People facing costly repairs say city to blame, city disagrees

Some people living in Macedonia are trying to get answers to a massive sidewalk problem. The city said residents have to pay for repairs, but many told us that’s just not right.

“I’m very frustrated over it for several reasons,” said Tim Harrity.

He’s lived in Macedonia for decades and said he didn’t have a problem with sidewalks until the past few years.

“We had nothing to do with that tree being put in,” he told us, pointing to a tree in front of his home. He said the city planted it 8-10 years ago. He said the root of the problem is the roots themselves that are pushing up his sidewalk.

He told us he called the city a while ago. “‘We’re going to see how we can take care of this for you and something is going to be done,’” said Harrity about the conversation he had with the service department. “That never happened.”

CITY GIVES DEADLINE THAT'S QUICKLY DRAWING NEAR

“It’s somebody else’s mistake that we’re fixing,” said Marie Crawford, who lives five minutes away from Harrity. She, too, has tree roots creating sidewalk issues.

She and many others around town got a letter from the city. Hers is dated June 26, saying she has to fix the issue by Aug. 1. If she doesn’t, a contractor hired by the city will do it. The estimate is for nearly $7,300. “I don’t have $7,000 especially to pay for the sidewalk that the city trees broke up,” said Crawford.

We found one project where the owner told us it’s costing them just under $20,000 to repair the sidewalks.

“I cannot touch that tree,” said Harrity. “I cannot take the tree down because I don’t own it.” And not only that, he pointed out there’s a water main in the middle of his sidewalk that half the line belongs to the city. “If anything were to happen, leaks, cracks, you name it it’s the city’s responsibility,” he said and questioned why don’t the sidewalks fall under the same category.

MAYOR DOESN'T RESPOND, COUNCIL PRESIDENT DOES

News 5 Investigators called the mayor two days ago and heard nothing back. We called again today and were told he was out of the office.

We did speak to the city council president, who said there have been problems with people tripping on sidewalks, and even though the city has been lax in enforcing repairs, it’s now cementing its stance and requiring the fixes.

If people can’t pay by the end of the year, they can pay it off over three years as part of their taxes. Some people feel the city’s plan isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

“That’s the city dumping on the homeowners,” said Harrity. “They don’t want to incur the expense of replacing the sidewalks.”