MOUNT VERNON — The long-awaited improvements to the North Main/Chestnut Street intersection are finally on the horizon.
Meeting on Monday, city council members authorized the safety-service director to bid and contract for the project, which involves widening the turns on the northeast and northwest corners of the intersection. Widening the turns enables semi-trailers heading south on Ohio 3/North Main and turning west on Chestnut, as well as trucks traveling west on Chestnut and turning north on Ohio 3, to make the turns without taking up two lanes of traffic or driving over the curbs.
Other improvements include installing four new poles with mast arms and adding traffic sensors. The pole on the YMCA side will be moved north and the sidewalk will be moved to eliminate trucks running over it.
The city received a $338,476 Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) grant which covers 65 percent of the cost. The remaining 35 percent is city funds.
City Engineer Brian Ball said it will take 120 days to receive the new traffic poles and equipment. Actual construction will take five to six weeks, during which time the intersection will be closed to traffic.
The city has to complete the project by June 30, 2021, before the Ohio Department of Transportation paves Ohio 13 next summer.
City council members also gave the okay to solicit design bids for a public water system for the Westgate Mobile Home Community, 900 Harcourt Road. Ball said the park’s water system is under Ohio Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The city sells water to the park through a master meter. The water system is substandard and has many leaks per year.
Ball estimates design costs of $40,000 and construction costs of $400,000 to $500,000. City council approved applying to OPWC for a grant/loan combination to fund the project. Park owner Joseph Badalamenti will repay the OPWC loan and the city’s cost-share. If the OPWC application does not rank high enough in scoring, Ball said that the city will ask for only the loan.
A third engineering project council approved involves engineering and design services for improvements to the Shellmar site and Madison Street drainage project. The city and the Knox County Land Bank will split the $100,000 cost 50-50. The city’s share will come out of the engineering budget.
The land bank is actively working to develop the Shellmar site, but creating a stormwater system and determining what part of the parcel is in the flood plain are challenges. Ball said the land bank has one out-of-town company ready to buy a lot, but moving in is impossible without knowing about stormwater and flood plain issues.
In other business, council:
- Adopted an ordinance allowing towing companies to tow junk and abandoned cars to their lot rather than towing them to the city’s impound lot
- Adopted as an emergency an ordinance removing the traffic signal at North Main and Hamtramck streets and placing a stop sign for westbound traffic on Hamtramck
- Gave a first reading to legislation authorizing a 90-day trial period for revised time limits for parking on West Vine Street
During the public participation portion of the meeting, Chestnut Street resident Anna Long, recounting the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by a Cleveland police officer, told council members that Mount Vernon needs police reform so that “the next national story doesn’t play out here in Mount Vernon.” She said that a review of use of force and anti-harassment policies will help foster safety and trust between all members of the Mount Vernon Community.
Matt Snow of Action for Equality Knox County also spoke on police reforms and believes change is needed. He agrees with forming a task force to explore those issues and requested more detail on the task force as well as review and tracking of law enforcement officers. Police Chief Robert Morgan will respond to Snow’s questions.
Council adjourned into executive session at 8:38 p.m. to discuss collective bargaining matters. No action was taken.
