MOUNT VERNON — City Council members kicked off Monday night’s meeting by honoring James P. “Jim” Buchwald’s 90th birthday and singing “Happy Birthday” to him.
In what he called a “rare treat,” Mayor Richard Mavis presented Buchwald with a proclamation recognizing Buchwald’s accomplishments in engineering. Noting that Buchwald’s brief stint as a teacher early in his career did not work out well, Mavis said “we owe a debt of gratitude to those eighth-grade rascals” because otherwise Buchwald would not have returned to Mount Vernon and founded Ariel Corp. in 1966. Ariel Corp. has become the world’s largest manufacturer of separable reciprocating gas compressors and employs more than 1,000 people.
Recalling his arrival in Mount Vernon in 1954, Buchwald said he and his wife, Maureen, did not have an automobile or anything other than some debts. “Just the first day I realized this is the best place. … There was something about Mount Vernon that was just right,” he said. “The Knox County people who work at Ariel are just terrific. They dig in, they think about what they are doing, and they do a good job. We couldn’t be in a better place. So thank you for being here, and I’m glad I’m here.”
Following an update from Carrie Hyman on activities by Main Street Mount Vernon, council members moved on to the legislative portion of the meeting. They authorized Safety-service Director Joel Daniels to bid and contract for 2018 street resurfacing.
City Engineer Brian Ball said that paving needs total slightly over $3 million; for 2018, the city allocated $200,000. Some projects slated for 2018, including sections of Pleasant and Mulberry streets and Mansfield Ave., are being pushed back to 2019 because Columbia Gas has not completed its work in those areas.
Coshocton Avenue TIF funds will cover the $14,171 cost of line repainting on Upper Gilchrist Road between Coshocton and Yauger roads. A portion of the $138,202 cost of repairing Spice and Green alleys will come from the city’s water/wastewater utility.
Coshocton Avenue TIF funds and the city’s general fund will each cover half of the city’s $450,000 cost of paving U.S. 36. The remainder of the $5 million cost to repave U.S. 36 will come from the Ohio Department of Transportation.
Ball also noted that the city is working on getting federal grant money for street projects in the north and west ends. If successful, those projects are on tap for 2019 and 2020.
Relating to streets, Tammy and Dennis Swingle spoke to council in a Streets and Public Buildings Committee meeting prior to the legislative session. Tammy Swingle said that speed humps are a simple and inexpensive solution to get drivers to comply with the speed limit, reduce noise, and reduce the chances of accidents at the intersection of Edgewood Road and Chestnut Street.
Dennis Swingle reiterated that speed humps would go a long way toward helping solve Edgewood Road traffic problems as well as increased police presence and writing of tickets.
Ball said that speed humps require a level of design experience and care that the city does not have, which is one of the reasons the city wants to enlist the services of an engineering firm. Speed humps are not allowed on inclines, and if an accident should occur because of a speed hump, the city would be held responsible.
At its Feb. 26 meeting, council postponed a vote on legislation authorizing a traffic study for the Edgewood Road area. Monday, Ball outlined three general parameters given to the consulting firm who would do the traffic study:
- Conduct an origin and destination study
- Evaluate short-term, low-cost solutions to cut-through traffic issues
- Study four long-term alternatives that would be determined by the people attending public meetings
Ball said those long-term alternatives have not yet been defined and that contrary to public comments circulating around, no decision has been made how to proceed.
“At this point we are collecting alternatives; we are not evaluating alternatives. Everything is on the table, even doing nothing,” he said.
The public is invited to attend a meeting on Tuesday, March 13, from 6:30 to 8 pm at the Knox County Memorial Building. The five-station format will have information on traffic and speed counts in the Edgewood Road area, data from the police department on the number of tickets issued and illegal truck traffic, and maps on which residents can write their suggestions for speed humps or other improvements. Residents will also have the opportunity to record their comments or suggestions.
In other business, council authorized the auditor to pay bills, fast-tracked approval to apply for Ohio Environmental Protection Agency grant money to repair the riverbank where the dike was breached between the Kokosing River and the west lake at Ariel-Foundation Park, and approved amending the income tax code to comply with requirements established by the Ohio Legislature. Council also gave a first reading to an ordinance amending the city’s sign code.
