MOUNT VERNON — Safety-service Director Tanner Salyers said the city hit a few technical snags while launching its new website.
Salyers planned to launch it in October 2024. However, in addition to technical snags, the city had several Request For Qualifications in progress it did not want to interrupt.
“So, we kind of pulled back. The [new website] is still active, it’s just behind the scene,” Salyers said. “We wanted to move some things around, but we wanted to build out some more forms. The whole goal obviously is to make e-government more available, more accessible to citizens.
“We really want to launch with the best product that we can, and we want to launch with a new domain, which we now have.”
The current domain is mountvernonohio.org.
“We’re going to shorten that up and legitimize it a little bit more since we’re a government and go to mtvohio.gov,” Salyers said.
IT will transition emails to the new website. However, Salyers cautioned it will be a slow process.
Tire Recycle Day
The city is partnering with the county to host Tire Recycle Day on Saturday, March 29, at the Knox County Fairgrounds.
A Delaware-Knox- Marion-Morrow Solid Waste District grant will help underwrite the $5,500 cost.
Costs rose in 2025 compared to 2024. Last year residents could turn in four tires for free and pay $1.50 for each additional tire.
This year, the cost is $10 for five tires and unlimited loads.
“This process allows us to do more,” Salyers said. “We’re hoping to have a team of volunteers on two truck trailers. Each of those trailers can handle about 1,000 tires apiece.”
The event is open to residents countywide. It starts at 8 a.m. and runs until noon or until the trailers are full.
The city will release a list of what will be accepted closer to the event.
Yard Sale Trail
The city will hold its inaugural Mount Vernon Yard Sale Trail on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27.
Salyers said Mount Vernon will post a form on the city’s website in late March for residents to sign up to participate. The form will ask for names and contact information, but the city will only release the address.
“We’ll organize it in a way that folks can go from one to another,” Salyers said, adding that the route will include food trucks on Public Square.
The city will promote the event regionally. Sellers are limited to Mount Vernon residents.
Cleanup Day
The 2025 Cleanup Day will be at Ariel-Foundation Park.
“This year we worked with the county, and we’re going to expand that out, so the cleanup day will be a countywide cleanup day,” Salyers said. “Come with a full truck, but no trailers, no dump trucks, things like that.”
The city will provide 10, 30-yard Dumpsters. Drop-off begins at 8 a.m. and run until the dumpsters are full. The cost is $20 a load.
The city will release a list of what will be accepted closer to the event.
MVFD
The Mount Vernon Fire Department will welcome Josh Fletcher on Feb. 16 as a lateral transfer from the Genoa Township Fire Department.
Previously, he was with the Eastern Knox Joint Fire District.
Fletcher has over four years of full-time experience as a firefighter paramedic with extensive EMS and medic training from the military.
“One of his goals was to work for Mount Vernon fire, and we’re glad that we can make that happen. We’re excited to have Josh join us,” Fire Chief Chad Christopher said.
The department responded to 574 calls in January.
Personnel completed the annual PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) training and are undergoing ice and cold-water rescue.
“It’s a different type of training where we have a nice ice shelf you can go out there and train on, but it’s also important to get out there when that ice shelf is not so thick,” Christopher said.
“With that said, we still need caution because right now everything’s warming up. Stay off the ice because right now it’s more dangerous than ever.”
The department is wrapping up 2024 evaluations and will soon complete its 2024 report.
New run cards are on the agenda for 2025, trying to adjust how the department responds to emergencies.
“How we how we respond, and what equipment, what personnel [we use], stuff like that,” Christopher explained.
Equipment
Christopher said the new fire rescue unit should leave South Dakota by the end of the week. All American Fire Inspections will inspect the unit before sending it to Mount Vernon.
It then goes to Fire and Marine in Columbus, which will mount tools and equipment on the truck.
“After it gets sent to us, we take it to Fire and Marine in Columbus, and they mount all of our tools and everything on the truck. They’ll have it for about four to six weeks,” Christopher said.
“So, we’re getting really close to having it, but then shipping it back out, for about a month and a half before we can put it into service,” Christopher said. “But after a couple of years waiting on it, a month and a half doesn’t seem so bad.”
The department will receive another new medic ordered three years ago. It will order another new medic this year.
