Connellsville asked to repair sidewalks
CONNELLSVILLE – City property owners will be held responsible for the maintenance and condition of sidewalks around their homes and businesses, according to action taken Tuesday by council. Mayor Judy Reed said that although the regulations have been in existence for nearly a century, the city plans to take a more proactive approach to have walkways cleared of snow or debris or replaced when needed, by the owner.
The ordinance, said Reed, will be advertised in a local publication and enforced by the city code enforcement officer.
“Ignorance of the law will not be an excuse,” she said of potential violators.
The city has routinely replaced walkways along major arteries and in neighborhoods.
In 1997, council earmarked nearly $86,000 in state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to replace sidewalks along Snyder Street and East Crawford Avenue.
One year later, approximately $116,000 in CDBG funds allowed for a portion of South Pittsburgh Street walkways to be replaced.
In 1999, the city allocated $112,500 from the state program to repair sidewalks along East Crawford Avenue, and in 2000, an additional $158,000 was set aside to complete the project.
West Fayette Street sidewalks were replaced in 2001 at a cost of $92,000 and in 2002, nearly $100,000 was spent to improve sidewalks along Ninth Street through the CDBG program.
Each year, a coalition of residents, civic group or organization request that council earmark a portion of the CDBG funding for a sidewalk improvement project in front of their homes or along a major throughway.
During a recent public hearing by the city leaders to receive input for the spending of the 2008 CDBG funds, four requests were made for sidewalk improvements.
Pastor Don Smith of World Christian Outreach Ministries requested sidewalk repairs along Fairview Avenue that adjoins the Leslie House, a community-gathering place for children.
A Gibson Avenue homeowner asked council to consider replacing the sidewalk in the 600 block of East Gibson Avenue – a path used by Zachariah Connell Elementary School students and neighborhood residents.
A Cedar Avenue resident requested that council spend a portion of the state funding for the replacement and construction of sidewalks in the area of Falcon Stadium along Arch Street.
“I do understand that the property owners are responsible for installing sidewalks in front of their homes, but to date, no one has enforced this ordinance,” said the resident. “At this point in time, something must be done about this problem.”
For the second year, Highlands Hospital requested that the city earmark about $45,000 to replace sidewalks in front of the medical facility.
Hospital board member and patient safety committee member Victor Gasbarro said Tuesday that the disintegrating walkways have caused several accidents, with some being very costly to the hospital.
“If we had the money, we’d do it ourselves,” he said. “But, that is not the case.”
Reed, meanwhile, agreed that past administrations have assisted with the replacement and construction of sidewalks, but the money is no longer available to undertake similar projects.
“We have a lot of wonderful projects and many requests and money is very tight,” she said. “We have not discussed 2008 projects.”
City solicitor Tom Bowlen explained that although the city has funded some sidewalk projects, the ordinance still holds property owners responsible for the upkeep of the walkways.
“It does not shift the responsibility,” he said. “(The property owners) must maintain them.”
While council has yet to establish a spending plan for the 2008 CDBG funds, Gasbarro speculated that the Tuesday council action might suggest neither the hospital nor any of the other similar requests would be granted.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.