GREENVILLE – If Greenville City Council and the city’s administration decides to proceed with the proposed sidewalk improvement project, residents in the first phase of the project can expect to pay over $670,000. Safety Service Director Curt Garrison shared the information with council members on Tuesday and asked for the recommendation in how to move forward. The first phase of the project includes areas inside Walnut on the west, Tecumseh on the east, East Water Street on the north to Fifth Street on the south.
A report submitted to council showed 91 trees will need to be removed and a total of 61,773.3 square-feet of sidewalk will need to be replaced. The approximate cost to remove a tree is approximately $600 and the engineering estimated the cost of replacing the side walk at $10 per square foot. Garrison shared the estimated cost of removing trees is $54,600 and cost to replace the sidewalks in phase one at $617,733 for a total cost of $672,333.
Property owners would be given a timeframe to complete the project, but if the work is not completed by that date the city would complete the work and bill the property owner. If the property owner does not pay the bill, the cost will be assessed to their taxes. According to Garrison, a deadline for property owners to complete the project has not been set and particulars for the length of the assessment have not been determined.
Work done by property owners would be subtracted from the cost that would be incurred by the city. Council would need to appropriate the money from the CIP and/or General Fund to complete the project before a bill is sent to the property owner or before it assessed.
“I guess what this shows, just in this section, a lot of people don’t have sidewalks,” said Garrison.
Garrison requested a public meeting and council agreed. A tentative date has been set for June 6, 7 p.m., at Memorial Hall. Property owners will receive an invitation in the mail along with a picture of their property with an outline of the sidewalks that need to be replaced and trees that need to be removed.
Mayor Steve Willman added, “This is a big undertaking for the city. For some reason, we haven’t kept up with this as a city. We haven’t kept up with making sure the repairs are done. It is the responsibility of our residents to take care of that. I know there are going to be some hardships out there, but we will try to work with some people. If we don’t get started, where are we going to be at? Somewhere along the line, somebody has got to a make a decision to start.” He continued, “There are ordinances on the books and these are things that should be taken care of. When you move into the city and live in the city, you agree to abide by those rules and ordinances.”
In other business, council:
* Agreed to hold a public meeting in regards to the proposed Wagner Avenue extension project. The project would be paid by property owners abutting Wagner Avenue north of Lowes. The meeting has been tentatively set for June 20 in council chambers;
* Heard a request from Councilman Jeff Whitaker requesting a committee meeting to establish an inspection for rental properties. The Citizens for Safer Streets, through Whitaker, would like to see a baseline inspection established for the safety of tenants living in these properties. Council President John Burkett asked for better parameters because the request was broad. He suggested he would work the city’s administration to determine those parameters before assigning the request to a committee.
