Coldwater council approves special-assessment process for residential sidewalk completion; residents raise fairness concerns

Coldwater City Council on Aug. 11 opened a public hearing and voted to advance the special-assessment process to establish a residential sidewalk maintenance and improvement program for specified subdivisions, prompting questions from property owners about estimated costs and corner-lot billing.

The action moves the city to create an assessment roll and notify property owners of their estimated charges before a subsequent public hearing; if adopted at later steps the assessments would be spread over 10 years. Samantha (city staff) told the council this meeting is the second of four required meetings in the special-assessment process and explained the method used to compute each property’s estimated assessment.

Under the approach Samantha described, city staff used subdivision master deeds and legal descriptions to measure linear frontage for each property, multiplied the frontage by a 4-foot sidewalk width to yield square footage, and applied an engineer-provided estimate of $15 per square foot for labor and materials. Samantha said the total is then divided over a 10-year assessment period; she said staff expects to include a 1% interest rate similar to a previous assessment.

Residents questioned the fairness and scale of individual assessments. Julie Tell, a property owner on Arrowhead Drive, asked why sidewalks would be required on undeveloped lots and said it “may not seem right.” Shane Taylor, a property owner on Amberview Court, told councilors he was surprised by reported assessments as high as $23,000 for some lots and said, “Nobody walks in my neighborhood.” Council members and staff acknowledged concerns about corner lots being assessed both for frontage and side-yard footage and noted that two corner lots were identified in North Shore (Samantha said “I wanna say 2”).

City staff and councilors traced the requirement to subdivision-approved master deeds and a policy established in the late 1990s that required sidewalks to be completed once 75% of lots in the subdivisions were developed. City officials said both subdivisions recently reached that 75% threshold, triggering the obligation to complete sidewalks.

Council members debated whether to allow homeowners to construct sidewalks themselves or to have the city manage construction and assess costs. Samantha said that once the assessment roll is established it becomes binding, though staff indicated they could adjust administrative details and will notify homeowners of options and upcoming meetings. Council member comments indicated the council may discuss cost-sharing formulas, such as historical practices where the city covered a portion of sidewalk costs, at a future meeting under new business.

The council adopted the resolution to proceed (Resolution 20575) by voice vote after a motion to adopt; councilors answered “aye” and the motion carried. Samantha said the next step will be to draft the assessment roll, notify property owners of their estimated assessments and publish a notice setting the next hearing for Aug. 25.

The action begins a multi-step legal and administrative process; property owners will receive specific, itemized estimates before the council is asked to set final assessments.