Dec. 13—FAIRMONT — The City of Fairmont is moving forward with plans to address sidewalk conditions in Fairmont.
Council at its meeting Tuesday proposed an ordinance to change the cost of street sweeping, street maintenance and police protection to include sidewalks as part of their coverage. During the meeting, Deputy Mayor Josh Rice asked if the city had a plan for where it would start with the sidewalks and which parts of the city would be affected.
“I think we plan to prioritize the city’s most important corridors,” said City Manager Travis Blosser. “Whether that’s downtown or other areas with main road activity, focusing primarily on those areas where we know the West Virginia Division of Highways is planning to have asphalt paving this summer.”
City Planner Shae Strait said WVDOH’s planned 2025 paving schedule has downtown scheduled for paving, while the East Side will get the next round of paving in 2026 and 2027. He said WVDOH’s choices will determine the city’s priorities when it comes to sidewalk repair , which the city wants to do before paving to avoid any conflicts, or have to carry out work again.
“The city is prioritizing downtown and key corridors, including streets like East Park Avenue, Fairmont Avenue, Locust Avenue, etc., as this will have the greatest impact on access to key services and traffic throughout the city,” says Strait. said. “Because the center is the economic anchor for the city, it is important to start there and then work outward to make the most of those connections.”
Blosser said city staff expects the sidewalk project to cost at least $500,000. He said that number could grow during budget talks.
Councilman Chuck Warner asked Blosser if property owners next to the sidewalk would be responsible for the work. Blosser answered at this point: no. He said the idea is to include sidewalks in the fee so residents can see the investments going back to the sidewalks that cross their properties. Sidewalks as a whole are in a gray area, Blosser said, because they are easements over property.
“You can look at a property owner and say, ‘You’re responsible for fixing that sidewalk,’ and some property owners can look back at you and say, ‘Then take that sidewalk away because I want it not.’ I didn’t put it there,” Blosser said. “Some of those sidewalks were built during the Roosevelt administration from the New Deal. That’s been an ongoing problem throughout West Virginia.”
The city is also considering updating its leasing code to improve and streamline the city’s enforcement powers and bring them into line with current best practices in the field, said David Kirk, communications manager for Fairmont. City Building Inspector Scott Jolliff said the changes will help with enforcement and efficiency of the rental registration program. The regulation itself also doubles fees for court hearings.
The city is also updating its contract with the police union and considering purchasing a building in the Beltline neighborhood to expand the Public Works Department’s facilities. Finally, the city also placed the East Side Fire Station up for auction with a starting price of $200,000.
The Council moved its fourth week meeting to December 17 to avoid a conflict with the week of Christmas.
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
