Tupper Lake resident John Klimm stands on the sidewalk outside his state Route 3 home. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

TUPPER LAKE — The state Department of Transportation has rejected this town’s request to abandon a stretch of sidewalk on state Route 3 across from Sunmount.

Now the town is trying to figure out the best path to take in amending the deteriorated walkway.

The sidewalk was built in 1962, but in the decades since then it has seen very little upkeep. Town officials say that’s mostly because the municipality was not conscious of its maintenance obligation for a long time. After years of use and no repair, the sidewalk is now uneven and covered up by lawns, driveways and sand.

After John Klimm and Barbara Close, who live across the street from the Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Services Office, began sending letters to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the DOT last year, the town was informed by the regional DOT office that it has always been responsible for the upkeep on the sidewalk.

Klimm and Close say they do not have a specific preference for what happens with the run-down sidewalk; they just want something to happen with it. They said it is a hazard for pedestrians.

The town board asked for the right to abandon the sidewalk last month, in lieu of an expensive restoration or replacement project.

“There was nothing in our budget this year to do such a project,” town Supervisor Patti Littlefield said.

Steven Kokkoris, the DOT regional director, informed the town in early June that the state “is not in favor of abandoning the sidewalk.”

At Thursday’s town board meeting, Klimm and Close asked the board about the status of the sidewalk.

“We are communicating regularly with the DOT on what we are obligated to do,” Littlefield said. “As you know, things move a little slower in government than we like them to sometimes. I know; it’s frustrating.”

Littlefield said the town will have to enlist the help of some consultants and engineers to figure out whether to do a quick fix to repair the sidewalk or a big project to replace it. She said she would prefer doing a fix, the cheaper option.

“First of all we want to think about the taxpayers,” Littlefield said, “the safety of the taxpayers and then the cost to the taxpayers.”

Klimm said that in the last rainstorm the sidewalk sank, filled with water and flooded down his driveway into his garage. Littlefield said town Highway Superintendent Billy Dechene will stop by to look at the problem.

“We haven’t forgotten it,” Littlefield said. “We’re talking about it all the time.”

She said a study will have to be done to see if there are utilities buried under the sidewalk, and that the state determined that the skirting from the sidewalk to the road is the property and responsibility of homeowner.

“There’s a lot to figure out on this project,” Littlefield said. “We don’t have a hard, fast answer yet, but we’ll get one.”