MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon officials are reviewing the city’s policy on automated license plate readers in the wake of public comments.
The cameras are frequently referred to as Flock cameras, although Flock is just one brand of Automated License Plate Reader.
Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers said the police and administration teams and Councilman Dale Miller met to review policies and changes in the city’s ALPR policy.
Miller chairs city council’s Police, Fire and Civil Defense Committee.
“We will be restricting blanket federal agency access and agencies who do not share in the data network,” Salyers said.
“Additionally, we’ve reviewed right-of-way compliance, and we’ll be reviewing additional internal audit measures.”
Salyers said that while there are extensive guardrails already in place, it was made clear the city needs to do more to maintain the public trust if it continues operating the cameras or other tools for public safety.
“We will continue to use best practices in modern policing while recognizing and insisting that law enforcement technology, however helpful, must conform to constitutional parameters, and not the other way around,” he said.
The Mount Vernon Police Department operates eight ALPR cameras. Private businesses operate six in town.
Dog walking at the old football field
Salyers announced at the July 27 council meeting that following a vicious dog attack, the city was closing the former football field on West Gambier Street to the public as a dog park.
The field remained open to the public to reserve for other activities.
Monday, Sycamore Road resident Carol Kunninger and city resident Robin Stevison, the victim of the attack, asked the city to reopen it for dog walking.
“That gate on West Gambier Street has been open for 40 years. I’ve lived there 45 years, and we enjoy watching the activity over there,” she said. “It’s a beautiful green space that the park guys take care of; they do a great job.”
Stevison said Deputy Dog Warden Tyler Moore believes the city should install cameras at the field. She is willing to donate $2,000 toward them.
Salyers said the field is not a park, although residents use it for many activities, including dog walking.
“If it were being used for a true dog park … we would have dual entry gates, we would have certain enclosures for dogs that maybe can’t handle the stimulation of the other dogs,” he said. “There are ways to design a dog park. Truly, in a sense, it’s just a large fenced-in area.”
Salyers, who advocated for it to be a dog park while on city council, said the city cannot leave it open without controls in place.
He encouraged residents to keep their dogs leashed and suggested Ariel-Foundation and Riverside parks, as Wolf Run Park’s designated dog park , as alternative locations.
“That’s not a popular answer, but it is the most legally secure answer for this city,” he said.
Salyers added that administration and council will weigh public input in planning next steps for the area.
E-bikes and Lyme disease topics in public participation
Vickie Adams raised concerns about e-bikes and stand-up scooters on sidewalks, saying riders often ignore pedestrians and fail to stop at side streets, disrupting traffic.
She noted riders need no education, registration, or insurance.
Adams opposed allowing e-bikes on city streets because they cannot keep pace with traffic. If permitted on streets, she said riders must follow all traffic laws and stay to the side, or the city should add bike lanes. On sidewalks, riders should obey traffic signals, stop signs, and yield to pedestrians.
Her recommendations included: helmets for riders under 18; class-based registration with colored license plates for easy identification by law enforcement (Ohio already requires labels showing class, speed, and wattage); mandatory speedometers, mirrors, headlights, and taillights with turn signals; rider education and optional licensing for tracking; and a ban on riding after dusk without lights or reflectors.
“The state has many rules set in place, and you have the option to be stricter than the state, but the safety needs to be first and foremost in your decision making,” Adams said.
The city will soon release in-depth results of an e-bike survey it conducted.
Knox County Health Commissioner Zach Green reported 138 confirmed cases year-to-date of Lyme disease as of Aug. 10. That compares to 147 at this time last year.
Knox Public Health has seen five cases of anaplasmosis, which spreads to humans via the bite of an infected tick. The typical count is two or less.
Symptoms are fever, headache, chills and muscle aches.
The county has six cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Typically, the county sees one or fewer.
Symptoms are fever, headache and rash.
There are seven confirmed cases of cyclospora. Green said the company responsible for the outbreak now is being investigated for salmonella with jalapenos.
Legislative action includes selling property, donating equipment
In its legislative session, council took the following actions:
• Approved selling property at 10 S. Monroe St., 101 Delaware Ave. and 0 Delaware Ave.
•R eappointed Katie Delozier and Steve Jefferson to the Board of Property Maintenance Appeals and Todd Hawkins to the Library Board of Trustees.
• Approved donating radio repeaters the police department no longer needs to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. Police Chief Robert Morgan said the repeaters have no trade-in value, and the KCSO has identified areas in the county where it has trouble getting signals.
• Paid bills, appropriated $6,107,944 in bond proceeds to the new police station fund and approved fund transfers
• Gave a first reading to legislation renaming Shellmar Park in honor of former councilman John Francis.
• Approved disposing of equipment in the public works department no longer needed.
• Approved the TIF agreement with Founder’s Grove.
• Added the Arista Villas parcels to the city’s NCA.
• Held a public hearing on the TIF agreement for Arista Villas. Council scheduled a third reading on the legislation for Sept. 14.
• Approved creating a cremation scattering garden in Mound View Cemetery.
• Renamed Fund 407 Municipal Facilities Improvement Fund to New Police Station Capital Improvement Fund and created a 409 Justice Center Capital Improvement Fund.
• Gave first readings to ordinances increasing the number of fire department employees and leasing city vehicles.
