$261,000 for Sidewalks!! YIKES!

  Windcrest council voted to approve the expenditure of $250,000 for sidewalks on Thursday Nov 5 council meeting.  Why do we have a Public Works dept?   Council person Pam Dodson suggested our Public Works dept could construct the new sidewalks for much less.  Lets face it, the Public Works dept should be renamed to Grass and Landscaping dept, which more accurately describes their actual duties.  Public Works during the past administrations performed Crack Filling on the streets of Windcrest.  The engineering firm hired years when this administration began, stated during a council presentation that the #1 preventive maintenance program was Crack Filling!  He commented that Windcrest had been doing an excellent job with Crack Filling which preserves the road base and make future repairs less costly.  Then this administration scrapped Crack Filling Program by Public Works entirely.  It seems higher priorities, like flowers planting and landscaping were suggested.    You have to remember, the Mayor hired the golf course manager (they know grasses) as the Public Works Director.  He immediately had the crack filling machine declared unfit and the Crack Filling Program was halted completely.  There had been NO crack filling for the past several years then last month a Contractor was hired to start crack filling.  Have you noticed the condition of the streets in Windcrest?  Too little too late.  Just wait until the road repair estimates come in, they will be horrendous because much of the road base has been destroyed by the lack of a Crack Filling program.

  Now your tax dollars, all $260,000 is being used to replace the sidewalks around two ponds.  Again, not by Public Works, but a Contract which was not released to a bid.

Brook Falls Pond Sidewalks        $123,533.16
Autumn Sunset Pond Sidewalks  $137,866.08

   Total                                          $261,399.24

To be fair, this cost also includes some lighting and benches along the sidewalks.

Note:  This expenditure was shoved thru by the current council before the newly elected council persons take office.  Maybe the new council can stop the bleeding and rescind these two resolutions and let Public Works Dept, Work!