MOUNT VERNON — The city administration plans to apply for two large grants, to help improve the Sychar Road area and for housing improvements across the city.
Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis said that in June, the city will apply for two separate grants through the Community Development Block Grant program, in which federal funds are administered to local government through the state. The applications will be for a $400,000 Community Housing Improvement Program grant and a Neighborhood Revitalization grant in the amount of $300,000.
The city regularly receives about $70,000 in CDBG formula funds every year. Unlike these formula funds, however, the CHIP and revitalization grants the city is seeking are competitive. Mavis said that although the city applied for these grants last year and was denied due in part because of federal cuts to the program, he is optimistic about the chances of obtaining the funding this year.
The neighborhood revitalization grant money can be used for a variety of improvement projects, spread out over an area of the city where residents meet the program’s low- to moderate-income requirements. The mayor said the application will propose improvements to an area east and west of Sychar Road, including Pleasant, Kenyon and Oberline streets. The proposal is to use the money for projects such as construction of new sidewalks, street repaving, the installation of crosswalks and bridge repairs.
He added that the neighborhood revitalization grant money can be combined with city funds and CDBG formula funds. In recent years, the city has used Neighborhood Revitalization grant money to make improvements — new sidewalks and improved drainage — to the McGibney Road area.
Residents can apply for CHIP funds for housing rehabilitation, housing repairs or upgrades such as a new furnace or a new roof, rental assistance and first-time home buyers assistance. In past years, Mavis said, the city had to identify a target area of the city in which the funds would be focused. The rules were changed last year, and now residents from any part of the city can apply for the funding.
The mayor also said he wants to remind residents they can report potholes to the city by called the pothole hotline at 393-9501. The street department is using a patching material called cold mix which is useful for deep potholes, but does not adhere well or remain in shallow holes for long and must be replaced repeatedly. This is the case with a pothole on South Gay Street, on the ramp coming from the viaduct, which has been patched frequently in recent weeks. Mavis said hot mix material, which provides a longer lasting fix, should be available around April.
Mavis also spoke about other city matters:
•The mayor said he attended an Ohio Public Works meeting with other representatives from other counties in the district. The other counties in the district are Licking, Delaware, Pickaway, Morrow and Fairfield. Of the 82 proposed projects, 36 were approved and recommended for funding to the state. State officials rely on local officials to make recommendations on proposed projects.
The city will submit its application for Ohio Public Works funding to go toward the conversion of South Gay Street from brick to asphalt, an estimated $1.323 million project. The application is for $375,000 in grant money, along with an OPW no-interest loan in the amount of $125,000. He said the administration will not know whether the project will be approved until July, adding that he is optimistic that the city will get the money.
•The Heritage Centre Association has decided to join the city’s Fourth of July Committee to help coordinate more activities at Memorial Park before the fireworks display. The Fourth of July celebration, which will be held on July 4, will have the same activities as last year, including a basketball competion and a senior citizen softball game. The committee is also planning to work to raise about an extra $8,000 for fireworks in 2008 to commemorate Knox County’s 200th birthday.
Mavis said there is usually about $10,000 spent on the city’s display each year for the holiday, but about there was about $18,000 fireworks display on July 16, 2005, for Mount Vernon’s bicentennial celebration. He said the committee would like to raise the extra money and have a more impressive Fourth of July fireworks display than usual to in honor of the county bicentennial.
