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Council hears three-year timeline, interim fixes and stone-preservation offer for South Madison Street project
Summary
Staff said the South Madison Street corridor would take about three years to complete and estimated the Washington–Federal block at roughly $1.5 million, with $750,000 designated locally; council discussed interim fixes (FlexiPave), selective tree removal and an offer by a resident to preserve historic stones off-site.
Town staff provided an update on the South Madison Street streetscape project and sought council input on interim steps before a multi-year construction program.
Speaker 7 said the project — whether funded locally or with county support — would be a roughly three-year effort: about a year of design and right-of-way/easement work followed by six to nine months of construction. He estimated the block from Washington Street to Federal Street would cost "about a million and a half dollars," and said the town presently has roughly $750,000 earmarked for the work.
Staff outlined three broad choices for addressing tree-root-caused sidewalk failures: remove problem trees now (a drastic option), remove only the trees most failing in health, or pursue interim surface treatments (such as FlexiPave) to smooth hazardous areas until the long-term project—expected around late 2027—is built. "One interim solution is simply to say, let's go ahead and take them all out now," Speaker 7 said; later, he added that staff will provide cost estimates for FlexiPave locations and discuss how much of interim work can be reused in the final project.
The council discussed preserving large historic stones in front of two properties (17 and 19 South Madison). A community member proposed removing the stones to private property for preservation and replacing the sidewalk with town-chosen, ADA-compliant material. Speaker 3 noted preserving the stones off-site could allow future generations to view them while improving public safety and accessibility.
Council asked staff to present 2–3 scenarios at a future meeting (for example: east-side-only work; east and west; or targeted tree removals and interim materials) and to identify which trees require immediate removal. Staff said 1–2 trees on South Madison currently rank as the greatest concern and may need to come down regardless of long-term sequencing.
No formal action was taken; council requested additional information and cost estimates to evaluate interim steps and their reuse value in the ultimate streetscape project.
