MOUNT VERNON — Mayor Richard Mavis said restoration of the historic railroad depot on West High Street continues, and he hopes the project will be completed this year.
“We are shooting for having the official opening November 2007, which will be the depot’s 100th birthday,” he said.
Mavis said geothermal wells were recently connected with equipment inside the building, and it now has heat. Inside work, which will continue through the winter and spring, includes putting in a new floor, restoring woodwork, completing plumbing work and putting in new restrooms. Exterior restorations, including replacement of the roof, cleaning of brick, replacement of loose mortar and outside carpentry work, were completed in 2006.
The mayor said the depot will serve as a community center where seminars, receptions and meetings can be held. Parties interested in using the building for these purposes have already made inquiries. He added that the depot will also have for-rent office space on the south side of the building.
“We also have plans to have a permanent railroad memorabilia display in the depot’s north end, the old freight room,” he said.
The mayor said a total of $250,000 will be put toward the project this year, with about $150,000 of the money coming through an anonymous donation. He said the city is aiming for an opening date of Nov. 7.
Mavis also spoke about work being done to ensure that the city’s multimillion dollar water park at Hiawatha Park opens on June 1 as scheduled. The basic rules for the park were finalized at a committee meeting this week. They prohibit things like bad behavior and consumption of alcohol and also set requirements for safety. Only people who are at least 4 feet tall will be allowed to use the yet-to-be-installed water slides at the park. The reason for the heigth requirement has to do with the depth of the section of the pool the slides empty into — 42 inches. He said the wearing of jewelry will be limited due to possible safety hazards it might cause on slides and elsewhere in the park.
Mavis said committee members are still working on the job descriptions for the manager of the water park, assistant manager, aquatics director (director of lifeguards and swimming lessons), and maintainence and operations director, as well as concessions manager. When the job description is completed, the city will begin to accept resumes for those positions, which are full time during the summer pool season. He said between additional 10 to 15 people will be needed just to work in the concession stand portion of the poolhouse.
The mayor said the American Red Cross-Knox County Chapter will begin offering the first wave of classes for lifeguard certification on Feb. 12.
“It looks like we will be hiring 30-plus guards, and so we will need to get people certified and ready to go prior to June 1,” he said.
The Red Cross has provided the opportunity for students to get training and certification, Mavis said. Interested parties should contact the local chapter for information about the classes.
Contractors working on the project have made significant progress on the construction of the water park itself, he said. The contractor wants to put the roof on the new poolhouse within a week or so, which would allow work inside the poolhouse itself to progress regardless of the weather. All pumps and heaters have been placed in the mechanical house.
He also said the subcontractor building the pool section of the water park is continuing to work to lay the concrete for both the leisure pool and the competition pool, as weather permits. The concrete for the zero-depth entry ramp, a portion on the southern end which allows gradual entry into the water, is the only portion of the leisure pool that remains to be put in place.
In other news:
•The mayor recently honored Ohio Eastern Star Homes with a proclamation for being recognized as one of Ohio’s top 30 nursing facilities in a state survey.
•The test for assistant fire chief was given Thursday. Eight existing staff members took the test; results are not yet known.