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MACOMB TOWNSHIP — A public hearing for the township’s sidewalk maintenance program dragged the June 25 Macomb Township Board of Trustees meeting well into the evening.
A total of 14 residents spoke during the second public hearing for the township’s sidewalk maintenance program, which for 2025 centers on sidewalks in the area north of Hall Road, east of Hayes Road, south of 22 Mile Road and west of Romeo Plank Road. Sidewalks in the area were examined and the township sent notices to property owners informing them about the potentially hazardous sidewalks and an estimated cost of replacing them, should the property owner not seek their own contractors or repair the sidewalks themselves. Property owners intending to handle maintenance themselves or with their own contractor are to contact the township by calling (586) 726-6695 or emailing sidewalks@macomb-mi.gov. Work is expected to begin after Monday, Aug. 25.
“The way the ordinances have been written and have been written for a long time is that homeowners are responsible for the maintenance of their sidewalks,” Township Supervisor Frank Viviano said. “Until this program, the township had not enforced that. The responsibility of the sidewalk maintenance has always been on all of us as homeowners … Macomb Township didn’t create this out of thin air. Effectively, we mirrored it from Chesterfield (Township). Almost the exact same program exists in Shelby Township, Clinton Township, St. Clair Shores. I encountered this program as a business owner in St. Clair Shores 25 years ago.”
While the township formerly ran a program where it would cover the cost of repairing sidewalks and was lax in enforcing maintenance requirements, the June 28, 2023, Michigan Supreme Court decision in the Kandil-Elsayed v F & E Oil, Inc, and Pinsky v Kroger case led to the end of the “open and obvious” defense that would have shielded the township from liability for sidewalk-related injuries.
The 14 residents that spoke complained about the costs quoted in the notification letter — both the high cost associated with replacements and the variation in costs based on the varying sizes of sidewalk pieces — as well as the notification letter lacking an itemized list of each potential sidewalk hazard.
“I have elderly neighbors that are crying and trying to just understand what is going on, ” township resident Valerie Foulks-McCrary said. “I understood and tried to explain to them the ordinance law. I tried to explain that the sidewalk is our responsibility — just like we have to shovel the snow and make sure we have the branches up when it rains and storms — but when you have neighbors who get different prices for different things for the sidewalk … this is not fair, just to send a letter.”
Though Viviano accepted the blame for the lack of details for each property’s letters, the residents found little relief in getting around the need to address their sidewalks. Viviano said the township would absorb half the cost of replacing 8-foot sidewalks and the full cost of replacing pieces of sidewalk featuring ADA-compliant ramps and dimples. Viviano, Township Clerk Kristi Pozzi and Department of Public Works Director Kevin Johnson also spoke about the bid process for the program.
Any questions or disputes about a particular property’s sidewalk can be directed to the township’s engineering consultant Anderson, Eckstein, & Westrick, Inc. by calling (586) 726-6695 or emailing sidewalks@macomb-mi.gov.
Another sidewalk related matter was the board awarding Luigi Ferdinandi & Son Cement Co. a $62,170 contract to install ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps in the township between Hall Road and 21 Mile Road west of Card Road. Over $56,300 of the project is covered by 2024 Community Development Block Grant funds.
Bench shade coverings
Trustees also approved the purchase of four shade coverings for benches from Midstates
Recreation for $17,772. The shades will be split between Waldenburg and Pitchford Parks, with the shades being placed over benches around the parks’ respective playscapes.
