The Truesdale Board of Aldermen is considering taking ownership of the streets in the Countryside Mobile Home Park. At the board’s Aug. 13 meeting, Mayor Jerry Cannon said he and city officials had met with the park’s ownership to discuss a cost-share agreement to bring the streets up to city code. 

Cannon said the city had already discussed making some smaller repairs in the park where snowplows had caused damage, but that the owners had asked the city to consider lending a hand with some more significant work as well. 

Cannon suggested the city go out for bid to see what the cost would be, with several options, including having a contractor conduct the work, or using city workers to perform some of the removal of existing concrete. 

He did express concern about the city conducting work on the park’s private streets. 

“That’s a whole other issue, if we want to share the cost with them to take over those streets, when those are private streets now, and the damage wasn’t done under the city’s watch,” said Cannon. 

The mobile home park’s streets have been a point of contention, and up until last year, one side of the park was blocked off by a gate, preventing through traffic. Last year the park opened that gate, providing an additional pass-through for school buses, snow plows and first responders. 

Alderman Mike Thomas felt it was worth at least discovering what the cost would be, and then the board could make a decision based on that information. 

“I agree it’s time to put this to bed, because I feel like that group of residents feels like they’re just isolated, they don’t feel like Truesdale residents,” said Thomas. 

Public Works Director Steven Harlan noted it would also be a big help to have access to those streets as the city’s Smith Street improvement project moves forward. 

The city finished the first phase of that project earlier this year and is currently pursuing grant funding for the second phase, which will widen Smith Street and repave it to Depot Street. 

The final phase will extend the improvements to N. Water Street, where Smith Street ends near the mobile home park. 

City Engineer John Choinka suggested the city solicit bids, and see what the cost would be under two different scenarios. The first would be hiring a company like Clarkson Construction to conduct all of the paving work, and the second would include Harlan and city staff removing the concrete slabs before a contractor moved in. 

The board unanimously approved moving forward with soliciting bids for a potential street improvement project.