MOUNT VERNON — The Patriotic Memorial Committee had its first meeting in preparation for Mount Vernon’s Memorial Day celebration, according to Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis.
“They will [now] be meeting on a regular basis right up until Memorial Day,” he said.
Mavis also reported on the Blackjack Road water and sewer line. The line had been laid out to Blackjack Road, where the new Sanoh plant has been built.
“I was talking to Eric Carroll last week about when Sanoh was going to move in,” Mavis said. “He said they were really going to move in stages, and as a matter of fact, they had a couple of people working out there. At that time we had a water line that had water, but you always have to test it. So I am here today to report that the official testing has taken place and as of Feb. 19, the water in the Blackjack water line is safe and usable.”
Mavis said he had no indication from Sanoh that there was any hard and fast timetable for the move-in.
Progress has been made on getting the crossover road project by Knox Community Hospital ready to move forward.
“We had a meeting with a couple of ODOT engineers yesterday,” Mavis said. “This was a meeting at our request. As we get down to looking at the crossover road, I wanted to get an outside engineer to look at the project, just to look at what we put together, and what our goals and justification for the project were. ODOT agreed to give us some engineering time to look at that. This is because, in part, the widening of Coshocton Road and the safety improvement project are now part of one project. These two projects have been combined into one. The deal was if they would look at both projects, we would not have to pay for it.”
In other news:
•Some people not residing within the city limits of Mount Vernon have received letters giving them the option to opt out or opt into the new gas aggregate program. Mavis said anyone who received one of these letters was eligible to participate in the gas aggregate program, even if they did not live within the Mount Vernon city limits.
•As previously reported, the Hiawatha water park will open later than usual this year because of schools having to have make up calamity dates from this winter. Mavis said applications are available in the Mayor’s Office, on the second floor of City Hall. Applications are being taken for lifeguard and other positions.
The mayor said there is a possibility of hiring a few more guards this summer to be able to have a full complement if someone is off for the day or for a week.
•The city has offered scholarships for memberships for families unable to afford a year’s membership. Mavis said there might not be as much money this year as last as funding sources have been cut. The city will be able to contribute about the same amount toward those scholarships as last year; the rest of the money comes from private donations. Mavis said the city was able to grant about 40 of the 80 requests it had last year.
