Monroe County grants pedestrian-access easement to City of Bloomington for Centerstone sidewalk

The Monroe County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 14 granted a pedestrian-access easement of about 0.009 acres to the City of Bloomington to formalize a continuous sidewalk and to allow a federally required curb ramp reconstruction in front of the Centerstone building on Rogers Street.

Kendall Kinoki of the City of Bloomington Engineering Department told commissioners the curb ramp reconstruction is required by federal law and that part of the sidewalk crosses county property. “The best way to formalize this for the future is to just put it in a pedestrian access easement,” Kinoki said. The work will also include roadway resurfacing.

Commissioners asked about maintenance. Kinoki said the sidewalk within the pedestrian access easement will become the city’s responsibility, but snow removal is typically the adjacent property owners’ responsibility and will remain so — which in this case means the county will retain responsibility for snow clearance along that sidewalk.

The motion to grant the easement carried on a recorded vote noted in the minutes as “2–0.”