Dietering suggests Red Oak start sidewalk repair program

Red Oak nuisance and animal control officer Bill Dietering is looking beyond nuisance buildings with the hopes of dealing with another eyesore around Red Oak.
Deitering is proposing the city consider putting together a sidewalk repair program, citing the need.
“Red Oak has a sidewalk problem, and everyone knows it, and concrete work is expensive, everyone also knows that. There are a few towns, including Davenport, I’ve reached out to for information. Some towns have someone that goes around inspecting sidewalks and sending out notices, then they do the repairs and the homeowner pays half in the form of a lien. Some towns do work based on the family’s income. I’m considering all ideas,” Deitering said.
Under Deitering’s current idea, there are a number of key components of the proposed sidewalk repair program.
• Only sidewalk slabs that have been determined as hazardous and requiring repair or replacement would be eligible.
• Damage would include sidewalks buckling due to tree root growth; settling, with the sidewalk dipping two inches or more; tipped, tilted, or sloped more than one inch per foot; or are spalled, missing surface, have more than three cracks per square, and show signs of distress.
• Work would need to be performed by a city contractor to be eligible for cost sharing.
At this point, Deitering said he was proposing an initial budget for the program of $100,000.
“I’m looking for grants, the mayor is looking for grants, we’re looking at things from the Iowa Department of Transportation. Next year, I want to get the ball rolling so we can get some of these sidewalks repaired or replaced,” commented Deitering.
Deitering added he had researched whether or not a tree on the parking caused the sidewalk to buckle, if the homeowner or the city was responsible, and discovered that according to Iowa Code, it would be the property owner’s responsibility. However, Deitering felt that shouldn’t be set in stone.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. And we’ll keep the program limited to residential areas and single-family homes,” stated Deitering.
According to Deitering, sidewalks hadn’t been a focus for him as of late due to so many other things, such as tree trimming and nuisance property clean-up.  Deitering felt the time to implement the program was soon.
“The sooner we start, the better. We can keep it in discussion when we plan for next year’s budget. We definitely need to do something,” Deitering said.
Deitering outlined his proposal to the Red Oak City Council at its meeting May 1. Efforts to bring the program to fruition remain ongoing.