MOUNT VERNON — In an effort to tighten, streamline, and enforce city codes, Mount Vernon officials are weighing the creation of a Department of Code Enforcement.
The department would consist of the safety-service director, city inspector, and assistant city inspector.
It would assume some responsibilities the safety-service director, mayor, development services manager, and utilities department currently handle.
It would also monitor waste haulers and process handicapped stickers.
“We’re trying to bring everything together under one body so we have accountability and efficiency and the ability to enforce the codes and regulations and rules that we have,” City Inspector Scott Zimmerman told council members at Monday’s meeting.
“I feel that this is only going to help and enhance our city because, for the longest time, we didn’t have these positions. We had the rules, but we didn’t really have a way to enforce them sometimes.”
Code enforcement would consist of three divisions:
•Property maintenance — grass and weeds, trash and debris, inoperable vehicles, and the condition of houses and outbuildings.
•Utility — would assume responsibility for backflow prevention, FOG (fats, oils, grease) permitting and inspections, pretreatment of sewage from industrial facilities, and sale of potable water.
•Zoning — zoning approvals, permitting, zoning inspections, and enforcement of zoning compliance.
Safety-service Director Tanner Salyers noted that while property maintenance and zoning codes already exist, they “kind of existed just shotgunned throughout as responsibilities and islands unto themselves.
“What you’re seeing right now is an effort to housekeep here and pull it all in and organize it in an efficient way,” he said.
Law Director Rob Broeren said the department’s responsibilities would not overlap with Knox Public Health as KPH oversees food safety, not infrastructure.
Third reading slated for July 28
The legislation creating the department will be up for its third reading at the July 28 council meeting.
Council member Tammy Woods, chair of the Employee and Community Relations Committee, will hold a committee meeting before council’s legislative session.
Construction Manager At risk
Council members suspended the three readings and voted 6-1 to authorize the safety-service director to bid and enter into a qualifications-based construction manager at risk (CMAR) for the new police station on Sychar Road.
Council member Woods voted no. She has repeatedly asked how the city will pay for the police station, other municipal buildings, and water/wastewater projects but has never received a satisfactory answer.
Utility projects are paid for through the fees collected.
For the municipal buildings, the city will issue bonds and factor the bond payments into its budget.
Salyers said the answer to “how do we pay for it?” is to look at the budget and prioritize expenses across multiple funds so that no single fund is overburdened with the bond repayment expense.
“The best way that we do that is that we get a CMAR for the construction manager at risk, which is the most responsible way to handle the construction delivery,” he said.
The plan is to secure a CMAR for the justice center after the city moves into COTC. The city locked in BKB for design services for the police station and the justice center, resulting in cost savings.
Salyers said the city might lock in the same CMAR for the justice center as for the police station, providing the opportunity for more savings, and ultimately, perhaps also for the east end fire station.
He noted the city will also have other debt obligations that will expire over time. The city can use a portion of that money toward debt payments.
Auditor Dan Brinkman said debt payments are currently around $1.4 million annually.
Fairgrounds Road reimbursement
Council members also waived the three readings and approved applying to the state for reimbursement for the Fairgrounds Road project.
The council previously approved applying for a grant and zero-interest loan from the Ohio Public Works Commission as part of the “market basket” of funding.
OPWC grants and loans are reimbursement programs.
That means the city had to spend its money upfront on the project, and then apply for reimbursement from OPWC.
Now that the project is complete, the city can apply for a $700,000 reimbursement grant and a $308,000 zero-interest, 30-year loan specifically related to the water line work.
The city also fronted the money for the county stormwater and paving work, which the county will repay.
Although the pipes belong to the county, the city will service and maintain them. The county will repay the city the loan amount over time.
Legislative session
In addition to giving a second reading to the Code Enforcement Department ordinance, council members gave a second reading to legislation amending the waste hauling regulations and opposing Ohio House Bill 335.
Legislation receiving its first reading included:
•Applying to CORPO (Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization) for improving the North Sandusky Street (State Route 13), Upper Fredericktown Road, and Cassell Road (State Route 13) intersection.
•Fixing the number of hourly employees in the fire department.
•Issuing up to $2 million in bonds for purchasing and installing new water meters (H2Overhaul Project).
•Using $2 million from the reserve fund to purchase the bonds the city will issue for the H2Overhaul Project.
•Authorizing bill payment and fund transfers.
•Accepting supplemental appropriations totaling $305,079.70, including $136,018.50 in grants, $4,000 from Elks Lodge #40 to the fire department, $4,000 from the Dan Emmett Kennel Club to the K-9 program, $161,061.20 from the TIF District for the schools.
•Creating Chapter 149 of the city code to manage white-tailed deer within city limits.
