City offers free labor for mayor’s sidewalk
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But what many may not know is McMinnville has a program designed for anyone who would like a sidewalk in front of their home. If the property owner buys the concrete, city workers will provide the labor for free. Heading off any appearance of impropriety, Mayor Royce Davenport said this week that’s exactly the way he is participating in the city’s sidewalk program.
Public Works director Bill Brock said providing labor for city sidewalks has been the city’s practice for several years and all it takes is a phone call.
“We’re handling the mayor’s sidewalk just like we do any other citizen’s sidewalk,” Brock said. “If they want a sidewalk put in, they can contact the Public Works Department. We’ll come out and look at it and where it needs to go.
“If there’s an existing sidewalk there, we’ll talk to them about removing the old sidewalk and putting in a new one and where it’s actually going to be placed. We’ll give them an estimate on what it would cost and they pay for the concrete only. We do all the labor.”
Brock said requests for sidewalks have slowed over the past couple of years, but are picking up. There is a waiting period of about three weeks after a resident decides to proceed.
Davenport said he put his name on the list more than a year ago, but sought to inform the public about the project since work has started there recently.
“It might explain why the mayor’s sidewalk is being done, that they can get one too,” Davenport said. “Yes, it is going on, but anyone can have it done. All you have to do is call Public Works and get on the list.”
For more information about the city’s sidewalk program contact Public Works at 473-2553.