SW0101-CS010516May 16, 2001
Honorable Mayor Candy Scheehan
255 Parkway Blvd ~
Coppell, TX 75019 -
Dear Mayor Scheehan,
I'm writing to you out of frustration because I have exhausted all attempts on the
telephone and I do not know who else in our City's administration to contact
about this situation.
2 Years ago (June 30, 1999 to be exact) my family and I moved to Coppell. We
were really happy to find a house in Coppell that was large enough for our family
yet within our price range. It's a beautiful house except for one flaw; where our
front walkway joined the sidewalk was sunken and uneven. It was so uneven that
in a few places the concrete was sticking up 2-3 inches above the rest making it a
very hazardous situation. Our children and friends were constantly tripping on
the sidewalk and walkway. I called the City Engineers office shortly after moving
in to find out if I was responsible for fixing my walkway and sidewalk or if the
City was. The person I spoke with told me that the city was responsible for
maintaining the sidewalk from the curb by the street to one concrete square past
the edge of the sidewalk closest to my house but beyond that it was my
responsibility. He said there were exceptions to this policy for severe cases. He
said he would inspect my sidewalk and let me know. He came out within the next
few days and inspected the sidewalk. He called me to tell me the severity of my
sidewalk warranted an exception to policy. He said the City would repair the
sidewalk and the adjoining portion of my walkway up to and including the second
slab from my sidewalk to my house. He said this was approved because the
problem was continuous from the curb to my sidewalk and to repair only the
sidewalk would leave the hazardous condition consequently leaving the job half
done. He marked the area with orange spray paint. He told me it would take a
while but it would get done. About 2 weeks ago someone came out and remarked
the same area with orange paint. About a week ago some workmen came out and
started working on my sidewalk. I was really happy to see this as I have been
waiting for almost 2 years. When they completed the work I ~'ealized they
stopped one slab short of what was marked to be replaced. The worker explained
that they could only do what the city contracted them to do but I could pay to
have the extra work done. He said he would charge $80. I contacted Larry Davis
(5/8/01) to see about this and he confirmed this. I told him I would pay the extra
because my sidewalk is not much better now than before. He said he would have
the contractor contact me to have the work done. A woman foreman came by
5/10/01 and told my wife that now that the work is completed they probably
won't be back for a long time.
I am very disappointed in the way the City of Coppell has handled this whole
affair. I feel I was misled and lied to for the last 2 years because I have been
expecting my sidewalk to get fixed only to find out that it only got half done.
Nobody bothered to communicate this to me. I only found out what I know
because I inquired after the work was completed. I was never given an option to
have the extra work done while they were doing it, which is when it should have
been done. The workmen spilled some concrete that stuck to the sidewalk on one
side and chipped a large piece out of the other side while they were removing
some of the old concrete. They never repaired these errors. I still have a very
unsafe situation and it doesn't look any better that before.
Any assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Stuart Tennyson
235 Woodhurst Dr.
Coppell, TX 75019