MOUNT VERNON – The Mount Vernon Music and Arts Festival kicks off Thursday night at the Woodward Opera House with downtown hosting three days of the festival from Friday through Sunday.
The Cleveland Keys will perform Thursday in a special kickoff fundraiser.
“We didn’t have a festival last year, and it was kind of a body blow to the community,” Mayor Matt Starr said in the Chat with Mayor Matt podcast on Aug. 2.
The festival has been rich with music but now has art components, including “Chalk the Block” to showcase visual artists who will create chalk art on South Main Street.
The Main Stage moves to the North Main Street/Public Square intersection between The Makery and City Hall, Festival co-director Trina Trainor said on the podcast. Arts and crafts vendors will be on the Public Square.
Visit mvmaf.org for information.
Homeless Camp
The property owner where a homeless camp has taken root will ask Knox County to allow him to get Mount Vernon to annex four properties currently in Clinton Township to clear up jurisdictional issues.
If the property owner is successful and the properties are annexed, nearby residents will know exactly who to call if they have problems arising from the homeless camp – the Mount Vernon Police Department.
Those properties on the west end near Arch Avenue Park are in a strange geographic situation, Starr said.
“I can't make any rhyme or reason, but there are these islands of township surrounded by the city. It doesn't make any sense at all,” he told the Mount Vernon News.
In a Type 2 annexation, a property owner can petition the county to bring property into city limits if it is adjacent to city property.
If the properties are annexed, it would eliminate doubt about whether the city or the county has oversight of the homeless camp.
"So this cleans that up so all of the jurisdiction is handled through the [city] police department,” Starr said.
If Knox County Commissioners approve the petition, the property owner next takes it to the Mount Vernon City Council for approval. Starr said that’s just part of the equation.
“The carrot part of the equation is that we have coordinated efforts on the social services side to make sure to offer people help who want the help,” he said.
That could be finding a temporary place to live or help with addiction and recovery issues.
“The city is not just out here to just kick everybody down ... Our role in this is in enforcement; that's what we're sworn to do. But it's important that we also help people who want the help,” Starr said.
Police Department
A letter was sent to Mount Vernon businesses and posted on the Police Department’s Facebook page to explain what people should do if they see a truck driving off of a state route. Starr said it’s happening in neighborhoods other than the North Sandusky Street area, where construction is occurring.
“We have sent letters to shipping and receiving personnel and business managers requesting assistance in educating the drivers of the proper routes to take through the city," Police Chief Robert Morgan’s letter said. "Also included in the mailings are signs that have been made up to be posted advising truck drivers that they are subject to being cited for being off of state routes."
