Sidewalks

1)     Consider area where Sidewalk is desired
a.      Is it feasible and practical?
b.     Does the right of way lend itself to having a sidewalk (Is there enough room to place the sidewalk? etc..)
c.      Are there enough homeowners on that stretch of roadway to help support the project?

2)     Get a qualified bid or bids for the construction of the sidewalk from a St. Johns County licensed contractor experienced in the construction of a sidewalk.
a.      Include in this quote the costs to go over culverts, roadways and existing driveways. Just because there is concrete across a drive doesn’t mean you don’t need to replace it- you may be required to meet American with Disabilities Act specifications.
b.     Quote your project at different sizes of sidewalk (i.e 4 foot wide or five foot wide)
c.      Include the county inspector in this project to make sure you cover all costs.

3)     Decide how the cost of the project is going to be divided among homeowners
a.      Do you use homeowners frontage on the roadway (i.e. you own 100 feet on the roadway your neighbor owns 150 feet – they pay more than you.
OR
b.     Do you take the total cost and divide it by the total number of lots to make each homeowner equal investors?
c.      What do you do if someone is unwilling to participate financially? Do you spread their cost evenly or scrap the project?

4)   Once you have your quote of the total cost per homeowner – Break the costs down in a few ways:
d.     If the neighborhood get no support from the local government this is our cost $
e.      If we get 20% support from the government this is our cost $ etc…

5)      Get a master list of neighbors names and contact info- put together a team of interested parties in the project.

6)     Begin to approach your homeowners.   For success this should not be done through the mail or over the Internet but in person or on the phone. Before you begin you should divide up the list to have “friends call friends”. People are much more likely to say yes to a friend than to a complete stranger or someone they know only casually.

7)     Explain to the homeowners why you want to get the sidewalk installed. Express the benefits. (i.e safety, community building etc..) Ask them for the financial commitment you need to get bulk of the project done (give yourself a cushion by asking for a little more than truly needed)

8)     Have the homeowner sign the Homeowners acknowledgement (sample attached). This is to limit any future problems or miscommunications among neighbors. Put any details necessary in this document.

9)     Once you have your financial commitments in place you will know how much you need to ask the County and/or the MSD for.   I suggest breaking down the project into feet. (i.e. we can pay for 3 feet of a five foot walk, will you (government) pay for 2 feet?)

10) If the county/MSD reacts positively- you need to develop an “Interlocal agreement” sample attached. The county cannot enter into an agreement with a homeowners association. The MSD is able to enter into an agreement with the county.

11) Once the Interlocal agreement is voted through at the Board of County Commissioners meeting and signed by the local government (MSD) the project can begin.