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Plan would add 8.5 miles of sidewalk in Janesville

JANESVILLE — The Janesville City Council is scheduled Monday to consider a unanimous recommendation by the city's sidewalk task force to build about 8.5 miles of sidewalk in 2013.

A public hearing for those property owners is scheduled during Monday's council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 18 N. Jackson St.

The council created the task force earlier this year after angry residents on the 2012 sidewalk plan contacted council members.

Building sidewalks is controversial because many residents do not want to pay to install them or to maintain them.

The city was in its second year of a seven-year sidewalk plan to build about 60 miles of sidewalk to improve safety and connectively between neighborhoods, schools and other public facilities.

The council approved the seven-year program in 2008 but delayed implementation until 2011 because of the economy. By that time, a different council was seated, and some of those members who were not as supportive of sidewalks as the former council.

The task force has been meeting since spring and analyzed sidewalks scheduled for construction in 2012 and 2013.

The council agreed with the task force that residents who live along designated local streets with lower traffic counts should be allowed to defer sidewalks for 10 years or until the owners moved.

About 4.6 miles of the proposed 8.5 miles qualifies for the deferment.

The council Monday night will consider only the task force recommendations that were unanimous.

The task force could not reach agreement on several segments of sidewalk, such as along one side of Wuthering Hills Drive. The council will discuss those sidewalks in March.

The task force has another meeting scheduled Tuesday, Jan. 15, to begin work on the 2014 program.

A total of about 7.6 miles of sidewalk were built in 2011 and 2012 affecting 240 property owners.

ON THE AGENDA

The Janesville City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Monday in City Hall, 18 N. Jackson St. An informal listening session with some or all council members is scheduled at 6:30 p.m.

Items on the agenda include:

-- A public hearing on a proposal to raise garbage collection fees $16 in 2013.

-- A public hearing on a wastewater rate decrease of about 0.71 percent. Residential bills would not change in 2013 and would be $70.65 per quarter.

-- A motion to change the name of Joseph Street located between Hamilton and Burns avenues to Ice Age Way. Only one resident lives along Joseph Street, and he supports the request, city staff said.

-- Action on a resolution to contract with both the Rock County and Dane County humane societies to serve the city's stray and otherwise homeless animals.

-- Authorization to sell property at 808 Holmes St. through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program for $85,000. The property was purchased by the city in 2010 for $43,875. Improvements cost $121,033, of which about $50,000 was spent for lead reduction. The house appraises for $95,000. Improvements included new wiring, energy-efficient doors and windows, new plumbing, furnace and water heater, a remodeled bathroom, added insulation and new and refinished floors. The program requires that all people employed on the project be paid Davis Bacon fair wage rates.

"This federal requirement can inflate the cost of construction projects," said Kelly Mack, neighborhood development specialist.

-- A motion to cancel the second regularly scheduled city council meeting of the month, which would fall on Dec. 2