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By Tonya Sprague

Cleveland/Bradley County Greenway Board Vice-Chairman Bill Estes, a vocal supporter of  Greenway funding, received a pre-planned bonus during the

construction of phase III of the Greenway tie in. The plan for the phase III project included reconstruction of a residential driveway which was recently completed at 833 Highland Avenue, the home of  Estes, who is also a Cleveland City Councilman for Distrct 2. The cost of his new driveway was $9,930.80 according to the Greenway contract bid sheet.

Councilman Estes' property was the only property that received extensive work on a private driveway. A driveway on Brown Street had a short section added due to an error in the property construction plans, but Estes' property was actually improved.

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The plan sheet which details the construction of Estes' new driveway, is revision number one to the plan. This revision to the master plan is titled, change Estes drive location, dated January 18, 2005, almost two years after the original plan was proposed and while Estes was serving as a Greenway board member.

According to City Engineer Brian Beck, prior to this phase of the Greenway, a sidewalk did not connect the south end of the Greenway path at Willow Street with the city sidewalk system.  A sidewalk connector from Willow Street along Brown Avenue, left onto 8th Street to Highland Avenue was constructed as part of Greenway phase III.  This tie-in links the Greenway to the downtown sidewalk system. The route was chosen because it was the shortest connection point from the south end of the Greenway at Willow Street.

Beck said, "The reason for the concrete driveway at 833 Highland Avenue is there were significant alterations to the north side of 8th Street from Highland Avenue to Brown Avenue as part of the Greenway project."  And the Estes', "would not have been able to access onto 8th Street using their old concrete driveway and stormwater drainage would have been directed toward their house if the entire driveway had not been removed, re-graded, and replaced."

According to the elevation plan for 8th Street next to the driveway, before the curb and sidewalk modification were completed, rain water could flow directly from the 8th Street pavement into his yard. These modifications alone, without the new driveway, would have improved water diversion. Also, the original plan for the new sidewalk was higher in elevation than the actual construction. Had this sidewalk been constructed a little lower and sloped, the existing driveway could have been accessible. The new driveway was relocated and lengthened providing extra benefit to the homeowner that he did not have prior to the improvements.

Estes now wants his street paved.

On May 12, 2008, at the Cleveland City Council voting meeting, Councilman Estes asked the director of the Cleveland Public Works Department, Tom Grant about having 8^th Street re-paved in front of his house.

Estes: "This is for Mr. Grant. I noticed on the Spring 08 project list as part of our work session packet, paving on 8^th Street is not on there. Is it no longer part of the 08 plan?"

Tom Grant: "It is one of the projects, there [are] 4 of them that we would like to finish out this spring and right now it looks like that may be in jeopardy without having to re-bid our paving bid package. So, um, the cost of fuel, the cost of oil, we may not be able to get our contractor back in here.

Estes: "So, if it's not spring, does it move to summer, does it move to fall?"

Tom Grant: "Summer or fall with the monies we have left."

Estes: "Okay. I just have some neighbors that are anxious. If at a work session you could give maybe a couple weeks heads up that would help me tell the people down 8^th Street, you know, that its coming and such.".

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