MOUNT VERNON – The city will join the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission to gain a seat at the table in regional planning and to get help in seeking grants.
More than 70 local governments from 15 central Ohio counties make up the commission, including Knox County, Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr said at the Feb. 28 City Council meeting. Member governments in the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) receive exclusive access to advisory services, grants, other financial resources, GIS services, a local government summer internship program, and other benefits, the commission’s website states.
Membership in the MORPC gives the city the opportunity to be in the same room with decision-makers like the director of the Ohio Department of Transportation, Starr said.
The commission will provide grant writing and access to GrantFinder, a grant finding service.
“For me, the thing that that was the icing on the cake was the GrantFinder and the grant writer so we don't have to spend as much time with our own staff to try to do that,” he said.
Membership would enable the city and county to work together strategically on the county’s their comprehensive plan and Mount Vernon’s strategic plan, Starr said.
He said a huge opportunity awaits the city, “not to mention our overall connectivity with Licking County. We're 22 miles from Public Square to the nearest corner of the Intel plant.”
Councilmember Amber Keener wanted to make sure the city communicates and works with the county.
“I don't want to create an environment where we surprise them with a project that we're working on, and we find out that they were actually working on a project themselves,” she said.
Public utilities director hired
Safety Service Director Rick Dzik said Tom Marshall has been hired as the city’s new public utilities director.
Marshall said he previously served as utilities director for the city of Delaware. Most recently, he’s been teaching. His wife is a nurse at Knox County Community Hospital.
Dzik said an assistant city engineer candidate has been selected. They are working on a starting date.
Miller gives final public health update
Knox County Public Health Commissioner Julie Miller made what probably will be her last address to the City Council before her retirement this summer, giving a quick review of the past year.
She told City Council she has a feeling another COVID vaccine booster will be coming.
Deputy Public Health Commissioner Zach Green gave a COVID update. Knox County had 47 active cases. Patients at Knox Community Hospital are on a downward trend.
Knox Public Health received approximately $1.5 million in CARES Act funding to supplement its COVID response efforts, he said. Of that, $900,000 was given to the Knox County Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center.
Miller said Knox Public Health completed the purchase of Moore Family Practice and the Simona L. Moore Walk-In Clinic as a satellite location at 207 West High Street in Mount Vernon.
The Knox Board of Health has five applicants and conducted interviews to replace her after her retirement, Miller said.
Garbage hauler complaints heard
City Council members shared complaints by city residents about garbage service in the city, including noisy trucks hauling trash at 2:30 a.m.
Councilmember Tammy Woods said after the constant braking heard at that early start on Thursdays by three different garbage haulers in her neighborhood has residents calling her to complain later in the day.
“I have had more than one person tell me they're being charged by Rumpke for recycling,” Councilmember Mike Hillier said.
Under the former garbage hauler that sold the routes to Rumpke, the recycling was included in the basic charge.
Starr said he would have another talk with Rumpke about the charges.
