Ortonville- It’s back to square one on the village sidewalks.
The newly installed village council is scrapping plans to have engineering firm Rowe, Inc. evaluate sidewalks in the village at a cost of about $2,750. Instead, a sidewalk committee headed by Council Trustee Aileen Champion will walk the village and pick which street’s sidewalks should be done first.
The plan sounds similar to action the village council took in the summer when they evaluated the sidewalks on a 0-5 scales to determine which sections needed to be replaced, however, there is a major difference. This time, the council plans to replace all sidewalks, not just sections.
‘It’s embarrassing to piecemeal sidewalks,? said Council Trustee Dan Eschmann during the council’s Sept. 24 meeting. ‘The residents deserve new sidewalks.?
The council previously had received a bid from Bory, Inc. in July to replace about 17,000 square feet of sidewalks at a cost of $48,484. They nullified the bid after the local company reviewed sidewalks in the village and found more work that needed to be done, raising the price $21,000 above the original bid.
If the sidewalk plan is approved at the council’s Oct. 8 meeting, work would begin immediately.