Three governing bodies to split bill on $360K sidewalk project for Oswego East students

Several Oswego governing bodies are working together to fix a dangerous path some Oswego East High School students need to take to school.

Oswego School District 308, the village of Oswego and the Oswego Township Road District are looking at sharing the cost of installing a sidewalk to ensure that students can walk safely from Ogden Falls subdivision to the nearby school.

Ogden Falls subdivision is located north of the high school campus. Currently, there is no sidewalk or other pedestrian or bicycle path extending from Ogden Falls to the high school campus.

“The sidewalk ends in the subdivision,” District 308 chief financial officer and chief school business official Raphael Obafemi told Oswego School Board members at the Oct. 21 school board meeting.

As proposed, the three government bodies would share equally in the installation of a multi-use path adjacent to Harvey Road and extending from Ogden Falls to the high school’s bus entrance. The project is estimated to cost $360,000.

As a result, Ogden Falls students walking or riding bicycles to school have to travel across Kula Farm (located between the high school campus and Ogden Falls) or along Harvey Road, which creates a safety issue, school district officials said.

Each government body would pay 33.33% of the cost of acquiring an easement from the family that owns Kula Farm and installing the path. Future maintenance will be the responsibility of the village.

Snow removal would be handled by school district staff. School board member Jennifer Johnson voiced concerns about the project costing more than estimated.

“If we can’t afford it, we can always say this is beyond what we anticipated,” Obafemi said in response.

The village plans to complete the project by the end of 2025.