Sidewalk Assistance

City of Bluffton Sidewalk/Curb – 50/50 Program

The City of Bluffton desires to encourage the construction, replacement and maintenance of sidewalks and curbs throughout the City. The City believes this is best accomplished by the City and the property owner working together. For the City’s contribution to this Sidewalk/Curb – 50/50 Program (“Program”), the City intends to appropriate each year a specific amount of funds to be used for sidewalk/curb replacement.

Each year the Board of Public Works and Safety will request bids from contractors for the replacement of sidewalks and curbs. The bids must quote sidewalks on a square foot basis and curbs on a lineal foot basis for construction or reconstructed in accordance with the Design Standards and Specifications Manual of the City of Bluffton, Indiana. Each calendar year, the Board of Public Works and Safety will accept, approve and award only one contractor’s bid for all sidewalk and curb projects under the Program for that year (the “Contractor”).

A property owner interested in participating in the Program should review the guidelines and complete a Sidewalk/Curb 50/50 Replacement Program Request Form.

TERMS OF SIDEWALK/CURB 50/50 REPLACEMENT PROGRAM:

The Contractor awarded the annual sidewalk/curb replacement bid will be the only contractor eligible for Program work.

The Program will proceed as follows:

  1. The City of Bluffton (“City”) will publish a Requests For Bids for the Program.
  2. Upon receipt of an Application from a property owner (“Applicant”) to participate in the Program, the City will inspect the sidewalk/curb to determine if the sidewalk/curb needs to be replaced and meets the requirements of the program.  A sidewalk/curb section may not be split. If any portion of a section borders the adjoining property, the complete section must be replaced and paid for as part of the Applicant’s application. The Program is intended to replace complete sidewalks/curbs. The replacement of only one or two sections of sidewalk/curb is expensive due to minimum charges and will not be approved for participation in the Program.
  3. The City will inform the Applicant of the total cost of replacement of the Applicant’s sidewalk/curb based upon the successful bid of the The Applicant is responsible for 50% of this cost. Once the Applicant has paid this cost, the Applicant’s project will be placed on the schedule.
  4. Approved and paid in full Applications will be placed on the Contractor’s work schedule in an order of priority based on the date the Application was received by the city.
  5. The Applicant must submit payment in full of the Applicant’s cost to the office of the Bluffton Clerk-Treasurer before a Notice to Proceed will be issued.
  6. The Contractor will be notified by the City to proceed with the work once all of the Applicant’s pre-requisites have been satisfied.   All work must be completed by the Contractor in accordance with the contract documents and must be coordinated with the Street Department.
  7. The Contractor may be subject to a penalty if the work is not completed within the specified time, unless otherwise agreed upon by the Board of Public Works and Safety.
  8. Handicap accessible sidewalks will be installed at every intersection to meet Federal Standards for slope and The City, under this Program, will pay the entire cost for replacement of ADA ramps.
  9. Replacement of sidewalks will be limited to the ADA specifications and requirements for the length of the property and only in the public right-of-way.
  10. If the City determines that replacement of the Applicant’s sidewalk/curb is not necessary – which includes requests solely for the purpose of replacement or installation of a driveway approach/cuts – but the Applicant still desires to replace his sidewalk/curb and/or driveway approach/cut, the replacement of the sidewalk/curb and/or driveway approach/cut must be completed at the Applicant’s sole expense, will be subject to the City inspections as described below and must be completed in accordance with the Design Standards and Specifications Manual of the City of Bluffton, IN.

INSPECTIONS AND PAYMENTS:

Two (2) inspections by the City or its designee are required. The first inspection is to be when the sidewalk is formed and before it is poured. The second and final inspection is to be when the work is completely finished. The City or its designee is authorized by the Board of Public Works and Safety to inspect the project site and, upon satisfactory completion of the work, to authorize payment to the Contractor.

REPLACEMENT OF SIDEWALKS BY OWNERS:

The Board of Public Works and Safety recognizes that some property owners may desire to replace their sidewalks/curbs without participation in the Program or in the circumstance when the replacement does not meet the criteria of the Program. In these cases, the City will not reimburse the property owner for any expenses incurred in replacing the sidewalk/curbs. However, the replacement is still subject to the City inspections as described above and the sidewalk/curb replacement must be completed in accordance with the Design Standards and Specifications Manual of the City of Bluffton, Indiana.

NEW SIDEWALKS:

The Program does NOT apply to new sidewalks/curbs. The property owner is responsible for the entire cost of any new constrnction. All new sidewalk/curb construction must be completed in accordance with the Design Standards and Specifications Manual of the City of Bluffton, Indiana, and is subject to the City inspections as described above and any applicable permit requirements.

NOTE: This Program only applies to public sidewalks. Private sidewalks (example: leading to the residence), driveway approaches and/or driveways do not qualify for the Program and the cost is 100% the property owner’s responsibility.

NOTICE

The 50/50 sidewalk program is only for residential properties in the city of Bluffton and does not apply to Businesses, nonprofit organizations, political subdivisions, schools, or any residential property that includes a home-based business.

To apply fill out this form and return to the City Clerk Treasurer’s Office at 128 East Market or the Street Department at 1205 South Wayne Street.
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