Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — Mayor Richard Mavis said he is disappointed that only a relatively small number of city residents have taken advantage of the city’s Spring Clean-up program this past week but hopes more people will take advantage of the program’s expanded schedule this year.

“It appears to me that many more people should be taking advantage of the program,” he said, adding that the city pays 50 percent of the disposal costs.

The mayor said 24 people dropped off loads at Allied Waste/BFI at 107 Tilden Ave. on Saturday, 20 on Monday, 21 on Tuesday, 17 on Wednesday and six on Thursday. He said the program not only gives residents the chance to drop off waste but also improves the overall appearance of the city.

The program will continue monthly from 8 to 11:30 a.m. on these days: Saturday, June 7; Saturday, July 5; Saturday, Aug. 2; and Saturday, Sept. 6.

Mavis said cleanup is a continuous effort, not merely a monthly thing. He added that the administration will be sending letters to property owners with high grass and unsecured waste to remind them of the opportunity to save money when they dispose of the waste.

The minimum charge is $25 plus fees, or $48 a ton. No hazardous materials or yard waste will be accepted. All loads must be weighed on the scales, so residents are requested to go directly to the back gate behind the building.

In other city news:

•Mavis said he has given up on the idea of getting the Lowe’s crossover roadway completed in 2008 but hopes work can begin before the end of the year. The proposed roadway would link Coshocton Avenue with Yauger Road and run along the western side of the Lowe’s and Ohio Heritage Bank properties. The mayor said the city hired an appraiser this week to complete an appraisal of the portion of the Lowe’s property that will be used for the new road, as company officials requested.

•The mayor said he will meet with Safety-Service Director Dave Glass, Code Enforcement Officer Larry Fogle, Law Director Bill Smith and Police Chief Mike Merrilees next week to form an official strategy for towing cars to the new impound lot at the old National Guard motor pool on Greenwood Avenue. A fence project was recently completed there, and, he said the meeting will set the city’s official strategy of towing vehicles there and how towed vehicles are to be retrieved by owners.

•Mavis is encouraging individuals who wish to participate in this year’s Memorial Day parade to obtain applications either from the mayor’s office or by calling the mayor’s office, in which case applications can be mailed. He said there will no official speaker this year; instead, a series of presentations will be made on Public Square, including the recital of the Gettysburg Address by an Abraham Lincoln re-enactor from Wooster.

•The mayor said he is looking forward to a fish assessment that will take place at the lakes at Foundation Park around the end of the month. The purpose of the study is to get an idea of the fish population at the lakes that can be used in making decisions about future fish stocking there. He said he thinks it’s important to have a plan and be careful about the kind and number of new fish that are introduced into the lakes and added that he would like to see the city contribute funds toward stocking. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Knox County Fish and Game Association already pay for stocking at the lakes each year.