MOUNT VERNON — Superintendent Jeff Pickrell says he feels good about the progress made in rehabbing the county’s water/waster system.
Meeting with the Knox County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, Pickrell reported that some inflow and infiltration issues were fixed in 2017 by partially or fully lining 50 manholes. Several castings were sealed and lids replaced, which also helped control I&I. Five lateral lines running from main lines to properties were also fixed.
Pickrell said some manholes in ditches are taking on surface water, resulting in a spike of water coming into the treatment plant. He will examine them closer during the spring rains.
Projects on tap for 2018 include rehabbing the Apple Valley No. 2 pump station on Monroe Mills Road when the weather gets decent. Pickrell said that the station takes on significant water since the roadbed was raised.
He would like to partially close Monroe Mills Road the day prior to the rehab to accommodate concrete work, reopen for the evening, and then close again the next day for further work. He says this plan will cost less as it eliminates the need for two workers to direct traffic; it also decreases the safety risk associated with the high volume of traffic on Monroe Mills Road.
A second project slated for February or March is repairing 1,173 feet of a gravity sewer line in the Orchard Hills drainage system. Pickrell said the project is already funded from 2017 money.
In Pleasant View Acres, Pickrell said work will continue toward installing permanent aerators in the lagoon. Ultraviolet lights may also be used to improve disinfection.
Overall, Pickrell is pleased with the work the department has done. “We have made a difference,” he said. “We still see spikes when we have rain, but they are not as long and not as significant. I feel good about what we’ve done. There’s always more to do and maybe some things we could have done better, but I feel good about what we’ve done.”
The commissioners also met with Laura Webster, operations director for Knox County 9-1-1. Due to the computer system being down, she did not have the total number of calls coming into the center for 2017, but she did report that law enforcement responded to 39,158 calls.
Disturbances (noise, arguments etc.) account for the highest volume of response at 2,293. Calls relating to drug activity were 313; overdoses totaled 43 calls.
The Mount Vernon Police Department responded on 18,257 calls; Mount Vernon fire and EMS responded to 4,975. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded to 11,399 calls.
Of the calls dispatched from the 911 center for helicopter transport, 10 went to MedFlight and 30 to Air Evac.
Webster said she and County Administrator Jason Booth are still looking into a new phone system that will have texting 911 capability. She does not see that feature being mandated for another couple of years, although mandated training went into effect this year. Webster said that Knox County’s dispatchers are already trained.
The center is fully staffed and overtime decreased with 18 full-time dispatchers and three part-time. “We are hoping to add about three more part-time [dispatchers] this year,” said Webster, adding that she will begin the hiring process in February.
The commissioners commended Seth Andrew Rupp Lawhon and Michael L. Johnson for their Eagle Scout projects. Lawhon cleaned and repaired headstones in a cemetery on Hopewell Road; Johnson made an all-weather sign for the Heart of Ohio Trail.
