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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The state has a formula for using the Act 51 monies for local street repairs. Now we are shifting money from pothole laden streets that the city can barely afford to pay to side walks. Homeowner, including the Land bank and others are required by ordinance to maintain their sidewalks. Council disbanFlint City Council members to prioritize sidewalk, street repairs in each ward
Published: Monday, August 15, 2011, 8:40 PM
By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal The Flint Journal
View full sizeAustin Anthony | The Flint JournalQuanita McLemora, 4, and her brother Jaquan, 1, walk down a cracked sidewalk on Dartmouth Street in Flint on Wednesday.
FLINT, Michigan — Starting this year, each Flint City Council member has a new responsibility: His or her own 185 sidewalk squares.
City Hall is handing over the decision of which sidewalks to repair as the cash-strapped city struggles to manage all of its infrastructure maintenance.
The new initiative gives elected officials more local control over which sidewalks and streets are repaired or paved in each of the city’s nine wards, officials said.
In addition to the sidewalk squares, council members also can prioritize streets that need to be paved in their areas or use some of the state-issued street paving funds to repair even more sidewalks instead, said Kay Muhammad, transportation director for the city.
Each council member will get a set dollar amount for streets for their ward, which differs depending on the streets that need paving, she said.
“This will allow the people’s voices to be heard,” Muhammad said. “(The city) council is a little closer to the public. We’re giving them the opportunity to be the voice of the community.”
Councilman Scott Kincaid said a neighborhood group in his ward did a sidewalk survey, and identified hazards several inches tall in the Circle Drive neighborhood.
Much of Kincaid’s area on the city’s south side isn’t eligible for the federal sidewalk repair grant funds, so he said he’s choosing to use part of the street-paving funds for sidewalk repairs.
“I might not get as many streets done as quickly that way, but ... it improves the quality of life for those neighborhoods,” he said.
Council President Jackie Poplar said she wishes the initiative would have been implemented sooner. She said the city recently paved a street in her 2nd Ward area that’s mostly vacant, while she would have preferred to repair a different street.
“That was a dumb move,” she said.
Poor sidewalks have been an issue in the city of Flint for decades.
Resident John Bradford would like to do more walking around his west side Prospect Street neighborhood, but it’s too much of a hassle these days. Recent knee surgery has the 60-year-old relying on a walker, and it’s too difficult for the small wheels to navigate the jutting concrete, cracks and weeds along the sidewalk on his block.
If he does need to travel more than a house or two away from his front door, Bradford said he and his walker take to the street for a smoother ride.
“I definitely think the sidewalks need to be done,” said Bradford, who said he’s lived in Flint for more than 30 years. “If it were fixed and flat, I’d do more walking.”
In the past, the transportation department and the mayor’s administration chose the streets and sidewalks for repair based on a rating system and complaints, Muhammad said.
But with the city’s budget constraints, Flint currently doesn’t have the resources to address all the residents’ concerns.
“We don’t really have enough money to take care of all the problems we have in streets and sidewalks,” City Administrator Gregory Eason told the council last week. “Instead of having the administration dictate how to use the dollars, we want to give the city council the flexibility.”
Transportation officials will still handle sidewalks in need of emergency repair.
According to city ordinance, residents are responsible for paying to maintain the sidewalks in front of their homes.
But the city isn’t actively enforcing the ordinance, largely because such attempts failed in past years. The city fixed sidewalks and attempted to collect the cost from the residents, even going so far as to place liens on their properties, but the program wasn’t effective, officials said.
“We were forcing people to do their sidewalks that didn’t have the finances to do it,” said Kincaid. “This is an opportunity for us to go in and replace the sidewalks at no cost to them.”
State law says the city has a responsibility for ensuring all the public sidewalks are safe for travel.
Any trip-and-fall is a liability, especially if the sidewalk juts over 2 inches high — the state’s threshold for a serious hazard.
A 2008 Flint Journal report showed the city had paid more than $1.3 million in lawsuit claims since 1999 to people who said they were hurt while walking on the city’s crumbling sidewalks.
In the past three months alone, the city has had at least three complaints from attorneys who said their clients were injured on Flint’s sidewalks or streets, according to city documents.
Councilman Dale Weighill said he’s looking forward to working with the mayor’s office on the 7th Ward’s streets and sidewalks.
“I think this is great,” he said. “I get calls all the time from people who want their sidewalks and streets repaired.”
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haseen August 15, 2011 at 9:31PM
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OH MY!!! How to handle city money we have the best Eason and Poplar and Kincaid all you need is the Buchanan Bunch and away we go. Hey let's try to help Flint and not pick the bones clean. Pride should start at the top. That does not mean hiring relatives.
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LTJAR August 15, 2011 at 10:18PM
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Its funny Haseen, They just cut all over in the Streets DPW because they cant get enough guys to come in on overtime. so now that aronld brown, donna poplar, greg eason , and kay mahommad can not manage money they want to shift the blame on city council. they should just hire more temporay workers, more relatives, and maybe get 5 more foremans and they might beable to money manage a little more. so now with city council running sidewalk and street repairs you have 13 IDIOTS plus walling we dont know what to classify him as yet nooooooo body will beable to manage anything because what the terrible 4 havnt stolen yet, the city council will steal therst. goodbye city of flint nice knowing you. you are being led by a bunch of ex-cons, crackheads and thieves.
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m8znblu August 15, 2011 at 10:57PM
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Now ther can sweep away all of the body chalk outlines
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hughgardon August 15, 2011 at 11:45PM
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I know how they can save money - stop sending out 9 guys to replace a few pieces of concrete. I saw it one day. It was ridiculous.
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fedupinflint August 16, 2011 at 8:11AM
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Why not provide property tax credit to those that repair their own to city standards ?
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LiveNow August 16, 2011 at 8:50AM
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Which city councilman is going to sponsor the bill to repeal the city's law that citizens take care of the public sidewalks in front of their homes -- which is in direct contradiction to state law?
What idiots passed that city ordinance? It makes no sense. As a homeowner why should I bear responsibility personally for a city sidewalk in front of my home?
I hope one of the council members will step forward and get this ridiculous ordinance off the books.
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robtjohnson August 16, 2011 at 9:31AM
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The East Side Farm fields have nice new side walks I noted that all the empty lots are getting new side walks and the homes that are still there in most cases are not.. I noted that in one care the replace 5 or 6 squares skipped an entire crumbled 10 squares and then did more.. Now why if you are there would you not do the entire job. and Why so many in in places no one uses. this City is in Need of Real dept heads and planning. and it needs Leadership. There is no reason to have any over time for street and sidwalk repairs that crap of Saturday and Sunday is for the birds I note that on the County also.. what is up with this Place??? waste of Money is not a problem here. you got spare cash they can get rid of it for you.
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beretta92fs August 16, 2011 at 3:34PM
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Thank you "robtjohnson", i'm not the only one who's noticed the sidewalks in front of the vacant lots. The sidewalk in front of my house is swelled up and buckled and cracked, someone is going to trip and fall and hurt themselves, then comes the lawsuits, who's liable the city or me? I've complained several times and nothing happens. My taxes are current,(they've never been late), it seems the administrators could use some logic and take care of safety hazards first.
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beretta92fs August 16, 2011 at 3:19PM
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As just about any motorist will tell you after driving down the streets of the Eastside of Flint, it would be nice (euphoric!) to not have to drive around pedrestrians, they have gotten so they walk right down the middle of the street and 'flip' you off for interferring with their 'strut'! I really think if the walkways were repaired over here, all of us motorists, who pay for the privilege of using the streets, through registrations, taxes, etc; would be very grateful. |
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Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:00 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I have been told that Muhammed has handed her street duties over to Arnold Brown. Brown is very capable in his duties with sanitation and other 12th street jobs. However, he is a contract employee having already retired from the City of Flint. What if council fails to renew his contract? Will he have to learn the state laws regarding Act 51 and streets. If he screws up, possibly because he has been given too many job responsibilities, will the heat be off Muhammed?
But remember her aunt by marriage, Jackie Poplar, says Muhammed is the greatest! |
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Wed Aug 17, 2011 6:48 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| The video of the last Council meetings show council telling Muhammed they will not assume her duties. Some anger at the department telling the public to call their council person. They noted they do not have the trianing nor the skills to evaluate the condition of the roads and sidewalks. |
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Fri Sep 30, 2011 9:34 am |
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