Board revisits who should pay for sidewalks

Fredonia Village Board members had second thoughts about a plan on how to pay for sidewalk installation after two homeowners argued that the plan was unnecessary and unfair.    

Under the plan pushed by the village Public Works Committee, developers of new subdivisions would foot the entire bill for installing sidewalks. Homeowners in existing neighborhoods would split the cost with the village.

Paul Krause, who lives on North Milwaukee Street in the Village Green South subdivision, and Randall Koplin, who lives on  Deer Meadow Court in the Village Green Addition One subdivision, would be on the hook for half the cost of

installing  sidewalks through their property and then be responsible for maintaining them.

In the first place, they argued, Mastercraft, the bankrupt developer of the three Village Green subdivisions, provided a letter of credit to the village that was meant to cover the cost of those sidewalks.

Secondly, they argued that the whole village should pay for the sidewalks since all residents would be using them.

And finally, they argued that it makes no sense to install sidewalks there since there is no need. “We’re the widest street in the village. I question whether it’s wise to install sidewalks there at this time,” Krause said.

Village President Don Dohrwardt argued that homeowners should pay for sidewalks. “When an improvement is made to the property, the owner should pay for it,” he said.

Village Public Works Director Roger Strohm also said the letter of credit only applied to the original Village Green subdivision and not to Krause’s or Koplin’s, which Koplin, in particular, disputed.

The cost of replacing the sidewalk is $5.50 per square foot, Strohm said.  

Dohrwardt explained that eventually Milwaukee Street will be the village’s main north-south throughway once land to the north of the village is developed and that  if the village doesn’t access the letter of credit soon, the money might be released from escrow.

Trustee Jill Bertram disagreed with Dohrwardt that individual homeowners should pay for sidewalks. “Property owners with sidewalks are penalized but everyone uses the sidewalks,” she said.

In the end, trustees sent the matter back to the Public Works Committee to reconsider the policy and to discuss whether those properties needed sidewalks installed at this time.