The $1.14 million bid by Dirt Dawg Excavating was the unofficial low bid for the South Catherine Street and Oak Street reconstruction project that will replace aging bricks and the infrastructure below the streets in that neighborhood.
The streets have been in bad shape and stormwater had begun to pool in the area, Mayor Matt Starr said. Existing bricks will be ripped out and replaced. All new utilities including stormwater, wastewater and water utilities will be installed.
A $450,000 to $500,000 Community Development Block Grant funded the project.
“Looking back in the history of this, this has been one of those things that I think it's been put off for at least eight years,” the mayor said.
An ordinance requires the city to keep existing brick streets.
“The bricks will give us decades of longevity as opposed to asphalt, which will give us years,” Starr said.
The Kokosing River restoration and West Lake and Morgan Street restoration projects were put out for bids, which will be opened on Feb. 18.
Police Department
Police Chief Robert Morgan promoted all corporals to sergeants and all sergeants to lieutenants. No salaries were increased with the promotions. The only cost will be new badges, business cards and uniforms for the promoted officers.
The rank of corporal has been outdated for years, Morgan said. It no longer serves as a supervisory position in most police agencies in Ohio or the nation. Sergeant had been considered the first-line supervisory position.
Corporals in the department had problems getting supervisory training when qualifications required at least the rank of sergeant, Morgan noted.
“It also allows our supervisors to be on par with their peers,” he said.
Public Buildings and Land
Probationers have helped create a witness waiting room for municipal court in the judges’ and probation area. The work helped them pay off their fines. The Ohio Supreme Court wants cities to have a waiting room, Starr said.
Three workers were being cross-trained for snow plowing done by Public Works employees. Robert Snow, Bret Bennett and Terry Postle will relieve the regular drivers to improve safety and reduce overtime hours.
Fire Department
Thirty-nine city firefighters are helping the Knox County Board of Public Health to administer COVID-19 vaccines. One clinic was being held today at Mount Vernon High School Energy Fieldhouse. A second clinic will be held Friday at Cooper Progress Park at the corner of Sandusky and Chestnut streets.
Starting Feb. 1, Ohio residents 70 and older were eligible for the vaccine, with the age limit dropping from 75. Call 740-399-3847 to make an appointment.
