MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis reported he would be filing the city’s Clean Ohio Assistance Grant application Friday afternoon.
“This is for just short of $300,000 for the opportunity to do an assessment of the American National Can property. This starts the clock on a 47-day period to hold a public meeting here at city hall for people to give their input.”
Mavis said a copy of the application would be available at the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County for public view.
Mavis also reported on the status of several ongoing city projects.
“Dave Carpenter of the streets department tells me that we now have finished all of our center line painting and all of our side line striping,” he said. “That was finished Wednesday of this week, and we have two days of crack sealing that’s part of our street maintenance project.”
Mavis said he had received a question from a resident about why street sweeping was not being done.
“I was not aware it was not being done but that I would check into it,” he explained. “Dave (Carpenter) told me the sweeper has been out of service because of parts. We have the parts ordered. The parts need to come out of Canada because that’s where the sweeper was made. So if people have noticed we have not been as attentive to sweeping the streets as in the past, it is because the sweeper has been out of service.”
In other news:
•Mavis reported the sidewalk on the viaduct would be repaired over the next two weeks and that might entail restrictions on both pedestrian and vehicular traffic during that time.
•The Mount Vernon Municipal Plaza project is nearing an end but because of work that still needs to be done, the parking floors will be closed this weekend. Mavis said this might impact church goers on Sunday because many people use the plaza for parking. Mavis also reported there would be an effort to post signage indicating that there are no restrictions on parking in the plaza parking lots during weekends and holidays. Many spaces are restricted parking during the week.
•The Foundation Park restrooms would be completed by mid-October, Mavis said. He said it was hoped the bowstring bridge would be reassembled soon.
“I personally have noticed that we have swimmers out there,” Mavis, said referring to the lakes at Foundation Park. “We don’t allow swimming there. The tragedy is that we don’t have anyone there watching. People probably feel safe doing that but both of the eastern lakes are 26 feet deep. And the western lake has no real entry point and it’s mostly 16 feet deep right off the edge. So it’s not an acceptable place to swim.”
•The city will be having a meeting with the Heritage Centre Association to discuss downtown parking. Mavis said the city was getting mixed messages about parking enforcement. Some businesses thought ticketing vehicles was not good for downtown business while others thought it was an acceptable practice.
•The October First Friday would be the venue for honoring those citizens who take the time to volunteer in the city and when the Volunteer of the Year would be announced.
•The city had talked with a representative of the new Dairy Queen on Coshocton Avenue. The Mayor confirmed a Nov. 1 opening date, which was published by the News earlier this month.
