MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon City Council once again took up the discussion of a storm water utility in a committee meeting on Monday night.
According to City Engineer Brian Ball, “We don’t have any kind of emergency fund for some of these storm water problems we’re seeing. One of the things that came from public meetings is that people are really tired of having water running in their basements and garages and sink holes in the area. Secondary was their sidewalks. We’ve identified quite a few problems in that [North Sandusky Street] area. Our grant application of about one-half million dollars actually won’t begin to solve that problem. With that grant, we’ll be able to address only one street.”
Pipes discharging into the creek, pipes filled with sediment, large pipes going into smaller pipes, and pipes discharging into standing water at the American National can property are a few of the problems in the North Sandusky Street area.
“Every turn there’s another problem,” said Ball.
Citywide problems include the hole in the dike at Ariel-Foundation Park, a tree in Memorial Park that is damaging the levee, and Norton Street issues, among others.
“Just in the area of Ariel-Foundation Park, we’ve identified a half million dollars worth of work that needs to be done,” said Ball. “As we move into brick streets, those will have a lot of storm water issues.”
With each construction project the city undertakes, there is a storm water component. Ball cited some numbers:
- Sandusky/High project: $87,000
- Pleasant Street: $12,000
- Parrott Street: $195,000
- Catch basins on Coshocton Avenue: just under $50,000
The city lost a $135,000 grant from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District because it was unable to come up with matching dollars. MWCD grants are typically 50-50. The Environmental Protection Agency is offering the city a $300,000 grant, but the city has to come up with $200,000 to get it.
Ball said the first step in creating a storm water utility is to hire a consulting firm to do a citywide needs assessment. “They would help us go through and itemize the needs and then create that master plan of how we would start to maintain our system,” he said.
The other piece is that the Army Corps of Engineers did a full investigation of the city’s levee system. “Hopefully in late August they’ll give us a report with maintenance and improvement suggestions,” said Ball.
Ball said the estimate to set up a storm water utility is around $100,000. The needs assessment is around $30,000 and could be done this year.
“The needs assessment will tell you what’s broken,” Ball told council. “Then we would determine a level of service: what’s our replacement, how soon do we want things fixed. Then the next step would be going out and looking at all of the properties that could contribute to a storm water utility and determine a user fee for that.”
The user rate typically is a flat fee for residences and a sliding scale for businesses, schools, municipalities, churches, and nonprofit organizations. Whether the rate is assessed on property tax bills or through a utility billing from the city is to be determined.
Regarding EPA storm water requirements, Ball said that because the city discharges its storm water into the Kokosing River, every year with permit renewal the restrictions get tighter. On the construction side, for any project larger than two acres the city has to install and maintain permanent measures to clean storm water.
“As we go catch basin to catch basin, we haven’t been able to maintain our existing catch basins, let alone putting in systems that clean storm water and actively maintain it,” he said. “And the street department doesn’t have the equipment to maintain this stuff, either. It’s a big animal.”
Council asked Ball to prepare legislation for council to review at its July 23 meeting. Council members will discuss the legislation in a committee meeting prior to the legislative session. The public is invited to attend the meeting.
In other business, Councilman John Francis, chairman of the Employee and Community Relations Committee, scheduled a public hearing on Wednesday, July 11, from 6 pm to 8 pm to discuss the creation of a charter commission. His plan is to assemble a panel of individuals familiar with charter government and creating a charter commission, both pro and con. The goal is to explain what a commission is and what the duties are of a commission member.
Julie Miller and Carmen Barbuto of the Knox County Health Department informed council on the results of the community health assessment. Robert Bender, The Provident Companies, reported on the planned rehab of Vernon Ridge Apartments.
Carrie Hyman, Main Street Mount Vernon, updated council on MSMV activities. Resident Mike Hillier spoke to council about problems with boarded up structures.
Council took the following legislative action:
- Gave a second reading to legislation authorizing a lease contract for construction of a cell tower on city property
- Authorized the sale of an outdated police vehicle
- Authorized a contract for engineering services for water and sewer projects on Woodside Drive and South McKenzie, Kirk, and Clay streets.
- Approved the sale of a 25-year-old dump truck and the purchase of a new or used truck in replacement
- Approved appropriations, payment of bills, and transfers. Appropriations include a $44,344 Nature Works grant for the bike trail and $2,000 from VFW of Ohio Charities for the K-9 program.
- Adopted a modified tax budget for money received from tax levies
- Gave a first reading to legislation authorizing design services for the Yellow Jacket Drive project
- Approved the purchase of a “sliver” of land on South Main Street as a connector for the bike path under the Kokosing River. Purchase price to be negotiated by the Ohio Department of Transportation as per ODOT’s grant requirements.
- Gave a second reading to legislation to put before the voters the question of whether to form a commission to frame a city charter
