Got a sidewalk that needs repairs? Kyle officials are considering a sidewalk maintenance program that allows homeowners to pay a reduced cost to fix their sidewalks.
According to city ordinances, homeowners are responsible for repairing and maintaining sidewalks in front of their homes.
Despite this, city staff have repaired sidewalks that were a safety concern for years but lack the resources to repair all subdivision sidewalks.
“We have been involved in repairing major safety issues in some subdivisions in the past on the city’s nickel,” said Councilmember David Wilson.
Sidewalk repairs were funded by money intended for road repairs, Wilson said.
The city doesn’t have an official sidewalk maintenance project, hasn’t budgeted for one, and there are legal concerns with having one, Mayor Todd Webster said.
The sidewalk maintenance program is intended to solve the problem.
“What we came up with was looking for a contractor to help the citizens so they’re not out having to search for somebody and maybe getting a different quality,” said Harper Wilder, public works director.
Since individually having a sidewalk repaired could be costly and result in poor quality work, homeowners will be able to have their sidewalk repaired by CL Concrete Construction through the city.
City officials contacted 3 companies for bids on a possible agreement, but only CL Concrete Construction offered a bid.
Through the city’s contract with CL Concrete Construction, homeowners may pay $1,000 for the demolition and replacement of a 4’x4’ sidewalk section, and $500 for each additional 4x4 section if they are close to each other.
Residents can also pay $3,000 for a new 4’x 50’ sidewalk, not including the cost to excavate.
Repairing sidewalks can be expensive due to the cost of bringing in a concrete truck.
This program is intended to lower the costs by having CL Concrete Construction repair multiple sidewalks at once.
“If you had a contract, whereby you contracted with a local concrete company to actually pour and had a program where they could keep crews working then that would drive costs down for the homeowner,” Wilson said.
The city’s contract with CL Concrete Construction could lower the cost for homeowners and ensure quality work, Wilson said.
As of now, city council has not approved the program or an agreement with CL Concrete Construction but is considering it as a possible solution.
“This is an attempt to discuss a policy for the future,” Wilson said. “We need to move forward with something that makes economic sense for everyone.”
