MOUNT VERNON – On Oct. 31, Mount Vernon honored Susan Kahrl, Joseph Bell and Sam Barone as Volunteers of the Year for their help on boards, commissions and nonprofits for the city.
Mayor Matt Starr noted that Kahrl has done extensive work volunteering with the Shade Tree and Beautification Commission and serving as the volunteer coordinator for the Foundation Park Conservancy.
Bell has served performing arts and arts groups since 2007, Starr said. He has excelled in leadership with the Mount Vernon Music and Arts Festival.
Barone has been involved with a number of philanthropic organizations.
"We are formally recognizing him for his work in charge of programs at Foundation Park Conservancy," Starr said.
"Our community is so much richer because of these and other volunteers," Starr stated. "We couldn’t do what we do in the city without the volunteers."
Engineering
The Ohio Department of Transportation will keep the Mount Vernon Avenue bridge closed until 6 a.m. on Nov. 9 to finish concrete work and to install asphalt for the north-end approach, City Engineer Brian Ball said. It will only reopen for one lane of traffic because parapet and bike lane work remains.
"But the weather looks really good next week so we scheduled the closure to get it rolling," Ball said.
Fire Department
A blast trailer from the Ohio Fire Academy gave the Fire Department a chance to train on three problematic areas: hose advancement, nozzle work and basement fires.
"They got a lot of work getting into a basement setting and finding a way out of there when you are in the middle of flames," Starr said.
Street Department
Crews testing the leaf collection machines picked up 34 truckloads of leaves, preparing them for the start of regular collections on Nov. 2. A leaf pickup schedule posted online (https://mountvernonohio.org) is updated daily.
Strategic Planning
A second breakout session for strategic planning was held with the nonprofit community, which Starr said generated many good ideas.
The city is installing a public Wi-Fi system downtown with Dynamic Networks using CARES Act money.
Parks
Four picnic tables were installed at Shellmar Park. Baseball field gates were repaired at Phillips Park.
The water park pool and the pool house have been winterized. Leaves in the parks have been mulched.
