By Linda Dillman
Staff Writer
Canal Winchester is addressing both streets and sidewalks in need of repair this year.
Canal Winchester City Council approved a $494,016 contract with Decker Construction for the 2016 street program.
“Most of the work is in Westchester section two,” said Public Service Director Matt Peoples, “and includes a lot of pavement repair. This is also the first year of our new sidewalk program.”
Peoples said the list of streets this year include Pearce, Rossmore, Thrush and a pair of cul-de-sacs, in addition to sidewalks throughout the city.
“The majority of sidewalks are in the Old Towne area on Mound, Elm, Washington and High streets,” said Peoples. “We’ll be doing approximately 4,000 square feet of sidewalks.”
Under the old sidewalk program, property owners were notified of problems following an inspection and told to correct the situation. The city offered a grant to reimburse 50 percent of the cost, but Peoples said homeowners and the city alike had problems getting contractors to work on projects such as small sections of sidewalks and curb repairs.
While the approved cost for sidewalk removal and replacement was $8.55 per square foot, individual property owners were being charged $10 and up per square foot.
By working on a larger scale and including sidewalk repair in its annual street construction program, costs are expected to be much lower. In addition, to continuing the grant program, there is no permit fee if the city is responsible for the work.
If a property owner does not pay their portion for sidewalk replacement done by the city under the new program, Peoples said the cost will be applied to their property taxes over a three-year period.
According to Peoples, sidewalks included in the 2016 program have been inspected and notification letters will be sent to property owners.
City finances
Finance Director Amanda Jackson updated council with a year-end review of the city’s financial status. She said total fund revenue went down $886,320—which was expected due to sewer plant upgrades—but general fund revenue went up $516,717 due to May income tax collections.
Overall expenditures were, historically, under budget.
“We watch that very closely,” Jackson said. “Our carry over in the general fund is $4.1 million. We try to keep that balance at (the cost of) six months operation. We are desirable because of our fund balance.”
