Lomira Streets Committee Creates Sidewalk Maintenance and Safety Program

The Village of Lomira Streets Committee met on Wednesday, November 5, to draft a sidewalk safety and maintenance program.

Chapter 20, Article II, Section 20-46 of the Lomira Municipal Code mentions that property owners whose sidewalks require repair in accordance with the guidelines in Section 20-44 will be provided with “the sidewalk maintenance program.” However, the village currently does not have such a program and hasn’t been enforcing the sidewalk maintenance ordinance.

The village plans to begin enforcing the ordinance in 2026 to increase safety and follow the ordinance objectives outlined in Section 20-42. These objectives include, but are not limited to:

1. “ Protect the general public from injury by identifying defects and ensuring their timely repair.
2. Protect the general taxpayer from the expense of liability claims due to personal injury.
3. Protect individual property owners by notifying them that a hazardous condition exists and assisting with correction of that hazard.”

According to the ordinance, it is the property owner’s responsibility to maintain their sidewalks. Because of this, one of the main concerns of the committee while drafting the program was imposing an unplanned financial burden on property owners.

“It’s going to be a substantial payment for a fair number of people,” said Committee Chair Gary More.

The committee decided to notify property owners of the upcoming ordinance enforcement and sidewalk safety and maintenance program in a letter that will be mailed with the December tax bills to give them some time to financially prepare.

They also determined that the Department of Public Works (DPW) will mark sidewalks in the village that require repairs with spray paint. Depending on the DPW workload, the sidewalks will be marked by roughly June 1, 2026.

The property owner will have until spring 2027 to repair marked sections of their sidewalk. In the spring of 2027, the village will send letters to property owners whose sidewalks were not repaired, explaining that the village will repair them at the property owners’ expense, as permitted in Section 20-47. The village will then complete the repairs in sections based on contractor specifications and the level of sidewalk deterioration determined by the DPW.

“We’re technically giving them from December 2025 all the way to spring 2027 to have it fixed,” said Trustee Eric Kohlmann.

“It’s in their best interest to make the repairs immediately, but if it is not followed or repaired, then in spring 2027, the village steps in,” reiterated Administrator-Clerk-Treasurer Jenna Rhien.