Ledger-Dispatch

By Kelly Scott (kenos@ledger-dispatch.com) =

Sutter Creek Community Development = Director Jeff=20 Kelley takes city council attendees on a tour of Main Street = sidewalks=20 Monday.

Photo by: Kelly=20 Scott
A dispute over who would be = responsible for=20 making uneven sidewalks in Sutter Creek compliant with the Americans = with=20 Disabilities Act turned uncharacteristically nasty at Monday night's = city=20 council meeting.

A settlement agreement between the city and the=20 California Department of Transportation on relinquishing a portion of = Highway 49=20 was signed in 2003 for the sum of $94,000. Caltrans agreed in the = settlement to=20 pay for ADA sidewalk upgrades in that amount, but was unable to make the = payment=20 prior to the termination date. Sutter Creek made an informal claim = against=20 Caltrans for the payment and mulled the idea of a civil lawsuit, but the = parties=20 settled on an agreement and the city released Caltrans of all claims. A = walking=20 tour of Main Street by Community Development Director Jeff Kelley, in = order to=20 familiarize council members with planned ADA upgrades, was done before = Monday=20 night's meeting.

"First off, there will be a temporary fix on the = bridge=20 before we bid out for a new one," Kelley said during the tour, which = began at=20 the bridge on Main Street. "The city is not really responsible for = complete ADA=20 compliance due to the declaration of historical status, but we will be = making=20 some changes."

Kelley continued the tour, pointing out where high = spots=20 in the concrete would be ground down for safer footing and where ramps = and=20 handrails would be placed for easier access.

"This is the = infamous light=20 pole," Kelley joked when reaching the corner of Randolph and Main. = "Sutter Creek=20 and Pacific Gas and Electric (Co.) have been arguing over who moves it = to make=20 room for a ramp here."

Council members and attendees returned to = the=20 meeting after the tour to discuss liability and design of the historic=20 sidewalks. Developer Dennis Griffin, whose The Griffin Co. owns multiple = Sutter=20 Creek businesses, backed the idea of uniformly historic sidewalks. "I = will start=20 in front of my buildings and have others follow suit," he = said.

Mayor=20 Gary Wooten agreed that the idea was worth exploring and a committee was = formed=20 to consider possibilities.

Dan Walker, owner of The Palace = Restaurant and=20 Saloon, was not pleased with the idea that individual business owners = would be=20 responsible for the sidewalks in front of their buildings. "I was just = sued for=20 $50,000 by someone who tripped on the sidewalk in front of my building," = he told=20 the council. "Now you are saying that I am responsible for all the = cracks that=20 Caltrans gave you money to fix."

Wooten conceded that the process = for=20 making ADA improvements wouldn't be perfect, "as nothing ever is," but = said the=20 city was fixing "what it can."

What followed was an uncommonly = salty=20 argument, with Wooten and Walker's voices rising and expletives being = thrown.=20 Walker threatened to cordon off the sidewalk area in front of his = restaurant=20 bar. Vice Mayor Bill Hepworth attempted to soothe tempers by saying the = city=20 would accommodate Walker as best it could.

The conversation ended = with=20 the council voting to approve the bid of Vinciguerra Construction for = the city's=20 sidewalk repairs.

Kelly = Scott