No civil action shall be maintained against the Town and/or
the Town Superintendent of Highways of the Town for damages or injuries
to person or property sustained by reason of any defect in the sidewalks
of the Town or in consequence of the existence of snow or ice upon
any of its sidewalks, unless such sidewalks have been constructed
or are maintained by the Town or the Superintendent of Highways of
the Town pursuant to statute, nor shall any action be maintained for
damages or injuries to person or property sustained by reason of such
defect or in consequence of such existence of snow or ice unless written
notice thereof, specifying the particular place, was actually given
to the Town Clerk of the Town or to the Town Superintendent of Highways
of the Town and there was a failure or neglect to cause such defect
to be remedied or such snow or ice to be removed or to make the place
otherwise reasonably safe within a reasonable time after the receipt
of such notice.
The Town Superintendent of Highways of the Town shall transmit,
in writing, to the Town Clerk of the Town, within 10 days after receipt
thereof, all written notices received by him pursuant to this chapter,
and he shall take any and all corrective action with respect thereto
as soon as practicable.
The Town Clerk of the Town shall keep an index record, in a
separate book, of all written notices which the Town Clerk shall receive
of the existence of a defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition
in or upon or of an accumulation of ice or snow upon any Town highway,
bridge, culvert or a sidewalk, or any other property owned by the
Town or by any improvement district, which record shall state the
date of the receipt of the notice, the nature and location of the
condition stated to exist and the name and address of the person from
whom the notice is received. All such written notices shall be indexed
according to the location of the alleged defective, unsafe, dangerous
or obstructed condition, or the location of accumulated snow or ice.
The record of such notice shall be preserved for a period of five
years from the date it is received. The Town Clerk, upon receipt of
such written notice, shall immediately and in writing notify the Town
Superintendent of Highways of the Town of the receipt of such notice.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to repeal, modify
or waive any existing requirement or statute of limitations which
is applicable to these causes of action but, on the contrary, shall
be held to be additional requirements to the rights to maintain such
action; nor shall anything herein contained be held to modify any
existing rule of law relative to the question of contributory negligence,
nor to impose upon the Town, its officers and employees, and/or any
of its improvement districts, any greater duty or obligations than
that it shall keep its streets, sidewalks and public places in a reasonably
safe condition for public use and travel.