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Middletown council discusses North 5th Street annexation and Town Attorney sidewalk liability memo
Summary
Councilors authorized outreach to three North 5th Street property owners offering a three-year tax abatement to ease annexation and reviewed a Town Attorney memo saying municipalities have a duty to keep sidewalks safe but may defend decisions based on budgetary-policy balancing; no ordinance or vote was taken on annexation or sidewalk policy.
The Middletown Town Council on April 15 continued discussion of a possible annexation of three parcels on North 5th Street and directed staff to contact the property owners. Council President Betty Riley instructed Town Attorney Joel Harvey and Clerk-Treasurer Drew Cooper to offer each owner a three-year tax abatement if they agree not to contest annexation.
In a separate discussion, the council reviewed a memo prepared by the Town Attorney about ownership and control of sidewalks. The memo summarized legal research that municipalities have "a duty to exercise reasonable care and diligence to keep streets and sidewalks in a reasonably safe condition for travel" and noted a municipality may avoid liability for defective sidewalks by documenting that decisions to delay repairs were based on balancing public-policy factors and budgetary priorities. The council took no action on the memo during the meeting.
The annexation discussion produced a directive to contact property owners and offer a tax-abatement incentive but did not include a formal annexation ordinance, map, or vote. Any annexation would require further steps and formal votes in future meetings.
