MOUNT VERNON – A group of Mount Vernon residents and officials met to consider how to use the $1.7 million in American Rescue Plans Act funding the city anticipates receiving.
“We did get a good few good ideas. Childcare came up quite a bit as something to consider,” Mayor Matt Starr said.
The group will collect data and discuss ideas on where to invest the ARPA funds.
“Another thing that we heard from the group was to look to reach out to Knox County as well as the townships to see if there are joint projects that we could work together on to leverage all the money that the townships in the county are going to be getting,” Starr said.
The next meeting will be at 4 p.m. Aug. 18 in City Council chambers.
Engineering
The Engineering Department is working with the Ohio Department of Transportation on a daily basis to make sure the North Sandusky Street project stays on schedule, city engineer Brian Ball told Starr.
“We have seen improvements in there. We're still looking at ways to make it smoother and protect the neighborhood while allowing for to find a way around the neighborhood itself,” Starr said.
A new water line on Oak Street is in service with all customers switched over to the line. Contractors are working on the road’s layout, including the sidewalk, curb and gutter.
Airport Tour
Starr said he took a tour of Knox County Regional Airport with auditor Terry Scott and Safety Service Director Rick Dzik.
“It's just one of those things we tend to forget is part of our infrastructure here, our transportation infrastructure and how lucky we are to have that,” Starr said.
PAK United
The first Police and Kids United activity was a huge success, Starr said.
“We had 35 youth – teenagers – show up and play kickball at the Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s soccer stadium, along with other members of the community and the police force,” he said.
The next event will be dodgeball Aug. 11 at a location to be determined.
Suicide Prevention
The Mental Health Recovery Board for Licking and Knox counties (www.mhrlk.org) trains individuals in suicide prevention through its QPR program – Question, Persuade and Refer.
“It's one of those programs that focuses on prevention, recognition and questioning somebody what they might be thinking, persuading them to get help and then actually making the referral to someone who can help,” Starr said.
They go to workplaces, schools, churches and neighborhoods to provide training to help with suicide prevention.
Clerk of Court moves on
Tanya Newell, who served as clerk of the City Council and the mayor’s assistant, worked her last day for the city on July 23. She had worked for the city for nine years.
Newell will be working in the front office of Mount Vernon Middle School, Starr said.
“We're going to miss her, but she's going to do very well in her next job,” he said.
