A decision by Oregon city officials to repair sidewalks in-house rather than hiring from the outside appears to be paying dividends.

Bill Covell, director of public works, told city commissioners Tuesday that so far, 1,478 square feet of sidewalks have been completed, costing about $5,300 in concrete and supplies and $2,400 in labor.

“With a contractor, that cost would have been about $45,000,” Covell said. “So, there has been a significant savings. And our crew has been doing a really good job.”

Covell said the city has implemented a tiered program to repair sidewalks, with “Tier 1″ designating sidewalks that need immediate care based on their “trip hazards.”

“We have some Tier 1 projects left, and we have also tackled some Tier 2s this year as well,” Covell said. “We’ll be doing more after Autumn on Parade.”

Autumn on Parade is the city’s two-day fall festival that draws thousands to the city’s downtown area.

Jordan Plock, a member of the public works department, has been spearheading this year’s sidewalk repairs.

“As the process continues, we will become faster. We have a new crew that has been learning,” Plock told commissioners. “As long as the ground is not frozen, we can pour concrete.”

City Administrator Darin DeHaan said sidewalks have been repaired in various sections of the city.

“We have spread it out throughout the community,” DeHaan said, adding that improving sidewalks was one of the top requests residents made when surveyed.

Covell said cracks in a sidewalk don’t necessarily translate into a trip hazard.

“We had around 20 that were Tier 1 and a trip hazard. Some may be cracked, but they are not a trip hazard,” he said.

Plock characterized some of the Tier 1 sidewalks repaired as being “pretty gnarly” before repairs were completed.

Covell said the city’s purchase of its own tree/stump grinder also has helped crews to level new sections of the sidewalks after tree roots were minimized.

“We only grind roots and stumps, not the main tree,” Covell said.

Plock added that the new sections of sidewalks only appear to be wider since the grassy overgrowth alongside the old walks was removed when the new walks were poured.