The Ripon City Council recently approved maintenance contracts with Precision Emprise and Vaughan Construction to handle the job of removing sidewalk trip hazards.

“Under the law, it’s the property owner who is responsible for maintaining the sidewalks,” Mayor Leo Zuber said at the July 9 regular monthly session. “Under this program, the owner has the option of using the city-hired contractor to perform the repairs at the same rate or hire a separate contractor altogether.”

According to Engineering Supervisor James Pease, staff had sought proposals from contractors in connection with the recent ordinance update of the Ripon Municipal Code “Sidewalk Repair, Maintenance or Replacement.”

Precision Emprise LLC — the concrete contractor based out of Burlingame has worked for the City of Ripon in the past — was selected to perform the horizontal saw cutting, when appropriate, to ensure the trip hazards are properly eliminated.

Meanwhile, Vaughan Construction submitted the lowest proposal for removing and replacing concrete sidewalk. The Ripon-based Vaughan is no stranger to the City, having successfully handled sidewalk and handicap ramp replacement.

The maintenance contracts for the removal of sidewalk trip hazards calls for Precision Emprise to not exceed $10,000 while Vaughan Construction to not exceed $50,000. Both will be paid via the Street & Road Fund.

Private parties are responsible for sidewalk repairs and will have the options.

“If private parties responsible for repairs elect to use the City hired Contractors, they will reimburse the City for work performed,” Pease said. 

Zuber added: “If the property owner does not get the work done in the allowed time, a contractor could be sent to do the work — the property owner would receive the bill or a lien would be placed on their property.”