MOUNT VERNON — The City of Mount Vernon is moving forward with an infrastructure project along West Burgess Street and Greenwood Avenue.
The project will support growing industrial activity at Heartland Commerce Park and improve long-term roadway durability for heavy truck traffic.
City Engineer Brian Ball said council budgeted for the improvements in 2017. However, Siemens Energy closed, so the city did not follow through with the project.
It includes milling and repaving Burgess Street from Sandusky Street to the rail line on Greenwood Avenue.
“Becker is going to be making large equipment that’s going to leave Heartland Commerce Park. It’s going to travel across Greenwood and then be placed on the railroad,” Ball said. “So part of this improvement is (that) we’ll be beefing up these drive aprons to get heavy equipment in and out of the plant.”
Additionally, the city will widen and round the northwest corner of the North Sandusky and Burgess Street intersection to accommodate a wider turning radius for trucks to prevent sidewalk and curb damage.
The Knox County Land Bank bought the northwest parcel in March 2023 with the goal of creating an attractive, more accessible entrance to Heartland Commerce Park.
Ball said that in keeping with the city’s complete streets policy, the project includes investing in sidewalks and pedestrian access.
“Our hope is that at some point, people will be able to bike to work, walk to work at Heartland Commerce Park,” he said.
Councilman Mel Severns noted the damage that trucks have done to the confluence of Greenwood and West Burgess.
“They’ve basically just destroyed those corners with those turns, so I can see where this is going to help them for sure,” he said.
Supporting broader west end investments
Ball said when the city built the road 100-plus years ago, it was likely a narrower road.
“At some point, the road has been widened slightly. That edge of the road is not as thick as the middle of the road,” he explained.
The project complements ongoing improvements in the west end, including:
- Brick street restoration on west Burgess and Hamtramck streets.
- Valve work and waterline replacement from Pleasant to High Street.
- Sidewalk replacements on North West Street.
Council members voted to accept an Ohio Department of Transportation jobs-and-commerce grant on Monday evening. The grant covers $180,000 of the total project cost of $355,296.
Because the funds are left over from a prior fiscal year, Ball asked the council to accept the grant money immediately or risk the state reallocating the money.
The city must complete the project by the end of 2027.
“This is the one place in town we do want heavy trucks, so it makes sense to build the infrastructure for them,” Councilman James Mahan said.
Other legislative action includes appropriations, health insurance, and utility aggregation
Council members postponed to May 26 an ordinance amending the city’s vehicle storage policy.
Assistant City Inspector Brian Marvin said adopting the revised regulations would eradicate parts of the old ordinance that city officials want to keep.
Additionally, city officials are re-working the section on utility trailers after receiving residents’ feedback.
In other action, council members:
• Accepted Medical Mutual’s agreement for health coverage for city employees. Council members waived the third reading and included the emergency clause because the open enrollment period is underway.
• Waived the third reading and agreed to vacate an alley east of Whiteheirs Street. The council is not required to hold a public hearing on and no one opposed the vacation.
• Adopted on first readings amendments to the police and fire bargaining units in relation to health care benefits.
• Gave a first reading to ordinances allowing the county to act as the aggregator for gas and electric aggregation programs.
• Adopted an ordinance that gives authority to the Control Board to set fees for zoning permits and certificates rather than city council.
• Approved on first reading supplemental appropriations and selling a fire department medic no longer needed.
• Introduced legislation to reclassify the city inspector, human resources director, and public works director positions and replace section 919.11 of city code relating to back flow protection.
•Gave second readings to a compliance policy relating to issuing bonds and rezoning 804 Coshocton Ave. from R-1 to General Business.
