Residents, business owners and other interested parties were on hand for a community update Tuesday on the Maysville downtown gas, water and sidewalks projects.
Maysville City Manager Matt Wallingford said city officials wanted to let the public know “where we are, where we’re going and what we have left.”
He turned to Projects Coordinator David Hord to explain the projects and the progress that has been made to this point. Hord said.
Columbia Gas is replacing gas mains and service lines from Wall Street to the Simon Kenton Bridge along Second Street, along with some side streets, including Sutton Street, Lower Market, Cherry Alley and Limestone Street. The city is replacing water lines along Second Street from Sutton Street to Government Street. No side streets are involved.
Most sidewalks are also being replaced in the downtown business district and, eventually, streets will be blacktopped.
The Columbia Gas project is primarily complete, Hord said, with a few main connections remaining. Most digging connected with the project is done, he said.
The water line replacement project is still in progress and will move from the western end of the project to the eastern end, Limestone to Market, Hord said.
“The worst of it is over from Market to Sutton,” he said.
Crews were moving in Wednesday to place a layer of blacktop over the dig areas and were expected to be done by late afternoon, Hord said. He said closing the dig sites with blacktop should reduce the amount of dust in the area and city crews will try to water down streets regularly until the projects are completed, also to hold down dust.
Many sidewalks in the downtown area are also being replaced, Hord said, and that project continues.
“We are really hoping to be out of there by Labor Day,” he said.
Hord said he realizes the inconvenience the simultaneous projects have caused for businesses and customers, but said officials thought it was better to get it all over with in a shorter period of time rather than “drag it our for three of four months” additionally.
Both Hord and Wallingford assured residents that the streets will be open and passable for Thursday’s Independence Day parade and for several festivals coming up within the next few weeks including Oktoberfest.
Wallingford said the city is willing to work with festival organizers to ensure that everything goes as planned.
Both men also reminded residents that the Columbia Gas project is out of their hands but that more had been accomplished by working with the company that if that had not been the case.
“We’ve been fortunate enough that they have worked with us,” Wallingford said.
Megan Brannon, who operates the Sprinkles of Hope Bakery in the Limestone Building, said the biggest fear of business owners is outlasting the projects.
“Our biggest fear is are we going to make it until it’s done,” she said, pointing out that businesses are not making sales goals because of the disruptions in the downtown area. “That’s the pain that we have.”
“We’ve done the best we can to minimize the impact,” Wallingford said. “It’s not easy, it’s just not.”
“There is no magic answer,” he said.
There were also questions about bump-outs planned in some areas and changing Second Street from two lanes to one. Most agreed that the street is too narrow to function effectively with two lanes, although that is the current designation. Wallingford said there will not be a lane divide added once the street is paved after the projects are completed.
Maysville-Mason County Industrial Development Authority Executive Director Owen McNeill said there are plans to come up with a new strategy to drive business to the downtown area.
“In the coming weeks we are going to be pulling that together,” he said.
City officials said residents should be prepared for a similar, if not more disruptive situation next year as gas and water lines are replaced along Third Street. Those projects could begin as early as January.
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