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Commission approves mud-jacking repairs after residents press for safer sidewalks
Summary
Commissioners approved mud-jacking sidewalk repairs after engineers presented low-cost quotes; public comment from Greg McCarthy urged a broader sidewalk maintenance plan and raised safety and liability concerns.
The Hazen City Commission authorized a limited mud-jacking contract to raise sunken sidewalk and curb sections after engineers presented lump-sum bids and commissioners weighed cost and safety trade-offs.
City engineer Jerry Cabundi summarized contractor bids that showed mud jacking as the least expensive option to address several localized sidewalk depressions. One quote for mud jacking was about $3,000 for the identified spots; larger asphalt leveling and overlay work was quoted at about $37,000, and a full replacement option could approach $80,000.
"If you wanted to go with the more... better fix, which could replace that curve in the sidewalk, it'd be closer to $80,000," Cabundi said. Commissioners discussed whether spending the larger amount made sense if the underlying ground continued to settle; they favored the lower-cost mud-jacking to reduce immediate tripping hazards and revisit larger repairs after monitoring.
A motion to approve the mud-jacking work was made, seconded and approved in a roll call (Diedrich, Hack, Stern, Shifrow recorded ayes).
During public comment resident Greg McCarthy urged the commission to form a community committee and develop a plan to address persistent sidewalk and snow-clearing problems that he said leave pedestrians unable to use walkways. "My area of town is dismal... It borders negligence," McCarthy said, and asked the commission to consider both maintenance and longer-term planning.
Commissioners noted trade-offs in current snow-pushing practices (pushing snow to the curb versus center of the road), limits created by older developments that were built without sidewalks, and the cost of surveying or geotechnical analysis to determine whether sinking is ongoing. Staff said they would shoot GPS points with survey crews when available and follow up in spring with more specific recommendations.
The commission approved the mud-jacking authorization and asked staff to gather further data to guide future, larger repairs.
