Even with the pandemic and protests going on, roads, parks and bridges all need work. Many neighbors in the Windom and Audubon neighborhoods found out in these past two weeks that their sidewalks do, too, and they’ll have to foot the bill.
You may have seen the marked sidewalk panels; some gaps between sidewalk blocks scattered around the neighborhood have been marked with a yellow or white line of spray paint, usually at spots where the walkway is really uneven, but not always. Some neighbors say the pavement in front of their houses has been marked even though the concrete is still fairly even, while others say a sidewalk has been heaved by tree roots and went completely ignored. The marks, as explained by Larry Matsumoto, paving engineer with Minneapolis Public Works, designate sidewalk blocks that need to be replaced this year to keep walkways up to code with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Public Works cycles through Minneapolis neighborhoods, seeking out uneven sidewalk panels. Matsumoto said Public Works has a map of city neighborhoods filled in piece by piece as work is completed. It takes about 20 years to get through the whole city, or at least, it’s been roughly 20 years since Public Works last canvassed the Windom and Audubon neighborhoods. A partial sweep was done in 2009, but addressed only some problem spots.
The city has used this model since the 1950s. The way Matsumoto described it sounded pretty informal. Once a neighborhood is chosen, Public Works surveyors search block by block on foot, taking note of any panels in the sidewalks that are more than an inch uneven. Neighborhoods are selected based on how much work needs to be done, which isn’t necessarily determined by how much time has passed since the last checkup. The size of the area is also a factor, as is the total cost of repairs. A five-year plan is sketched out, though it doesn’t always pan out. Mastumoto would not say what neighborhoods would be next, or if Windom and Audubon are finished (they may need to be readdressed next year, since the project went over budget this year). Information on neighborhoods due to be fixed is not publicly available, according to Matsumoto.
When a sidewalk fault is found, the homeowner is notified that the panel needs to be replaced. A city ordinance makes sidewalk maintenance the responsibility of the homeowner, though the city will provide a contractor at supposedly roughly half the cost of the homeowner hiring their own. Should you wish to use your own contractor rather than the city-provided one, you can, but they have to be approved by the city. By May 18, roughly 1,030 maintenance notices were sent to residents throughout Windom and Audubon. A homeowner who has been notified their sidewalks need work has 15 days to hire a contractor, though Matsumoto said that deadline is very loose.
Some neighbors in attendance at a Zoom meeting hosted by Windom Park Citizens in Action had concerns about the environmental impact of the maintenance. Removal of old concrete generates a lot of waste, and removal of roots could damage trees. Matsumoto assured the group that Public Works brings in the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board and DNR professionals to assure trees aren’t needlessly damaged during maintenance. The removed concrete is crushed and recycled for other projects.
For many Windom and Audubon neighbors, the notice came abruptly, and has caused quite a stir. Matsumoto and other Public Works engineers discussed details of the maintenance at the Zoom meeting. First Ward Council Member Kevin Reich was also invited, but was not present for the meeting. The Northeaster was not able to reach him for comment.
“I was really looking forward to discussing my concerns with our councilman, Kevin Reich. Unfortunately, he was a no-show. That is a slap in the face to all the people in his ward that either have voted to put him in his position all these years or will maybe be voting him out in the future…The [Public Works] officers seemed just as surprised as everyone else when they called out to Mr. Reich during the meeting and there was no response. Now, I have to believe that he just didn’t want to hear our concerns. Very unfortunate and extremely disappointing!” wrote Windom resident Ted Ferraro in a NextDoor message thread.
The meeting’s discussion revolved mostly around cost and potential workarounds that could be cheaper. Joe Bove, president of Windom Park Citizens in Action, questioned Matsumoto on the alternative of shaving down uneven sidewalks to make them even again. Matsumoto said this would save a lot of money, but it would be only a temporary solution, as tree roots are often the cause of sidewalk distortion and would not be removed. Smoothing out with asphalt is another temporary fix, but neither that nor concrete shaving are ADA-compliant, according to Matsumoto. Public Works wants to make sure thorough work is done now, since maintenance will not be done again for another 20 years.
“Why do you have a budget that you can’t go over if we’re the ones that go and get billed right away?” asked Windom resident Mary Kosowski.
Matsumoto explained that at the beginning of the project, the City of Minneapolis laid out a $500,000 budget for sidewalk replacement, an up-front payment to the contracted paving company. The payments dropped at the feet of Windom and Audubon homeowners reimburse the city.
“We just got our letter today…$4,900,” Windom resident Brice Markham wrote on a NextDoor message thread. “Ours is especially high because we live on a corner and have like 18 sidewalk panels marked for replacement. So about $280 per panel.”
The City is responsible for street corner ramps, so work on them does not fall to homeowners living on corners. However, corner ramps are part of another project whose timeline does not line up with sidewalk maintenance. Windom resident Adrian Rimbu questioned why he and his neighbors get billed to keep their sidewalks ADA-compliant if the corners at each end of the block aren’t. That renders the compliance of everything in between them moot. The timing of the bill during the pandemic that has financially affected many community members was also called into question.
“Some people are looking at $4,000 repairs,” said Rimbu. “Has the city considered that now is not the best time to do this? 2020 has not been a great year so far.”
“The city has considered that, but we are moving forward,” said Matsumoto when the Northeaster followed up. He went on to say there are no plans for financial relief if community members cannot afford the repairs, except for people with disabilties, or people over the age of 65, who can apply to have the payments deferred. If you are not able to make the payments, they can be added onto your property taxes over five years, though that will include fees and interest.
Ted Ferraro called the service fees into question on NextDoor, writing “I am curious about how much money the city is making each year charging 3-5% interest to the residents of Mpls that cannot pay the bill in full up front and have to finance. Also, the “service fees” — what is that all about? Mr. Matsumoto (Public Works) stated on the Windom Park virtual meeting that these service fees go to the sidewalk inspectors.”
Public Works is resurveying the area after several neighbors expressed confusion or dissent. Some sidewalks were marked even though still ADA-compliant, and some weren’t even though they look pretty bad. Others were marked, but homeowners say they never got a notice. Some neighbors had concerns that some sidewalk panels that had just been installed within the past couple of years were also among those marked, so does that mean that the neighborhood will have crumbling sidewalks again after just a few years?
Anyone with further comments or questions is encouraged to email Windom Park Citizens in Action at info@windompark.org so they can compile questions and concerns to send to Public Works.
Below: Tree roots have lifted up these two sidewalk panels in the Windom Park neighborhood, but they have not been marked for maintenance as of the last week in June. Blocks that didn’t make it into this summer’s project may be revisited next year, but Public Works could not confirm that. (Photo by Cynthia Sowden)