Sterling is changing how it replaces residential sidewalks.

During Monday’s Sterling City Council meeting, Sterling Public Works Superintendent Brad Schrader said that as of May 1 the city will change its 50/50 sidewalk replacement program to one in which homeowners pay for the concrete and city crews install the sidewalks, thus saving on labor costs.

The change came about due to low interest in the 50/50 program, Schrader said.

“Our sidewalk program has not been real successful, and I think a lot of it was the cost with prevailing wage,” he said.

Schrader said he did research into the alternative program that is being used by the city of Dixon.

“The residents pay for the concrete, and then Public Works goes in and does the work so it reduces the cost quite a bit for the residents,” he said.

The city puts out bid requests for concrete each year. Schrader said the city received two bids back, with the cost at about $120 to $130 a yard for concrete.

“Roughly a yard of concrete will do about 20 feet of sidewalk, so a resident that’s doing a 50-foot sidewalk could be looking at $300,” Schrader said.

How the program will work is that a property owner will contact the city and request an inspection of their sidewalk. City staff will determine if a replacement is warranted. If the replacement is approved, the city will provide the labor and complete the work and the property owner will pay for the concrete. Payment for the concrete must be made before the work begins.

Only existing sidewalks will be eligible for the program, and the council discussed implementing a weighting system when deciding which sidewalks would be replaced first.

Jim Wise, alderman at large, suggested that sidewalks in the Safe Routes To School program and that enable pedestrian access to medical services, grocery stores and food could be given priority.

“We have to go where we know there’s a need, with many of the neighborhoods that have direct links to education, medical services and food. We have to fix that problem, in my opinion, before anything else,” Wise said.

Schrader said city crews will be doing less curb and gutter work, which should free up manpower for other projects, including sidewalks and riverfront work.

Schrader said he is hopeful the program will work better than the 50/50 program.

“We’ll start a list and do them in order. From what I have heard from Dixon, they have two crews who are doing the work now because it’s so popular. Hopefully, this will help with the sidewalks and getting them going,” he said.

In his monthly report to the council, Schrader said preliminary work has started on the Strawberry Fields paving project.

“Martin and Company has moved into Strawberry Fields and have started coring out. They are still hoping to make the May 1 deadline for paving, if Mother Nature cooperates,” Schrader said.

The city took delivery of the new Platt Park playground equipment, and Schrader said he hopes to get that installation scheduled for the second or third week in May. At its Dec. 1 meeting, the City Council approved the purchase and installation of the new equipment for $100,741.

Schrader said city crews have been working at the former Megli Oil site on Wallace Street to cut down trees and cut back brush so the Sterling Police Department has better visual access to the property.