MOUNT VERNON — As the city makes its final decision on the gas aggregate program, Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis believes this is a good time for city residents to take a closer look at their gas bills.
“Maintaining traffic will be almost as hard as the project. It’s a challenge, but we’ll be able to do it,” Glass said.
Two other projects are nearing the final phases. The Blackjack Road improvement project has been wrapped up for the year with only a final cleanup scheduled for this spring, while the city is waiting on the moving of a gas line to put in the new culvert on East Pleasant Street.
The city is leaning toward a program which is 10 percent less than the flexible rate of Columbia Gas. That price will only be for the gas recovery cost, not the delivery fee, according to Mavis. There will be no changes on the delivery fee.
Mavis said on the back side of the utility bill there is a spot where residents can see the price they are paying for gas, and what company is supplying their gas. Residents, especially those getting their gas from someone other than Columbia Gas, should check their bills to see what price they are currently getting and whether it will be a good deal for them to opt into the program.
“I’m encouraging people to take a look at their bill and make some sort of determination whether they should opt into the plan,” Mavis said. “We’ll be sending a letter out in January to all city residents, fully explaining their options. They can get into the program, get out of the program or stay where they are.”
Council is expected to vote on the program at Monday’s meeting and the city hopes to kick it off on March 1.
Also at Monday’s meeting, there will be a committee meeting on the proposed ordinance requiring landlords to report tenants’ names for income tax purposes. Safety-Service Director David Glass reported he met with representatives of the landlords’ association and hopes to have the issues resolved prior to the council meeting.
Plans are still being considered for the Gay Street paving project. The city hopes to bid the five- to six-month project in February, and get started as soon as possible. Officials have been looking at closing just one lane at a time for the construction, but the traffic flow at east-west intersections has been a major concern.
Glass reported there will be a new Dairy Queen built on Coshocton Avenue next to Hot Rod’s Sunoco. He said they are anticipating having the restaurant open within three months.
