MOUNT VERNON – Although the city's new salary policy has only been in place for one week, police officers from other jurisdictions have already begun applying for lateral transfers to the Mount Vernon Police Department.
The ordinance enables those officers to retain years of experience for pension and to receive higher pay than a starting salary but leaves them at the bottom of the rung for seniority in Mount Vernon.
“So, the ink’s not even dry and bam, we've got people who want to work here in our police department,” Mayor Matt Starr told the Mount Vernon News.
Street Department
Approximately 30 feet of storm water pipe and a new catch basin were installed on Chestnut Hill. A lot of storm water comes off that steep decline, the mayor said.
“Plus, there are just a bunch of natural springs in that area that really lead to a lot of storm water runoff,” Starr said.
Street Department crews also repaired an alley on Worcester Road that was in bad shape.
The city seeks more seasonal help with leaf raking and leaf removal, he said. Applications are available online at the city’s website on the documents page. Candidates can also come into City Hall and pick up an application.
“Just as a reminder, those people who do have leaves, do not rake them out into the streets,” Starr said.
He asked residents to put them next to the curb on the tree lawn.
Employee training
A survey of city employees by Human Resources revealed strong interest in learning how to use Excel, Microsoft’s spreadsheet program.
Starr said 38 employees received beginner or intermediate training. Many want to know more about charts and formulas, so additional training will be planned, Starr said.
“The power of being able to use spreadsheets to be able to make better decisions is one of the reasons why we want to put it out there. And so we're hoping it's going to help us out all around,” he said.
Employees from many departments, ranging from administrative assistants to laborers, underwent the training.
Parks
New picnic tables were installed at Ariel-Foundation Park. The city is replacing wooden picnic tables with low-maintenance, coated materials.
“It's much safer, it doesn't splinter, it's easier to clean, it's easier to use and it's just a lot safer,” Starr said.
All of the playground equipment has been repaired at Harmony Playground, he said.
The cruise line, which is a playground glider, has been repaired. Also, the drop zone was repaired. New mounts for the musical instruments were installed, which, Starr said, hopefully will keep mallets from disappearing.
He said drop zone repairs and musical instrument mounts cost $50 in materials. The cruise line equipment was under warranty.
“The property damage from vandals to the flooring required $200 in special tools and equipment to repair, but we were able to keep the cost down by replacing the flooring with leftover pieces from the initial install,” he said.
The remaining costs were for labor of city staff.
The city finally got the supplies to repair the river view crossing by the viaduct. People who traverse the bridge know how some of the wood planks are not in the best shape.
Parks crews will begin to replace those troubled areas soon, he said. Getting wood delivered takes a lot longer these days, he said.
A new spigot will be installed at Arch Avenue Park this week for the community garden.
Mount Vernon’s Ariel-Foundation Park has two Little Libraries, allowing residents to take a book home and leave a book behind. But now the city is installing two more of the miniature libraries. One will be at Harmony Playground at Memorial Park, with the other installed at the CA&C Depot on Columbus Road.
Anniversary celebration
“We want to say congratulations to the Ohio Eastern Star Home for celebrating their 70th anniversary,” Starr said.
City officials joined its CEO, Michele Engelbach, at a Knox Couty Chamber of Commerce mixer to celebrate its anniversary.
Engineering
The McKinley Street project is coming to a close, with the waterline nearly complete.
Permit filings are starting to slow down.
“It stands to reason because it's just starting to get colder and people are not going out and doing home improvement stuff,” Starr said.
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