Watertown City Council Unanimously Rejects $27,815 in Sidewalk Assessments for 5th Avenue Residents

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The Watertown City Council unanimously voted against charging property owners for sidewalk replacements tied to the 2026 Neighborhood Street Reconstruction Project No. 2503.

Rejecting Resolution No. 26-37 relieves 35 adjacent landowners along 5th Avenue North, stretching from Skyline Drive to U.S. Highway 81, of paying a combined $27,815.06 for the new concrete infrastructure. If approved, affected homeowners would have paid $9.86 per linear foot after the city's sidewalk reimbursement program.

The vote followed resident complaints during the meeting's open forum regarding the destructive nature of the summer road project.

Residents Rita Ralph and Brenda Owens addressed the council to express frustration over the quality of the concrete replacements at their homes. Rahlf, residing at 16 5th Ave. NE, and Owens, who own property at 501 N. Maple St., both said construction machinery tore out their previously rebar-reinforced driveways. They told the council the contractor replaced the driveways with thinner, unreinforced concrete.

"I would like to be whole by having my driveway put back the way I had it back before this construction started," Owens said.

Ralph noted her original concrete was designed to last another 20 years and questioned who would be responsible if the unreinforced replacement fails within the next decade.

City Manager Recommends Waiving Fees

City Manager Alan Stager recommended that the council formally reject the assessment resolution. Stager noted that the residents had already been significantly inconvenienced by the summer-long project and that the sidewalk costs represented just over 1% of the total reconstruction budget.

"As I have reviewed our various major street reconstruction projects over the last five years, I found that they're often contentious, and in most cases, the area of contention is sidewalk assessments on the projects," Stager said.

Stager suggested that future city design principles should prioritize working within existing neighborhood footprints to minimize property destruction.

"We have better things to do in terms of staff time than assessments that amount to relatively small dollar amounts to our citizens after they have already accommodated the lengthy period of construction and the disruption to their lives," Stager said.

Council Defeats the Resolution

Council members echoed Stager's sentiment before the final vote.

Councilman Heuer supported waiving the fees to make amends for a summer of road closures and neighborhood disruption. Councilman Schutte praised the city manager for championing the issue, noting it was more effective than having "seven cooks in the kitchen" trying to draft a solution from the dais.

On future infrastructure policies, Councilman Mohrmann asked whether rejecting the resolution would set a blanket precedent for upcoming projects. Stager clarified that while street and existing sidewalk reconstructions are generally viewed as a city obligation, the council will still need to assess neighborhoods on a case-by-case basis where sidewalks have never existed.

Mayor Ried Holien agreed that lifting the financial burden was the appropriate move for the 5th Avenue neighborhood.

"Having people pay for it just adds a layer of complexity and acrimony that is unnecessary," Mayor Holien said.

In a procedural move, Councilman Jurrens introduced the motion to approve the resolution, and Councilman Peters seconded it, solely to allow the council to debate the item and formally vote it down.

The council then voted unanimously to defeat the assessments, with Jurrens, Peters, Schutte, Councilman Allen, Heuer, Mayor Holien, and Mohrmann all voting nay.