The west side of North Sandusky Street in Mount Vernon is slated for a new sidewalk in 2023 between Franklin and Burgess streets. The city will use $120,000 in Community Development Block Grant money on the improvement project.
A rebuild from East Vine Street to Coshocton Avenue will eliminate flooding and other problems on North Catherine Street. The project is slated for 2023 and is partially paid for through $470,000 in CDBG money.
The west side of North Sandusky Street in Mount Vernon is slated for a new sidewalk in 2023 between Franklin and Burgess streets. The city will use $120,000 in Community Development Block Grant money on the improvement project.
MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon City Council gave the green light for several improvement projects at its Monday meeting. Funding for all three projects includes Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money.
Council authorized the city's safety-service director to bid and contract for two of the projects: a new sidewalk on the west side of North Sandusky Street, and the Catherine Street brick street rebuild.
The North Sandusky sidewalk project stretches from Franklin to Burgess streets. CDBG money will fund $120,000 of the cost; $130,546 will come from the city's 2023 road and asphalt budgets.
The city redid the sidewalk on the east side of North Sandusky in 2022.
The North Catherine Street reconstruction project runs from East Vine Street to Coshocton Avenue. Work includes removing the bricks, replacing all utility lines, laying 7 inches of concrete, redoing curbs, and replacing the bricks.
CDBG funds will cover $470,000 of the 2023 estimated costs. The city's cost will come from several budgets:
•Water $296,643
•Wastewater $139,755
•Storm water $184,993
•Bricks & sidewalks $650,000
City Engineer Brian Ball said he cannot guarantee that the city will complete the project by the end of the year due to potential supply issues.
The third 2023 improvement project is installing water and sanitary sewer lines on Stump and Northview drives. The city will use $247,400 from the water and $50,000 from the wastewater budgets to complement the $539,000 CDBG grant.
The city has applied for an additional $200,000 in funding through the Ohio Public Works Commission. Ball said the city scored very well on its application and is one of the top two projects in the OPWC district.
Clinton Township will kick in money for paving after the work is completed.
A rebuild from East Vine Street to Coshocton Avenue will eliminate flooding and other problems on North Catherine Street. The project is slated for 2023 and is partially paid for through $470,000 in CDBG money.
City of Mount Vernon
CDBG projects on tap for 2024 include extending water lines to the Buckeye Addition in Clinton Township. The county received a $720,000 CDBG grant for the project, which covers line construction, tap fees, and the cost to run lines from the main lines to low- and mid-income homes.
The city will kick in $637,439 and $7,751 from its 2024 water and roads budgets, respectively. Clinton Township will put in $70,000, the last of its funding through the American Rescue Plan Act.
The city also applied for $200,000 in OPWC funding for this project; it also scored as one of the top two district OPWC applications.
The second 2024 project is in the Dan Emmett Elementary neighborhood. Ball previously said the area has experienced a lot of problems with water/wastewater backups. The project includes replacing water and stormwater lines; relocating sanitary sewer lines; and adding sidewalks and pedestrian signals.
The city will design the project in 2023, with construction slated for 2024. In addition to $700,000 in CDBG money, the Ariel Foundation is putting $275,000 toward the project. The remaining money will come from the city's water, wastewater, storm water, and roads funds.
Legislative action
Council members raised the amount that Auditor Terry Scott can transfer within a fund without having to come to council for approval.
Currently, Scott has to have council's approval to transfer anything over $500 from one line item to another within the same fund. The initial proposal was to raise the limit to $5,000.
Discussing it in a Finance and Budget Committee meeting, several council members were reluctant to jump from $500 to $5,000. However, all were comfortable with raising the limit to $3,000, and council ultimately passed an amended ordinance increasing the cap to $3,000.
Council members took the following additional actions:
•Passed on the third reading legislation authorizing the city to request qualifications for, identify, and contract with a company to rehab the city's clarifier No. 2
•Approved $360,816.96 in supplemental appropriations stemming from a premium credit from Medical Mutual of Ohio for outperforming claims experience
•Approved $51.7 million in budget appropriations to supplement the $11.537 million approved in December
•Authorized the safety-service service director to enter into a three-year contract with the Knox County Board of Commissioners for information technology services. City Law Director Rob Broeren said the contract will include one new employee based in the city, access to other county IT members, and long-term planning to “make our networks more robust and protect the city and its data.”
•Approved the reappointment of Kathryn Brechler to the Board of Property Maintenance Appeals; Sibley Poland to the Historical Review Commission; Emily Vonck to the city's recreation board; and Anthony Smith, Lois Hanson, and Christy Burson to the Library Board of Trustees
•Approved the appointment of Council member Amber Keener to the Convention & Visitor's Bureau Board of Trustees and Experience Mount Vernon board
•Gave a first reading to the comprehensive plan for Liberty Crossing, a planned neighborhood development on Newark Road. Council will hold a public hearing on Feb. 27.
Council also heard a presentation from representatives of Bricker & Eckler law firm about an economic development tool called New Community Authorities.
