Mount Vernon stocked thousands of fish in Center and East lakes at Ariel-Foundation Park, and soon anglers will be able to share their catches online.
Mayor Matt Starr said the Parks Department stocked Center Lake with 100 walleye, 2,000 minnows, 275 bass, 260 black crappies, 290 hybrid bluegill and 150 yellow perch.
East Lake received 2,000 minnows, 150 yellow perch, 285 bluegill and 275 black crappies.
“Something that's new is that Ariel-Foundation Park will soon have a place on their website where fishermen can record what type of fish that they’ve harvested," Starr said. "And then that will tell us what type of fish we need to restock in the future."
Other park projects include clearing brush and putting mulch around trees. Fences at Philips Park and the CA&C Depot have been repaired.
Public buildings and lands
The plaza building; which houses the Police Department, the city law office and its courthouse; had a water obstruction issue from the balcony that is being repaired.
The city has been installing rolled towel dispensers as part of a touchless system to reduce the spread of viruses. CARES Act funds are funding this project.
Streets
The second round of citywide pick-up of leaves should be starting soon. In four days, 59 loads of leaves were collected by the city’s three machines.
“We just want to make sure that people remembered how to rakes leaves to the curb and not out in the streets, and to refrain from parking on the street when the leaf pickup is scheduled for your area,” Starr said.
The city updates the schedule (mountvernonohio.org) based on weather and other circumstances.
People who don’t want to wait can bag up their leaves and take them to the Knox County compost facility on Thayer Road from Monday through Saturday.
Engineering
The Mount Vernon Avenue bridge was closed until Tuesday to enable concrete to cure.
“It’s just getting us closer to finally being able to open up that bridge,” Starr said.
Budget
City leadership continues to have more budget talks to prepare for the next year. Starr said they are taking a frugal approach to the budget, similar to actions during the Great Recession in 2009-11.
“That was a winning formula. It kept us solvent, it kept us moving forward,” he said.
