Dunedin approves $75,000 piggyback purchase order for sidewalk inspection and repairs

Dunedin’s City Commission voted unanimously Dec. 18 to authorize a piggyback purchase order with Precision Sidewalk Safety Corporation not to exceed $75,000 for fiscal year 2026 to perform sidewalk inspection and maintenance.

The purchase order, brought under the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium agreement, funds a contractor that uses a concrete shaving technique to reduce tripping hazards on concrete sidewalks. Michelle Montelaro, Public Works, said the process addresses concrete trip hazards by shaving raised sections; it does not apply to brick pavers, which staff repair on a complaint basis.

Commissioners pressed staff about paver sidewalks in older downtown areas, accessibility for people using wheelchairs and how problem areas are identified. "We do not have a program for the brick pavers," Montelaro said; staff said crews respond to reported paver issues and that capital projects and CRA efforts have been used to replace tired paver sections.

Resident Jeremy Reynolds told the commission his disabled father-in-law uses a wheelchair and urged more proactive mapping and repairs. "I would much rather every single paver in the city be covered with asphalt because you don't wanna know what happens to disabled people in wheelchairs when they have to go over brick pavers," Reynolds said.

Staff described funding constraints: the sidewalk program is paid in part by gas-tax revenue and a city pavement preservation program funded by local sources. City staff also noted electric-vehicle adoption is reducing gas-tax revenues and that long-term funding changes will be needed.

The motion to approve the purchase order passed unanimously.