(A) The City Council shall provide a yearly appropriation for the construction and repair of sidewalks. The funds shall be offered to citizens of the community with those citizens being first served whose sidewalks pose the greatest risk by taking into consideration the actual condition of the sidewalk and the frequency of use by the public.
(B) A property owner who is responsible for an unsafe sidewalk, may file a written application with the City Clerk for matching funds from the sidewalk fund for the sole purpose of bringing the sidewalk up to standard. This application shall be on the form provided by the City Clerk and shall include the following:
(1) Name of owner;
(2) Address of the property;
(3) Size of walk needing replaced;
(4) A photograph of the sidewalk evidencing the unsafe condition; and
(5) An acknowledgment that the property owner is willing and able to pay one-half of the cost of upgrading the sidewalk.
(C) Upon determination that the owner is responsible for an unsafe sidewalk and has complied with the application process, the City Clerk may issue a notice to the owner-applicant that the city has accepted the responsibility to pay one-half of the cost of repair. If there are no funds remaining in the sidewalk fund for the necessary repair or replacement of a sidewalk that has been deemed unsafe, an application for matching funds shall be given preference over other applications made by persons who have not been cited for maintaining an unsafe sidewalk.
(D) Work should commence to complete the sidewalk repair or replacement within 60 days of the notice, unless prohibited by weather or other unexpected events.
(E) Upon completion of the sidewalk repair or replacement, the City Manager or his designee shall inspect the work and, if it complies with the standards imposed by the Board of Public Works, shall issue written instruction to the City Clerk to disburse funds to the contractor performing the work. Upon written instruction to disburse funds, the City Clerk shall disburse monies from the sidewalk fund to the contractor completing the work.
(F) Monies remaining in the sidewalk fund that are not used in the matching fund program described above by a date set by the Board of Works, may be used for the following purposes:
(1) To repair or replace sidewalks that have been deemed to be unsafe but have not been repaired by the property owner;
(2) To repair or replace sidewalks on property owned by the city;
(3) To upgrade existing sidewalks;
(4) To install new sidewalks; or
(5) To provide funds to repair or replace walks that will be repaid by property owners as set out in division (F) of this section.
(G) In the event a property owner fails to comply with an order to repair or replace a sidewalk issued under this subchapter, that property owner shall not be permitted to apply for monies under the sidewalk fund and shall be responsible for the entire cost of repair or replacement.
(H) Because defects in sidewalks are often caused by tree roots, the cost of removal of trees or the offending roots may be included and paid from matching funds, with the owner and the city bearing equal responsibility for that cost.
(Ord. 2005-06, passed 8-8-05)