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West Savannah Way residents say city is improperly seeking sidewalk payment under ordinance; ask council to stop collections
Summary
Steven Poor told the Flagstaff City Council June 3 that a May 20 street-repair contract already covers sidewalk work on West Savannah Way and asked the council to stop attempts to collect payment from adjacent residents under Ordinance 2020‑O‑2.
Steven Poor, speaking during the City of Flagstaff’s June 3 open call to the public, told the council that a street repair contract the council approved May 20 includes funding sources the city approved — Highway User Revenue Funds (gas tax) and a sales-tax–derived road-repair measure — and that residents on West Savannah Way were later notified they would be billed under Ordinance 2020‑O‑2 for at least 50% of sidewalk-repair costs.
Poor said the contract’s scope includes 11,823 square feet of sidewalk replacement and that the West Savannah Way sidewalks account for roughly 784 square feet (about 6.6% of that total), meaning the work is covered by the contract’s cited funding sources. He said residents received a notice three days after the council approved the contract stating the city intended to use an additional funding source they had not approved, citing Ordinance 2020‑O‑2 (approved Jan. 21, 2022) which, he said, can require adjacent property owners to pay at least half of certain sidewalk repairs.
Poor described prior repairs elsewhere in the city — North Crescent Drive, East David Drive and East Hutchinson Drive — where sidewalks were repaired at no cost to adjacent residents without invoking the ordinance. He also told council that West Savannah Way experienced repeated flood events in late 2022 tied to a city drainage configuration he described as a code violation; residents have not pursued reimbursement or litigation, he said, but worry being singled out for assessment is unequal treatment.
Poor asked the council to instruct staff to stop attempting to collect funds from the unapproved source for West Savannah Way and to use the funding sources listed in the approved contract. He offered figures from his attendance at budget meetings indicating current HEERF balances and recent sales-tax revenue but did not request a specific appropriation during the meeting.
Council did not take formal action on the matter during the June 3 meeting. The topic appears in the public-comment record for follow-up, and Poor suggested council consider an executive session with attorneys to discuss legal options.
