City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire Public Works, 30 Mar 2022

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From YouTube: 3.30.2022 State Street Sidewalks

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3.30.2022 State Street Sidewalks

A

Good evening sorry um we're having some technical difficulties.

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But hopefully it's straightened out now so.

B

Thanks for coming for uh tonight's meeting about the state street uh sidewalk uh reconstruction.

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Project uh I'm mark bacheler, I'm the design engineer with us tonight is uh peter rice.

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Director of public works, uh dave defoste is the instructional supervisor. Tyler reese is.

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Associate engineer associate engineer and stephanie seaport is our pr.

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A

We'll be putting a presentation on.

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Select the window.

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Okay, so the scope of work or limits of construction for this project is.

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Essentially, state street from columbia street up to mid block between winter and summer street.

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And really it's uh the scope of work is including all the sidewalk that hasn't recently been done.

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There's been some recent work here in front of the park uh when I say recent, I'm not talking like.

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uh The last couple of years, but uh that had been upgraded uh recently, and um so this.

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This this is the limits of the work and what it really entails is.

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Essentially replacing the sidewalk in kind um as as it stands now, so um you go to the next.

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This is generally some some uh photos as you, as you all know,.

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Of the current state of the uh sidewalks, we have some brick sections that are heavily rutted.

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And the curving is tilted out, we have other sections that are asphalt that are cracking and.

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Again have settled against the curb, and then we have our typical curb ramps, which are currently.

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You know missing the ada, truncated, dome, tiles and they're, not uh really ada compliant. At this point,.

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So this is the current sidewall conditions and so just to kind of go over that a little bit.

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More uh some of the sidewalk even doesn't meet ada slope requirements. um Also, some of the issues.

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That we're having is that there are a couple areas that are particularly narrow, so the city.

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Snow removal equipment can't fit on and then the rutted bricks and then we're also looking at.

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The drainage issues we have identified a couple locations where there's some uh drainage issues.

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From the street that are migrating onto the sidewalks and then the curb settlement as well.

B

So that's the current conditions. uh What we're proposing to do is replace all the sidewalks with.

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Concrete sidewalks that are five and a half foot minimum widths that will meet ada standards as.

B

Well, as the city standards, uh we're may generally maintain the same sidewalk layout again, there's a.

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Couple of sections that I can go into more detail where we're going to be widening uh so there the.

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Curve is going to come out in the street slightly and the alignment's slightly different, we're.

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In areas that there is grass strips we're going to be containing those craft strips.

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um And then all the all the curving will get reset to standard vertical curving, like you know,.

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uh So this is the first, the first section of the the project which is from columbia to union. It.

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Kind of shows uh the new new sidewalks on both sides, they're highlighted in blue and then the.

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Crosswalks are highlighted in green, um so that's from columbia to union. We also brought some.

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Some drawings uh paper drawings that we can look at afterwards anybody's got any specific questions.

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And this is the section from union to winter. This is the section where we're.

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We're considering doing some whitening of the sidewalks from cabot.

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uh Over through winter street, that'll allow for the uh city, snow removal, equipment.

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And and then it continues on up this side.

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Our proposal uh ends on the north side of the street, just as you get to the park.

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And then, on the south side street continues up to the pharaoh's.

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Funeral home, which has new concrete there, so those are the limits on that end. um So.

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An excess or public input, which is what this meeting is all about feedback from from all of you.

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And the next step after that is finalize design and then go out to bid. Our hope is.

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To go out to bid by possibly the end of april and construction sometime in the summer fall this year.

B

With that, I open the floor for questions.

D

A great project that happened was like 10 years ago um and on the north side of the street.

D

um South north south, our side of the street anyway, um where you're, not where the, where the house is.

D

That's only about that old, I don't think so. You know because they've.

D

Got they've got the drainage wraps in them, so they've been around for a while.

D

But anyway, the the curbing and the brick you know as far as aesthetics go you're, leaving the.

D

Brick on the other side of the street and you're changing that's. You know my side of the street to.

D

Concrete which aesthetically for that area, which I think is a beautiful area of the city, doesn't work.

D

The same way, but my you know I you know, I think you know these bricks have been there.

D

For a while, the black search probably caused, because you know the foundation of the bricks.

D

Wasn't done properly, I noticed about the city of the other projects that they.

D

Had that they put asphalt underneath them, they tried to shore them up, so they didn't.

D

Now- and you know that section of state street.

D

You know so, basically, I would like to keep the brick I think it looks. It looks better and you.

D

Know if you're going to keep the grip on the other side, I think you can just match it, and I know that.

D

You know ferrules, it stops at ferrules because you know they made an exception at that point.

D

They were putting brick down, but for pharaohs he made an exception because of the funeral.

D

He asked for he asked for it and they gave it to him and so and like in front of the house. Next to.

D

The on the corner of uh state and summer, there's brick there so you're not taking that brick out so.

D

At least that section where there's brick.

B

Our intent is to reset that curving. That's there. um It is some of that stuff is seven eight inches.

B

Thick, I mean it's. The new curving is not the same, so we we are anticipating uh resetting all that.

E

So when you say reset you're going to replace the existing old curving that stable.

E

Stuff: no, no, no reset the curve so you're going to keep the original granite. Okay, yeah, okay,.

F

Hi, andrea ballard, I just entire community.

F

So are you starting at madison? I can't tell where you're starting so we're starting at uh columbia,.

B

Columbia is where that little pocket park is okay. If you did decide to walk on the other.

B

Some of the sidewalks are too narrow for those machines. Yes, some of the sidewalks. It's up.

B

In certain locations on the south side also have utility poles that narrow it up even more so. The.

B

Cloud can't fit so I'm really wondering between us there's a big house and then there's the union and.

F

We have a big drainage problem. There, there's no sidewalk, the sidewalk says no parking. Our.

F

Neighbors often park there fine, but there's a big drainage problem at the bottom of our driveway. At.

F

The end of the sidewalk so wondering how much what we'll do about that? It's always very icy.

B

The water ends up hunting in front of the steps of the house there. It might be the one.

F

There's no sidewalks here I don't know what your plans are. Oh.

C

We're also resurfacing the street at the same time, so between the sidewalks on the street.

F

And you'll probably reset the curve, so we don't keep it definitely and I'm going to add a.

E

Absolutely I'm at the corner of state and winter. So, basically, I'm at the bottom of that.

E

Hill and that's a real serious drainage issue, there's always a puddle out front winter street.

E

I get a ton of water, it's constant! So what are you? What are you going to do for the drainage issues.

E

Is necessary to make sure.

E

And we'll we might go in with a little bit raise the grater there's no catch basinger that you.

E

Can put in there there's no training system that, for our drainage system, ends at cabin street and.

E

One of the questions I had was, um I don't know if this has ever been done in the past 25 or 30 years.

E

All the sewer and plumbing work and the ground utility work due to the various other streets.

E

Has that already been done on state street? No, it hasn't, but the.

C

Okay, so we eventually we'll work our way through the entire city.

C

We've been at it for 25 years now, and it's just right now we're working on um willard and we're.

C

Working on union- and that section you know, and so the areas are kind of programmed our way through.

C

And just things are just at the point now that they're unsafe so we're putting some money into.

C

The road system, understanding that we'll be coming back at some point in our lifetimes to finish, but.

C

That's just not programmed at this time so we're going through and we're fixing the problems. Okay,.

G

uh David random 720 state street I'm directly across well, I'm right next.

G

To mark I'm directly across from mootment park and yeah, I'm between.

G

I understand that over time through the decades things change- um and I understand that.

G

But just from a historic and aesthetic point of view, um I would just love to see the brick.

G

Redone, rather than just you know, concrete again I'd rather I'd like to see it remain in that.

G

Nice historic condition because it's for no other reason than aesthetics and it's you know.

E

Beautiful what would it take to get brick there? I assume the is cost you in maintenance, um low.

C

Real policy, the policy is worth downtown, concrete everywhere else, so you know we, as you know,.

C

Historic district military in the downtown gets brick. Everything else gets concrete.

C

You know you can see that there's we've done some things like on this constraint. We've done that.

C

Decorative brick edge to kind of flare it up some, but in general,.

C

Uniformity really so we'd like to try to get some folks that are online.

A

I apologize to everybody. The the technology doesn't seem to be cooperating this evening.

A

um You would think after two and a half how many years, two years of pain and suffering, we would.

A

Have this down by now, but we don't so. I see ben a well wood, so I'm going to say: go ahead! um Ben.

H

um Yes, can you hear me yes, okay, awesome yeah, so I was just looking through it like.

H

In the presentation, I didn't actually see any of the photos through it, so I really just wanted to.

H

Look at and see what okay, it doesn't meet. Ada! That's what brick surfaces.

H

Okay, awesome, so I I apologize. I was having a hard time balancing um so I know nobody saw this.

A

Presentation that's online, so we can quickly go through the slides.

A

um So people can see them and then but you go ahead and continue to ask questions as I do that.

H

Okay sounds good. I if you can just go through them, that'd be really I'd really appreciate that.

H

A

So mark you want to yeah.

A

Oh there we go nice, so this slide shows the limits of construct.

B

The limits of construction, which is from colombia to um mid block uh between uh winter and summer,.

H

Awesome, thank you hold on and I'm right there on that corner of state and cabot. This slide shows.

B

Just some some photos of the existing conditions of the brick, the asphalt and the curving.

B

This slide talks about some of the issues that's associated with the existing conditions, such as.

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8880 compliance talks about the running in the bricks, the asphalt the mix of materials.

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Surface materials, the narrow section of a sidewalk, that's primarily between cabot and.

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Winter and some of the issues that we've identified for drainage and the curb settling.

B

And then this this slide uh discusses the uh proposed work um which would be to get to the.

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City standard of five and a half foot wide um and and to maintain the city's.

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Standard for concrete, as well as it just describes that for the general uh generally we're.

B

Maintaining the same layout while at the same time retaining the grass strips where they're currently.

B

There and that the new sidewalks will be fully ada compliant uh and then the resetting of the.

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Curves uh to vertical- and I clarified a little bit earlier about that being resetting the existing.

B

Curve uh and then some small areas would get infilled if we need an additional curve.

B

And the next three slides are just the drawing sets that show the specific areas and locations.

B

Of the sidewalk on both sides being replaced, which are really just schematics at this point.

A

All right and deminoff.

I

I

So I have a few questions. um First of all, I wasn't clear: are both sides of the street being changed.

I

To concrete yes, okay, yes, okay um and are the granite curves being retained? Yes, yes, okay,.

I

I you know I'm at cabin state I've our brick is in pretty good condition. I you know kind of fall into.

I

The category of folks who want to maintain brick, um but I'm wondering um if uh something similar.

I

I have gotten used to the ones on islington street. I, like the brick decoration. If you know.

I

In honor of our brick sidewalks, some sort of brick decoration could be retained or uh incorporated.

A

I think that's a reasonable request.

A

We definitely look at seeing if we could accommodate that. Thank you. A pretty good.

E

Idea, yeah keeping some of the history part of the brick sidewalk I'm getting rid of all of it.

E

Okay um ben did you have another question.

H

um No, I do not uh everything that you just laid out was very clear. Thank you. Okay,.

A

um I'm not seeing any other people in the zoom if there are more questions um decision we're going.

A

To be working on this tree itself is anything going to be done to try to manage the speed that.

B

People are zooming down that street with because we've had some fairly hairy drivers, sometimes and.

E

It's even worse now, well until livington street being dug up and people are detouring downstate.

E

He's right I mean it's just they just don't even think they just come flying down there.

E

And now there's more traffic than normal, so.

B

So there are some existing bump outs that we're going to be maintaining, um I think, is.

A

This was not intended to be a street reconstruction project, it was a sidewalk project.

A

So you know those are there's a lot of folks that are requesting traffic coming.

A

Throughout the city- and you know it's definitely something that you know we're aware of.

A

We usually start with um stealth radar to gain access or gain.

A

Knowledge of what the speeds are and what types of treatments could be beneficial. um Typically.

A

um A lot of folks now like speed tables but they're, not really effective at speeds. You.

A

Know less than 30 miles an hour um and 30 miles an hour on stage street is very fast.

C

I think we'd be willing to put the still stand up. Yeah. Well, we'll start the process see what.

C

The speeds actually are because sometimes they feel different than they actually are.

A

But the the process is that there's a.

A

A traffic calming request uh that goes in um and by talking about how you're, creating that request.

A

And then we do the data collection and then we review the parking traffic and safety committee.

A

And then we look at options that could potentially be incorporated into the roadway to improve.

A

Reduce speeds, if it's worn, if it's born, I do have one question- is there's a city of a policy on.

E

People's shrubbery, that is on the sidewalk there's a is that I'm not going to call it. I chuckle just.

A

Because it's an ongoing challenge! Okay, because I know where you, even if you lengthen the sidewalk.

E

Two people may still be able to walk down side by side because the shrubs come out so far.

E

um And I'm sure the snow cloud cuts them back every winter, but they just brought me back again.

C

I usually hire.

A

Even in the fall before.

C

I can't understand.

C

So that actually helped corral corrales speed a little bit.

C

Like yeah, we're making minute adjustments, we're not making wholesale gigantic adjustments.

C

Basically, if you look at where the drains are on the street they're, this far away from the curb.

C

We're going to move the curb so the drains actually work. So is that going to impact the.

E

Parking on the street at all, no, no should not. We are able to do all that, so I figured you guys.

C

Should ask you're not going to rip up all the asphalt and recreate or just no we're going to.

C

Mill and repave the exception of the new industry we'll make some field adjustments, while we're out.

C

There and make sure that any drains the driveways now right now flood we'll fix those so that when.

E

We're done everything's back to work. So when you do that regrading, where is that going to.

E

Direct all the water, because again I'm at the bottom of there, so the cabin street is lower than.

C

Where your house is yeah, so we want to get that water to chemistry. That's how we're going to do it.

E

Because a lot of that that bad drainage caused significant erosion, which I've spent.

E

Thousands of dollars on the front of my house in the caribbean reset so.

E

I I don't want to find myself back in that position again.

A

And did you have another question your hand was still up? Oh, yes, I just wanted to confirm.

I

The sewers are not being done as at the same time as the sidewalks correct. Okay, thank you.

F

This isn't this project, but is there a future project to fix the sidewalk when you're walking to.

F

Hannaford's, when you're right across from the new apartments.

F

I have to walk in the street and it's slippery and the winter time.

F

Is terrible there is there any hope that that'll be behind the restaurants.

J

C

So that's another challenge, hopefully someday. We can overcome that job, okay, so so to that end,.

A

I mean that area is something that we're we are working on, trying to improve the sidewalks around.

A

The entire area, if you've noticed on chevrolet avenue, we just finished putting a new section of.

A

Sidewalk in the intent is acknowledging the amount of pedestrian traffic and the amount of people.

A

That really want to be able to access places by foot uh we're working to improve that. That is.

A

One section that is, you know, we're aware of it. It's you know it's not a it's challenging. It's.

A

Not a simple solution right, it was easy. It would be done right now. um I see nick has his hand up.

K

Can you hear me hello, thank you. Have you guys had a question we're at the corner of state and union.

K

And uh it's certainly kind of a unique situation. There was previously.

K

A series of garages here um and our house was built in- uh I guess it was 2011 or 2012.

K

And there's a drive or there's a garage um coming down from the residence, but I was curious what.

K

They were if we were getting specific into the plans if there was going to be like a curb put in.

K

In front of them put in curbs, so it looks like normal sidewalk around the house. Okay,.

K

Okay- and I I just want to reiterate- um I don't know who said it earlier, but there.

K

Was talk about maybe adding kind of that brick flare? I'm just curious.

K

Or definitely in support of that as a main artery coming out of downtown.

E

So matches I'm sorry we're definitely going to take a look at that. Okay, great! Thank you. Okay,.

A

Anybody else online that has questions.

E

What do you do with all those bricks you gonna dig up.

C

Most of them get thrown away. That's the honest answer. It is so costly to have somebody come.

C

Pick all the bricks up.

L

um Stacy moore at 837 state so in between.

L

My whole front is submerged every time it rains and I've tons of water in my basement. So I'm.

L

Excited about the concrete, because right now it's asphalt, but I don't know: if would there be plans.

L

For a catch basin around there or, like I don't know, I'm at the lowest part in the whole area.

C

So I think we think that and the design is not done okay, but what happened is here's the history.

C

The early 80s, the city did a sewer separation, a higher contractor, and I think it goes. It went.

C

Right down your side of the street, that's why all the curves are all wacky and wonky.

C

Everything I think it was just compassion feather, so I think once we redo everything we.

C

Should really get the water in the drain without it having additional drains now? That being said,.

C

If we find once we get into the engineering that we need to add a drain, we will.

F

The length of time that you will there won't be any parking expect like four to six weeks.

F

Well, we'll do we'll try to do one side of the street at a time and we'll work on the street.

C

Methodically so you can see us coming and we'll take sections as we go. Are you going to put a.

E

Only parking sign for what's going on because you're going to turn the parking out.

A

M

Yeah, I just wondered what the time frame was for this project to be done.

M

Like is it this summer that is happening? Is it next year? What's the time frame, brad we're going.

C

To endeavor, to have the plans done in the next month? Send the project out to bed, hopefully glad.

C

That we get a contractor because everybody's busy, if there's nobody that doesn't know that.

C

And if we get a contractor, we intend to release this summer and this fall okay. Thank you.

A

I do not see anybody's hands up in the zoom attendees. Does anybody else have a question? I.

J

Don't have a question, but I uh um made a note that one of my concerns is the trees that the damage.

J

To trees, that happens when sidewalks get done, and there aren't really very many trees left on state.

J

Street that are going to get impacted, there's one locust there. I think in that side, right.

J

Across from the park, but um I just want to make a comment, but that's, I think, an important aspect.

J

Of portsmouth at this point is to try to save the large trees that we have left yeah. I got two trees.

J

It's right out there right, so we in general.

A

And we have a number of very skilled arborists that are very attentive, so we bring them into.

A

The projects and we ask for their input, you know, maintaining the trees street trees is very.

A

Important, we invest a lot in the trees, there's a lot of value, not just from an aesthetic. It's.

A

Environmental benefits, you know, there's a whole gravel yeah, you name it. Trees are our friends and.

A

We know they're beautiful, we want to maintain them. Unfortunately, sometimes construction does impact.

A

Them um you know we try not to have that happen. I don't think it's gonna happen. I agree, but I'm just.

A

You know there are times when things happen, so I I I I became aware of it really, because I watched.

J

The video of the tree and greenery meeting the other night and chuck ashley arborist mentioned.

J

It he said it straight up, trees, get damaged and sidewalks get refilled, and I was like.

J

Oh so I started paying attention now, he's 100 correct. um However, there's ways to minimize that.

A

Potential, but there are usually what we do is we'll walk the site ahead of time, identify the.

A

Potential treatment, potential areas of damage um and then figure out if there's ways to avoid it.

A

But thank you you're right.

A

So we will post this presentation on the website, along with the video reporting of this meeting.

A

You know, obviously you know we're available if you have additional questions or comments.

A

Please you know reach out, um you know this is this is kind of the fun stuff that we get to do.

A

Absolutely updates you're on the web page. If you go under dpw.

C

There's a project pull down at the top one of the tabs says sidewalks, so we're going to.

C

Pan away people haven't estate street together in one contract they're all in there in the same job,.

C

Just what sidewalks? What's the likelihood that the request from the break that I made.

D

Can actually happen, or is the city so into.

D

The whole thing with, if you were telling me that you're ripping up all the brick on the.

D

Other side of stage and we're going to replace everything, so it all worked the same. You know it.

D

Would maybe need to swallow, but if the brick is going to stay over there, that section, I really.

C

D

Walkways into my house and with the iron fence that I have with the concrete, with the.

D

With the granite that we have around the fence- and we have granite up and down that section.

D

See that section of state street is you know of the older houses? You know all those houses.

D

Were built around the same time in the 1850s and you know so they have some historical.

D

Value and I think with the park and what we've done with the park, a great department and the.

D

Church and everything I just think it's just all it all melts better. If you need the brick, I mean.

E

It's definitely going to change the look of the outside of my house, yeah 100 percent mine too. Yes,.

E

It's going to have a huge I'd, much rather all rip but yeah, because I just I talked to him about it.

D

On the street surveys- and it's just, how do you get yeah bark? How do we get? I would leave that you.

D

Know the apron that goes into my front door and he goes well. We come up two feet onto the property.

D

An exception to the to the rule. Looking at how it looks, you know where you're going to.

D

Widen the street- and you know down by winter, to cabin. You know that little section there making.

D

We'll take a serious look at your questions because you got one two three, four seven.

J

Two seriously performs for you.

J

I mean you know, we'll take a look at it.

J

Okay, thank you.

J

I think the um sign thing you put up is really great for thank you and engaging.

J

The public! Yes right, because we noticed that when we put little flyers into people's horse.

C

They don't, it was really they don't. Take the surveys they're going to read all the flyers.

C

That's really irritating. They stick something on my door.

E

But the signs that was, you can't miss the slide. No, it's right in my window, so it was. I know I think.

D

It was good because it was very, it was performance. I was really happy until they saved concrete.

J

So and again that was something that was mentioned in the video that I watched at the.

J

Greenery meeting and they said we have a hard time communicating to the public.

J

You know we have all these outreach things, but getting people involved.

J

Is difficult that really it really was right on your face and we could see it.

A

Yeah, that being said, we have a limited number of signs. Sometimes we don't have enough available.

A

To put about we, you know we try to get the signs up for these types of meetings. This time I don't.

A

Want to just I'm going to disappoint people at some point, um but you're setting the stage for it.

F

This nice new sidewalk, are you going to move your snow removal down.

F

Further down the block, starting from you and then up towards the during the storm.

A

I actually was contemplating whether we eliminated that whole section to tell you the truth.

A

um Not to knock to the loadout, uh have you ever tried to drive.

E

Down that street I have coming from hannaford where there's snow banks.

J

It's the only store in town and it came out grocery store, yeah yeah, oh now, they're gonna. Do it.

F

No, we wouldn't do anything yeah. We think.

F

And we do loadouts and we do mini loadouts for areas that are restricted by snowbanks.

A

In addition to the larger downtown loadout, the the the cost of those loadouts is about.

A

Forty five thousand dollars a night, um it's it's very expensive. It's very labor intensive.

A

um And you know, obviously you know we wanna make sure you have parking, um but that's late.

A

That's nighttime right now, right right, sometimes specifically. Well I'm just saying. Maybe we stopped.

C

Doing at night, but we started doing it during the day right and we're looking at that. So.

A

Because it's a neighborhood and not in an area that people really want to listen to right so.

A

What we would plan on doing would post the street to say we're gonna, you know, there'll be no parking.

A

For a day time and then in the daytime, it has been done: yeah really bad yeah, 2015., yeah right.

A

Yes, that's normally given 30 30 days, 28 minutes winter street was closed for a month.

A

um Let's make sure we're not seeing anybody else up top here all right well check. It chat.

A

E

Oh, that red buzz beautiful.

E

E

Yeah, it's like.

D

A

Well, thank you all for coming out. Thank you thank you and we look forward to.

A

Making some improvements out there I just want to thank all of you. I know.

G

It's a tough job, but I don't envy it at all. Balancing all the different issues and sides.

G

Well, I'm sure, but I just wanted to thank you for listening.

A

All right: well, I'm going to turn the recording off.