GREENFIELD — A westside subdivision will finally get the finishing touches it has needed for more than five years.
The city of Greenfield will hire a company to wrap up sidewalk and road work left incomplete in the Meridian East neighborhood after the subdivision’s initial developer pulled out during the housing crisis, officials said.
Meridian East Development Co., the subdivision’s developer, left the neighborhood with no sidewalks in common areas and rough and bumpy streets when the company went out of business, said Josh Stangle, who lives in the neighborhood and is president of the homeowners association.
The work won’t cost taxpayers any money. The city recently reached a settlement with the insurance company that signed off on an agreement guaranteeing the work would be complete, and a $67,000 check is on its way.
Last year, city officials declared the developer backed out of a promise it made to complete public infrastructure work in the subdivision. Even though the company went out of business, the insurance company it worked through is on the hook for ensuring work is completed, city engineer Karla Vincent said.
The streets are in terrible shape because the final surfacing layer was never applied, Vincent said.
Officials expect to receive the check soon. Once it arrives, they’ll work to hire a contractor to put a top coat on the streets’ asphalt and build sidewalks in common areas, Vincent said.
She plans to seek estimates from contractors for the work soon.
“The residents have been patient, so I’d like to get that out of the way quickly,” she said.
That’s welcome news for homeowners and the homeowners association, Stangle said.
It’s been a long process for homeowners fighting to see the work complete, he said.
“It just feels like there is something missing in the community with the roads looking the way they do and not having sidewalks,” he said.
There are no sidewalks connecting the subdivision to other neighborhoods, and the streets have many potholes that create an overall rough ride, Stangle said.
He and his neighbors are eagerly anticipating the project being completed.
“To finally get that good news that the check is on its way was just really a sense of accomplishment,” he said.
City councilman John Patton has been working with homeowners to get the issue resolved. He was contacted because he lives in the north side Copeland Farms neighborhood, which has the same management company as Meridian East.
It took the city about a year to reach a settlement with the insurance company, a timetable slower than what city officials would have liked to seen, said Patton, who does not represent the city district where Meridian East is located.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t move quicker, but I’m very happy it has finally been resolved in their favor,” he said. “It’s important for us to help people we come across. Even though we represent a specific district, we also represent the whole town.”
