about $1 million roughly ... this year on the street program, which is including some curbing and some sidewalks, but that half percent is also being shared with fire and police," Hazel said. "We do have to consider the entirety of how we're using that tax money."