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Public works pitches South B Street sidewalk replacement; committee signals possible scaled funding
Summary
Norwich Public Works presented a reprogramming application to replace damaged, non-ADA-compliant sidewalks along South B Street and discussed community outreach and phased implementation; the committee asked for flexibility on the dollar amount and signaled it would consider a reduced award.
Brian Long, Norwich public works director, presented a sidewalk rehabilitation application for South B Street in the Taftel area (application text described South B Street between addresses near 10 and 12) and urged the committee to consider funding a prioritized section of failing sidewalk and curb ramps.
Long said the sidewalks along both sides of South B were in poor condition, posed hazards for pedestrians and lacked ADA-compliant curb ramps. He said the scope is mostly unchanged from an earlier application and that the main difference in the resubmission was higher unit prices driven by a year'over'year cost increase. He provided a linear-foot cost estimate the presentation cited at roughly $202.25 per linear foot for replacement with concrete and granite curbing.
Committee members pressed about community involvement and how the target area was chosen. Public works staff said the area was identified as an at-risk census tract and that project selection prioritized the worst-condition sections so future funding could expand work through the neighborhood. Long and committee members discussed potential add-ons such as street trees and tree wells during construction to increase neighborhood benefit.
On budget, staff said the original request (about $415,000 in the packet) was not a hard number and that smaller awards would be accepted; Long said the department would scale the work to match the amount awarded. During deliberations later in the meeting the committee recommended holding sidewalk funding as a higher-priority but discussed trimming the requested amount to fit available CDBG reprogramming funds.
