By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — A Post Road East property owner’s failure to comply with a town order “to replace the deficient condition of the sidewalk” sparked discussion by the Board of Selectwomen this week.

The owner — 991-995 Post Road East LLC — represented by Paul Ganim of Bridgeport, instead is appealing the repair order.

The issue arose after a Department of Public Works employee noticed the property owner had started excavation of the sidewalk at 993 Post Road East, in front of the Flower Basket florist shop, without a permit. 

After investigating, the DPW staff found that in addition to not having a permit from the town, the work was not being done by a licensed, insured contractor, Public Works Director Peter Ratkiewich told Wednesday’s meeting of the selectwomen.

Worst of all, he said, the disrupted sidewalk poses a hazard for pedestrians, both in and outside of the torn-up area. 

“We have identified defects on the remaining part of the sidewalks” — 2-to-3-inch gaps that pose tripping hazards to the public walking down the sidewalk, Ratkiewich said.

There are also water meters set in the walkway in holes 2 inches deep, “another tripping hazard,” he said. “It’s been torn up and blocked off and it really needs to be fixed quickly.”

Some commercial property owners do not realize that, in addition to removing snow and ice from the sidewalks on their property, they also must maintain the walkway and fix or replace it when necessary, the public works director said. 

According to the town’s sidewalk ordinance, once the public works director issues a notice, a commercial property owner has 30 days to make the cited repairs, Assistant Town Attorney Eileen Lavigne Flug told the selectwomen. If the owner disagrees with the town order, it can be appealed, she said.

In this case, “the property owner needs to find a contractor who is licensed and insured as of yesterday,” Ratkiewich said. 

Later in the meeting, he said he believes the owner made an effort to hire an appropriate contractor to fix the torn up section of sidewalk, but would not agree to fix the full stretch as the town requested.

The owner subsequently appealed the town’s order to fix the entire sidewalk fronting the property.

“The Department of Public Works is opposed to granting the appeal,” Ratkiewich said.

However, before the selectwomen voted on the owner’s appeal, it was discovered that the property owner, who did not attend the meeting and did not have a representative there, may not have been given proper notification of the meeting.

The issue was tabled for a special Board of Selectwomen meeting to be held within 21 days, in order to comply with legal requirements for ruling on an appeal.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and currently teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.