Boro nixes brick sidewalks in business district
Council opts for concrete, awards $565K contract
BY LIZ SHEEHAN
Correspondent

FAIR HAVEN - The Borough Council does not want brick sidewalks in the business district, and those that are there now will be dug up as the town moves ahead with its streetscape project.

At the council meeting last week, Brooks Von Arx, a lawyer who owns property on River Road where the sidewalks are to be replaced, and Roger Foss, an attorney representing a building owner in the area, asked the council to allow the existing brick sidewalks to be retained when the project was being carried out.

Von Arx said he had a brick sidewalk in front of his building for 15 years and it had "a wonderful warm look" that was better suited to the old section of the town than the concrete sidewalks that are planned.

He said he would pay to have a brick sidewalk that would conform to requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and maintenance of the walkway.

Borough Engineer Richard Moralle said that when the project was first being discussed, there was talk about different treatments of the sidewalks. He said then-Mayor Joseph Szostak had been concerned about safety and ADA requirements for brick sidewalks.

Moralle said there were two presentations made to the business community concerning the streetscape plans to gather input.

Because of the $300,000 additional cost for the brick sidewalks, business owners were told the walks could be installed if there was an assessment for them, he said.

Morelle said there was "not a lot of positive feedback."

He also said that there would also be the question of who would be responsible for maintaining brick sidewalks already there or installed by building owners.

He said the council wanted the borough to take responsibility for maintaining the sidewalks in the business district so there would be a "cohesive design and a set pattern" for the whole district.

Mayor Michael Halfacre asked the council to make a decision on the issue after hearing Von Arx and Foss.

If the property owners would agree to pay the engineering and construction costs of brick sidewalks, the walks are ADA-compliant and the agreement with the project contractor could be amended to provide for some brick sidewalks, Halfacre asked, would the council agree to allow the owners to have them.

Council members decided not to permit any changes in the plans so that the new sidewalks on River Road, from Oak Place to just east of Fair Haven Road, will all be concrete, although the pattern on the concrete is still to be determined.

Halfacre said Monday that the brick sidewalk that runs in front of the town's park across from borough hall will be among those removed.

The contract for the work, which is scheduled to begin this week, was awarded to Earle Asphalt, Morelle said, for a cost of $565,000.