MOUNT VERNON — Despite two previously hot-button topics being on the agenda, Monday’s city council meeting was relatively smooth and without fireworks.
In a Utilities Committee meeting, Councilman Chris Menapace, who chairs the committee, calmed the furor over possible changes to the city’s trash collection process. Referring to the flurry of calls and emails generated by a letter from Mark Phillips of Mid-State Waste and a meeting on Wednesday with the seven city haulers, Menapace said the apple cart definitely got in front of the horse.
Noting that council members don’t know even what they want to do, Menapace said it was premature to have public discussion on Monday and the haulers meeting on Wednesday. He restricted Monday’s committee meeting discussion to council members and requested Mayor Richard Mavis to cancel Wednesday’s meeting. Mavis agreed.
Menapace said that he and Councilman Mike Hillier will bring a list of ideas to a 45-minute May 13 committee meeting that details ideas of what they think will satisfy the desire to protect infrastructure, lower prices for citizens, and ensure large-item pick-up by haulers. He requested council members to research the issue and submit ideas, comments, and suggestions.
Regarding the desire to protect infrastructure and brick streets, Councilman John Francis said, “The failure of our brick streets is not due to trash trucks. It has to do with lack of maintenance to streets.”
On saving citizens money, he said that if residents want to have an aggregate program for the trash hauling, that is fine. On the issue of large items being left on the curb, Francis said “city ordinances should take care of that.”
Menapace said that he wants council members to decide the parameters of any trash hauling program, and then present them to the haulers. Speaking in the public portion of the legislative session, Phillips asked to be included in the process.
“I have some concerns and suggestions,” he said. “I have safety issues I would like to talk about.”
The topic of the Planning and Zoning Committee chaired by Councilwoman Nancy Vail was the registry for vacant commercial and industrial property. After a meeting last week between some council members, city officials, the fire chief, and the property maintenance enforcement officer, agreement was reached and a new piece of legislation created.
“I will say there’s been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears over this,” said Vail. “It certainly is a lot more palatable now. It is a piece of legislation that will eliminate some of the eyesores in the community.”
Saying that it was necessary to do something about problems such as the boarded-up Friendly’s and the former PPG plant without hurting legitimate business owners, she added, “I feel much better about [this piece of legislation.] I think everybody involved with it should feel better about it.”
In addition to fixing typos and better defining terms, the new legislation includes the following changes:
- Makes the property maintenance enforcement officer responsible for inspections rather than the fire chief
- Requires the property owner to have insurance covering fair market value, not fair market value plus 25 percent as originally written
- Removed the exemptions for government-owned and land bank-owned properties
- Extended the grace period to 24 months before penalties kick in for an owner who moves out of town. Property owners still have to register the property. “That gives our good stewards of development within our community an opportunity to get someone in the building,” said Menapace.
The old legislation was postponed to May 13. When it comes before council, council will table it indefinitely, thereby rendering it useless. Council gave the new legislation a first reading in its legislative session on Monday.
In other business on Monday, council:
- Authorized the safety-service director to sell a mower
- Appointed Bev Hamilton to the Metropolitan Housing Authority
- Authorized fund transfers
- Authorized appropriations, $220,000 of which came from Ariel Foundation for the Downtown Corridor Project.
- Authorized the safety-service director to bid and contract for the Downtown Corridor Project
- Gave a first reading to legislation adopting the Mount Vernon Downtown Plan as a guide for future development
County Health Commissioner Julie Miller updated council on first-quarter statistics for the city. She said that Lyme disease, hepatitis A and pertussis continue to be problems for the county. Fortunately, three scares of the measles did not pan out.
Numbers at the Community Health Center continue to grow. The center received a $145,000 grant to support mental health treatment in the community. Miller said she is confident the center will also get a $300,000 competitive grant for oral health services because Knox County is still in a health shortage area for dental.
Jim Brown of the Shade Tree and Beautification Commission and City Engineer Brian Ball provided information on the Downtown Corridor project on South Main Street. Ball said the project is a joint effort between the street department and the commission.
The city’s share of the project is $120,000 and includes paving from Route 13 to Public Square, mast arms, and water taps for the loft apartment renovations. Brown said that the commission’s work includes working on tree pits, shrubbery, replacing four trees, and adding three tree pits.
