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Tonawanda council hears detailed review of sidewalk backlog, liability and funding options
Summary
City staff told the Common Council the city has a large sidewalk repair backlog and a limited annual budget. Officials discussed federal and state grant use, possible turnover of sidewalks to homeowners, liability from written complaints and tree-root remediation costs estimated in the low millions.
City staff reported a multi-year backlog of sidewalks and laid out options to address repairs and liability, telling the Common Council that the amount of work on the city’s sidewalk list is roughly $1.7 million while the annual capital allotment is about $130,000.
The discussion, led by public works staff and reviewed during the council’s general business session, focused on how the city currently prioritizes repairs, how federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and CHIPS funds are used, and whether the city should eventually transfer responsibility for sidewalks to homeowners after an initial city-paid replacement.
Public works staff said resident requests are rated from 1 to 10 to prioritize repairs and that the current program generally addresses items rated seven and above. The city budgets about $130,000 annually for sidewalks and has supplemented that with CDBG grants (staff said past CDBG awards were about $200,000) and CHIPS reimbursements, which require…
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