Parks Department workers began playground inspections, swing installations and restroom preparations to get Mount Vernon’s parks ready for warmer weather.
“The restrooms cannot be opened until we’re done with the freezing temperatures,” Mayor Matt Starr said.
April 1 is the target date for restroom openings.
Streets Department
Motorists will see storm sewer manholes raised on East Pleasant Street in preparation for a paving project.
“One of the problems that we have with our manholes is that the paving company comes in and just paves right over them,” Starr said.
That causes problems as crews must search for the manholes buried under pavement if they need to do a water shutoff.
“We’re raising them up so that they will be at the level of the final paving,” he said.
Across the city, testing and preventive maintenance continues for approximately 150 traffic lights.
Streets crews also worked on street sweeping this week. They asked that residents move their vehicles off the streets on the day scheduled for sweeping.
Public Buildings, Lands & Cemetery
The LED lighting upgrades and other work at the Station Break Senior Center should be completed, with workers at City Hall finishing the lighting upgrades there.
Employees repaired an outdoor water fountain at Public Square that had been damaged for quite some time. Starr said replacement quotes were around $7,000. Staff managed to find a way to repair and rebuild that water fountain for $100.
Doug Smith joined the department as a new employee.
Fire Department
Fire Chief Chad Christopher said the Mount Vernon Fire Department completed its first in-house officer training academy on Wednesday, bringing in all officers and acting officers for the leadership training. Community and military leaders and firefighting professionals spoke about leadership.
Christopher also offered a reminder that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources enforces a burn ban during March, April and May.
“What this means is that there’s no open burning during the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” Starr said.
The City also does not want people burning during windy conditions.
Utilities
A sanitary overflow on Shirley Avenue behind McDonald’s was handled with the help of Fredericktown, which loaned the city a truck to help clean and unclog the lines. Mount Vernon’s truck is in Vienna undergoing repairs.
New business
Lashley Training Center at 60 Parrot St. held its ribbon cutting with the City and the Knox Chamber of Commerce for its 24/7 exercise area. The business is an expansion of their locations at 14261 Parrot St. Extension in Mount Vernon and in Danville, Starr said.
