Community Will Get Chance To Talk Sidewalks

BERLIN - While the Flower St. sidewalk engineering report is not yet completed, the Mayor and Council decided Monday night to hold a community meeting to discuss the design, once it is available.

The meeting, the date of which is dependent on the delivery of the engineering report and design, will be held at the Flower St. Multi-purpose Building and will be open to the entire community.

Mayor Tom Cardinale told the Berlin Council at this week's council meeting that consultant Ed White had recommended meeting individually with the affected property owners instead of conducting a community-wide meeting.

Cardinale disagreed with the consultant.

'I was going to hold a community meeting and invite everyone,' he said.

The mayor said he would defer the decision to the district's council members, Elroy Brittingham and Dean Burrell.

'I would suggest we have the county-wide meeting and invite the public,' Burrell said.

Burrell went on to suggest that the town contact the folks affected individually as well.

'We can do that,' Cardinale said, either by letter or a visit.

The meeting will take place a few weeks after the engineering report is completed.

The design is nearly finished, said town Administrator Linda Bambary. Currently, staff is working on checking and confirming easements. On at least one property, there is no easement, she said. She expects the engineering report to be delivered in May.

Typically, sidewalks are simply constructed, without a specific design or engineering.

The surveyor on the project suggested having a design and engineering report done when he saw that telephone poles, trees, and manhole covers could pose issues to the project. Stormwater, which currently drains into nearby fields and yards, will also have to be dealt with.

The project could break ground as early as August or September and should be completed before winter weather interferes with work.

The project is being funded through a state community development block grant of $183,000.

'I think the contracting market has cooled somewhat so we should get bids,' said Bambary.

The sidewalk will border 3,369 feet of the south side of the street. Flower Street residents have been calling for sidewalks for decades.