MOUNT VERNON — Several projects in the city are in various states of completion, according to Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis.
The city’s paving project recently wrapped up, and several others are just getting ready to begin.
A contractor recently signed on for the Blackjack/Newark Road signal, while the Curtis Street improvement project will begin in about a week. The poles have been moved and other preliminary work done at the Blackjack/Newark Road intersection, so the next step is putting up the traffic signal. The Curtis Street project will include tearing out the bricks, repairing the road bed and then replacing the bricks on the strip between Main and Mulberry streets.
The city was also to open the bids today on the Blackjack Road improvement project, which would widen the road south of Moundbuilders.
Two other projects are getting lined up for the future. The city hopes to go to bid on resurfacing Gay Street before the end of the year — that way the construction can begin as soon as the weather permits in the spring.
The second project is the connector road between Coshocton Avenue and Yauger Road. Plans for the road will be done in the next week or so, according to Mavis. The city is still looking at two possibilities — extending the road through the entrance at Lowe’s, and one using the hospital entrances on both streets. The city plans to show the second plan to hospital officials soon.
“Hopefully, we’ll have a decision on that this year,” Mavis said. “We can use [Tax Increment Financing] funds on this because it’s in the district we created to help pay for the Coshocton Road improvement.
“We’re appraising the Lowe’s property now and if we can get the hospital’s approval, we can then make a decision on which one is best.”
Mavis said there will be a special council meeting on Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. in council chambers. Council will decide whether to ask voters whether the city should have an aggregate negotiate with gas suppliers for the price of natural gas in the city.
“I’ve talked with Sandusky, Twinsburg, Brewster and Navarre. They all have used aggregation for four to six years and they find it gives savings to their constituents,” Mavis said.
The city has approximately 6,500 homes and small businesses that use natural gas and Mavis thinks that even a small amount of savings would be helpful. City residents and business owners will have the opportunity to opt out of the negotiated price and company if they do not want to participate.
Mavis said the city’s waterpark/pool has had a good year, with approximately 1,700 people using it on some hot days in July. He said the last day it’s open will be Labor Day and the city will hold a meeting shortly after to discuss plans for next year. One thing they will look at replacing is the soft foam padding in the zero entry part of the pool. Large chunks of that padding have broken loose.
“That’s the only thing in the facility that’s been a problem this year, so we’ve done well,” Mavis said.
The city closed on the former Connell building on Sandusky Street earlier this week. A contractor will check for asbestos, then the building will be torn down and made into a parking lot for the moment. The site is expected to be used for the Sandusky Street improvement project, which includes extending the street across the Kokosing River. Mavis said he also spoke with the AMVETS board about the impact the project will have on their property. The project is in the long-range future of the city.
Mavis said he expects to talk with Dingey Moving Inc. out of Zanesville about moving the bowstring truss bridge from Mill Road near Bladensburg to Foundation Park. City officials and other engineers checked out the bridge last week to see if it’s able to be moved.
“I talked with a guy in Indiana who moved a bridge in one piece 20 miles. It looks like it may be possible to move it as one piece,” Mavis said.
