MOUNT VERNON – Now that the festival season is over, the city will make emergency repairs on Chestnut Street.
“We've got some emergency repairs that are planned to start on or about Nov. 5 through Nov. 8,” Mayor Matt Starr told the Mount Vernon News.
The city plans to rebuild the curb, gutter and sidewalk on the south side of the road from Gay to Main streets. The asphalt will be removed and the road base reconstructed before the block is repaved.
“This is the road that sustained a lot of damage from that lightning strike,” he said, referring to damage from an Aug. 12 storm.
The city temporarily patched the roadway to make sure festival detour traffic could continue. Before the work could begin, some work beneath the surface had to be completed. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds are covering the costs.
“The brick install is still continuing on Oak Street,” he said.
This week some concrete work will continue on Potwin and Catherine streets for the sidewalk, curb, gutters and driveways.
Paving
The start date for the Clinton Road project has been delayed because the contractor was in a serious vehicle accident. The city will provide an update when a new start date is set.
Street resurfacing continues, with Eastern Star Road completed except for painting the lines.
Work on East Center Run bridge and East High Street from Park to the Center Run Bridge has begun. Potwin and McKinley streets remain on this year’s paving list. Pleasant and Calhoun streets are on hold until 2022.
Utilities
“We had an 8-inch water main break in the industrial park," Starr said. "We were able to isolate the area pretty quickly, resulting in a minimal depressurization."
A contractor working in the area ran into a delay, so staff from the Engineering Department repaired the break, he said.
A couple of sewer backups on Spruce Street and on Walnut Street were resolved. Crews had to stop maintenance work to take care of the leaks and backups.
In the North Bay area at the water treatment plant, staff members were going to replace a part, but the work was postponed until this Monday. A gear reducer drive unit had to be replaced.
“This is very important because we have two clarifiers, and it's one of those necessary redundancies," Starr said. "So we want to make sure that we're able to produce water all the time. So we want to we want to make sure we've got a backup clarifier ready to go."
Parks and streets
The city completed power washing of the pool. Weather allowing, the pool will be sealed.
As of Monday, the Street Department began leaf collection in Mount Vernon. As equipment was tested ahead of the official start, seven loads of leaves had already been collected.
Boo N' Brew raised funds for MTVArts, Rotary Club
Boo N' Brew Festival on Friday night raised funds for MTVArts and the Mount Vernon Rotary Club.
The headliner was John Michael Montgomery at the Public Square, Starr said. Local breweries offered samples of their craft beer. Free designated driver service was offered.
MTVArts will present “Welcome Home,” an original musical based on a memoir by Vietnam veteran Steve Jacklin, at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11 and 12, the organization’s website said. The collaborative effort includes support from Memorial Theater at Knox Memorial Building and the Mount Vernon Arts Consortium (MVAC).
Sponsors include VFW Post 4027, Veterans Administration, AMVETS Memorial Post 95, White Castle and proceeds from the Boo N' Brew Festival. The production is in recognition of the sacrifice of all veterans, with special tribute to those who served in Vietnam.
The production, which should be considered rated R for language and adult content, will be free to all veterans, Starr said.
