After waiting years, installation of sidewalks around McMinnville Civic Center has begun. The process should continue for approximately two months.
“The sidewalk will circle the McMinnville Civic Center complex,” said McMinnville Public Works assistant director Brad Hennessee. “It will also connect West Main Street to the Civic Center with a sidewalk on the west side of Clark Boulevard.”
The city applied for a sidewalk grant in 2006. It was awarded in 2007 and totaled $208,000 — $166,000 with a 20 percent match of $42,000.
Not all the money will be used due to the low bids received.
“We tried to estimate how much sidewalk we could get done with the money we had,” said McMinnville Public Works director Bill Brock. “The bids came back lower than we thought. So we aren’t spending the entire grant amount.”
Cost for the project will be $146,068, which includes a 20 percent match by the city of $29,213. It will take approximately two months to install the sidewalks, if weather permits Brock says.
Over the last five years, McMinnville officials have had several discussions regarding sidewalks. One of those was in 2009 and pertained to naming the new sidewalk after McMinnville’s first city administrator.
“Could we consider naming that the Tom Sprowl Walkway or something?” Alderman Billy Wood asked in 2009. “Is that out of the question or is it something we can consider?”
Sprowl was McMinnville’s first city administrator. He moved here from San Antonio, Texas in March 1988 and worked for 13 years.
After retiring from the city and moving back to San Antonio, Sprowl died four months later. Officials began discussing a memorial to him at that time. There have been no memorials established thus far.
The recommendation to consider naming the sidewalks after Sprowl did not come to a vote.