MOUNT VERNON — In December, city council members passed the first wave of infrastructure projects the city plans to complete this year. On Monday night, they moved on to the second.
Projects include engineering services for a rehab of the underground water reservoir on New Gambier Road and installation of water lines on Yellow Jacket Drive and Venture Drive.
City Engineer Brian Ball said that the condition of the 2-million-gallon water reservoir is “not at a level of catastrophe, but it is at a level of required maintenance.”
“This is something we’ve been tracking for several years,” he said, adding that the Environmental Protection Agency has stepped up the urgency of its letters regarding safety requirements for the reservoir.
Built in 1952, the reservoir has cracks in its lid where water can seep into the tank, the concrete needs restored, and cracks and hatches need sealed. Ball said the valve system has exceeded its life expectancy, and the concrete is nearing that point. The valves are currently frozen.
Ball said that he and Mathias Orndorf, utilities director, chose Civil and Environmental Consultants to do the engineering services. They have not determined a project cost. Orndorf said the money previously targeted for the bond payment on the Old Delaware Road water treatment plant will fund the reservoir rehab.
The engineering firm’s reservoir inspection will determine how the city proceeds logistically. The tank has a concrete wall down the middle. Ball said that if the valves can be fixed so that they can be closed, the city will shut down and rehab first one half of the tank, and then the other. If the valves cannot be repaired, the city will have to rent temporary tanks for water storage while the rehab takes place.
Ball said the city will notify neighbors before starting any work.
The Yellow Jacket Drive project carries a $125,000 price tag and involves installing a new water line from Yellow Jacket Drive to Cougar Drive. Ball said the area is a grass corridor now; if the city waits to install the line, the bus garage and field house the school plans to build will complicate construction.
The Venture Drive water line is part of the city’s master plan to connect lines on Upper Gilchrist Road and New Gambier Road. On the drawing board since 2003, the loop line lies entirely within the Coshocton Avenue TIF District.
“So as we were going through our budget appropriations, there’s the opportunity to use TIF money for the project,” said Ball of the under-$100,000 cost estimate.
Ball said that most of the work on Yellow Jacket Drive and Venture Drive will be out of the road right-of-way and should cause little disruption to traffic.
In other business, council:
- Renewed the participation plan for Community Development Block Grants
- Appointed William D. Smith as alternate member to the Board of Zoning Appeals
- In accordance with the Ohio Revised Code, adopted legislation raising the fine for parking in a handicapped space to a minimum of $250 and maximum of $500. Mayor Richard Mavis said the parking enforcement officer does not want to write a $250 fine. She will call for a Mount Vernon police officer to come and write the ticket.
- Gave a first reading to a resolution appointing representatives to the Regional Planning Commission. Councilwoman Nancy Vail withdrew her motion to suspend the required three readings after Councilman Chris Menapace objected. Menapace objected because the legislation lists all six representatives, which provides no opportunity to vote no on one recommendation without voting no on the other five.
- Gave a second reading to an ordinance creating a vacant property registry for commercial property
- Annexed the 98.543 acres of Ariel-Foudation Park into the city
- Amended the property maintenance code to reflect the fine for a third violation will be $250. If not paid, subsequent fines for that same instance will rise in $100 increments up to a maximum of $1,000.
- Heard the results of a cut-through traffic study conducted by high school students Megan Campbell and Leslie Bell
