City, ODOT hash out sidewalk issues

by Todd Brooks

The Comanche City Council heard from ODOT representatives on the progress of the downtown sidewalks at the city council’s monthly meeting last Tuesday.

It was a civil discussion about the delayed progress of the sidewalks. With the holiday season approaching, city manager Chuck Ralls said downtown business owners were worried about the negative impact the uncompleted sidewalks could have on their business up to the point of having to close.

The project is well behind schedule, which ODOT representative Cole Longfield readily admitted.

“We typically do see a little bit of lag between paid and time but not this much and they have gotten caught up in other projects,” Longfield said. “I talked with them today after they submitted a schedule which is way off — I hope Chuck didn’t share that with you because it is off.”

Two months into the scheduled 120-day project, the project is 12 percent completed. If it was on schedule, the number would be at 43 percent.

“They’ve completed six of 65 tasks they are supposed to complete in the past two months,” Ralls said.

The project originally was supposed to start in early June, but the city granted an extension because the company said that it would not be able to start on time. From the August start date, 120 days of work would put the project completion on Dec. 2, two days before the city’s annual Christmas parade.

City council vice mayor Wanda Moore asked if the 120 days were calendar or business days and Longfield said it is calendar days unless inclement weather comes into play meaning weather delays could push the completion date back further.

Mayor Dennis “Smokey” Dobbins expressed some concerns that the agreed thickness of the sidewalks was not being met. He said it looked like to him it was only three inches thick when it was supposed to be four inches.

Longfield assured him that the four-inch thickness requirement was being met saying they had a person on site that specifically makes sure of it.

“The guy who sits in the truck?” Dobbins asked.

Longfield did not answer but did go on to say that while there have been problems of finishing on time in the past, that there have never been any quality issues.

Dobbins was also concerned that nothing was being added to the sidewalk to help keep it secure and keep it from collapsing.

Longfield said the main workforce of the company is working on another project elsewhere in the state and as soon as it is completed, they plan to bring the workers to Comanche.

Another issue brought up by Dobbins was the broken water lines to businesses and that the businesses were being told the company was not responsible for paying to fix the problem and that it was the businesses’ responsibility.

Longfield said the lines were sitting directly beneath the sidewalk and that they were not up to code.

“They were up to code when they were put down in the 1930s,” Dobbins said.

“Business owners shouldn’t be responsible for something they didn’t ask for,” Ralls added.

Longfield said he would look into the matter.

Both sides agreed there was a communication problem and they agreed to hold regular meetings in order to stay on top of the issues.

As far as the Christmas season is concerned, Longfield told the council that if business owners felt uneasy with the sidewalk being under construction during the busiest shopping time of the year that they could put a halt to the project and come back after the holidays to finish.

Ralls suggested if it came to that point, that the company could work on the side street part of the project that would not directly interfere with businesses. Longfield said he thought that might be a good idea.

In other business regarding the Christmas parade, the council voted to pay $500 for fireworks to signal the kickoff of the parade.

The city will also have a Christmas decoration contest for residential homes and businesses. First, second and third place winners will receive a $100, $75, and $50 credit on their utility bills, respectively. The contest will be judged by city staff.
In other business, Steve Kelly of ASCOG spoke to the council in regards in participation in the USDA Technical Assistance and Training Program.

Kelly said he would function as an advisor and that his services would not cost the city anything. There are a total of four grants involved in the program.