MOUNT VERNON — Mayor Richard Mavis said he is interested in the idea of developing a new kind of infrastructure — infrastructure which will give area residents and businesses access to wireless Internet.
Mavis said other cities in Ohio, namely Gahanna and Dublin, are exploring the same idea. Such a system could allow city officials to monitor all of the water meters in the city as well as all of its street department, fire, EMS and police vehicles. It could also have potential benefits to area residents, businesses and educational institutions, which, in theory, could, with the right equipment, access the system, although they may have to pay a fee of some kind.
“There is some evidence it could be difficult to develop,” he said. “And this is a long way off from becoming a reality.”
The idea would involve the city having a building and a tower for the system, he said, and would also require selling advertising to keep the system running. He said a strategic planning committee will have to determine whether the plan could work, and whether there is sufficient funds to carry it out.
Mavis said he has spoken with representatives from a number of local industries, most of which already have wireless Internet access in their complexes. Some representatives have expressed doubts as to how such a citywide system could benefit them. The Mount Vernon Nazarene University also has wireless Internet access at its campus. But, he added, the idea is worth looking into, and could be helpful in attracting new businesses to the area.
In other city business:
•Mavis said the city received good bids on the Curtis Street rehabilitation project. The city opened bids on Friday. Rietschlin Construction Inc. of Crestline put forth a bid of $141,281 and Maple City Concrete of Norwalk put forth a bid of $142,790. He said the project’s preliminary estimate was about $175,000. The project, which involves rehabilitating Curtis Street, between Main Street and Mulberry Street; work would be started shortly after the Dan Emmett Music & Arts Festival. This portion of roadway consists of brick, and the project is part of the city’s efforts to repair brick streets in residential neighborhoods.
•Work has begun at the site of the new Sanoh America factory on Blackjack Road. The developer began moving earth this past week.
•The administration completed negotiations needed to create a new intersection and align Industrial Park Drive with the southern portion of Blackjack Road, which runs south of Moundbuilder’s Guidance Center. The entire roadway will be renamed Industrial Park Drive. The project is part of a larger infrastructure project which involves running city water and wastewater lines along the roadway to benefit the new Sanoh plant.
