MOUNT VERNON — The city of Mount Vernon has been paired with Knox County and Richland County in a Neighborhood Stability Program, according to Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis.
The three entities will be able to apply for about $1.5 million that’s available from the program, which was approved by Congress this summer. The money will basically be used to energize the economy, Mavis said.
There are several ways the city and two counties could put the money to use — buy and tear down abandon homes; buy, refurbish and resell properties; as mortgage support; and work with Metropolitan Housing and Habitat for Humanity on homes for those less fortunate.
Mavis said city officials will meet with officials from Knox County and Richland County on Jan. 8, 2009, to put together a plan. They have to apply for the money by mid-February.
“It’s not automatic money. We have to apply and show the ways we’re going to spend the money before it’s approved,” Mavis said.
The city also received word recently that the Public Works grant for the Vernonview waterline project has been approved by the local district and they are now waiting on word from the state. Mavis said the state will likely make a decision on the $500,000 project by mid-January.
Mavis said the city street department was hard at work Tuesday during the ice storm, as five trucks were out salting the roads. One concern for the city was the status of the brick streets, which tend to hold the cold longer than asphalt. Even though the majority of the streets were in good condition Wednesday morning, the brick streets were still an icy mess.
“The bricks hold the cold longer. Even though the brick streets can be very valuable and long lasting, they do get very treacherous when we have an ice storm,” Mavis said.
The ice storm caused several tons of salt to be used, making it look as if the city will not get through the winter with 1,000 tons of salt as they had hoped. Mavis said the city purchased 300 tons of salt prior to the storm, and that costs were much higher this year than last, in the mid-$50s per ton compared to $36-$38 per ton last year.
“We’ve not had to plow much, but we’ve used a lot of salt. I’d like to think we could get through the winter with 1,000 tons, but it’s not looking good so far,” said Mavis.
