Gainesboro Aldermen considering a proposal from a private developer to repair and replace a section of downtown sidewalks near a new hotel project.
Mayor Ricky Head said he spoke with Marc Stengel about redoing the sidewalk area extending from the hotel toward the mayor’s office. Head said the developer inquired about potential city reimbursement for the work but indicated he was willing to proceed even if the city could not provide funding.
“He said he wasn’t really looking for reimbursement, but he just, like I said, he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries on it,” Head said. “So I mean I told him go for it, you know. Not saying that we’re sitting here looking for a handout from him, but you know, he’s going to be doing way over half of it, you know what I mean? And if he was willing to do the rest, then I was fine with it, but that’s, that’s up to y’all, you know.”
One board member said the current sidewalk is the worst in town and noted that the developer plans to address drainage issues by channeling water toward the street.
“But what happens if, if say, I mean, my dentist office is right there, what if one of the businesses says, ‘Well, wait a minute, you’re talking about closing for a week to do this and that, and I have to reschedule all these appointments and I can’t do that. I don’t want it,'” Aldermen Tom Goetz said. “I mean, do we have to get everybody on that row to say, ‘Yes, this is okay,’ and set up a schedule?”
Head said the developer should be responsible for organizing the work schedule but must coordinate closely with neighboring business owners.
One idea was to use permeable pavers or brick instead of a solid poured sidewalk to prevent water from standing and breaking up the surface.
