by Cheryl Splain, KnoxPages.com reporter
MOUNT VERNON — By a 6 to 1 vote, city council members voted Monday night to forego any brick street replacement in 2015 and allocate the entire resurfacing budget to paving. Councilman John Fair cast the dissenting vote.
Council members were considering doing brick replacement on Pleasant Street between Main and Mulberry streets in conjunction with a city waterline project. Mayor Richard Mavis subsequently recommended council defer the waterline project as it is not an urgent project. The 2015 resurfacing budget is $419,000; the brick replacement would cost more than $200,000, leaving around $200,000 for paving.
In a committee meeting preceding the council session, Fair said money is better spent on brick replacement because streets which have undergone brick replacement have lasted years with no problems, compared to asphalt which is reapplied every five years. He suggested pulling up the asphalt on some streets and returning them to brick. No brick replacement was done in 2014.
Councilman Mike Hillier said that if any money is left over from the $419,000 resurfacing budget, he would like to see it put into a fund dedicated to brick replacement. City Auditor Terry Scott said it would not be difficult to restart a program for brick streets.
Councilman Sam Barone said the city gets decades of service from brick streets, not simply years. He suggested council consider long-term financing for brick street replacement so that instead of every year trying to find money to take care of brick streets, the cost would be spread over the life of the project. Scott said long-term financing is a viable option although it would limit the city’s ability to seek revenue from outside sources. Ohio Public Works and the Ohio Department of Transportation do not allocate money toward brick streets.
When asked by Fair what he recommended, Safety-service Director Dave Glass said he would use the $419,000 to pave the six streets on the list, then commit to a study, to be completed by summer, to determine the cost of replacing Burgess and Hamtramck streets and looking at borrowing the money over a 10-year period.
Council waived the required three readings and adopted an ordinance setting the pay for city employees who belong to a union. This includes workers in the street, cemetery, parks, water and wastewater departments. Workers will receive a 2 percent increase for 2015, retroactive to Jan. 1; increases for 2016 and 2017 are 2.5 percent and 2 percent, respectively. The bargaining unit has ratified the agreement.
In other business, council:
*Authorized Scott to transfer funds and pay bills
*Authorized Scott to appropriate $930,000 from a Community Development Block Grant received in conjunction with the county. Unlike previous rehab housing grants, there is no requirement for work to be done in a target area; funds can be used on property city-wide. Homeowners who want to apply for funding should apply with Knox Metropolitan Housing.
*Granted an easement to 16 S. Main St. During a recent transfer of ownership, it was discovered the building encroached on South Main and East Vine streets by about 1 foot.
*Gave a first reading to ordinances setting the pay for seasonal pool personnel and recreation and parks personnel
*Authorized Glass to apply for grant funds for road improvement and safe routes to school
Health Commissioner Julie Miller updated council on health department services. Of note is a decrease in the number of public health nuisances reported (17) compared to the 56 in 2013. Animal bites increased in the city as well as the county. The number of homes tested for radon also increased, as did the number of immunizations. Miller said changes in the dental clinic for 2015 include expansion and renovations.
