MOUNT VERNON – A panic button for security has been installed in City Council chambers, but councilmembers still want a Mount Vernon Police Department officer providing security at itheir meetings.
The officer providing security during off-duty hours will be paid $90 for a two-hour meeting under a fee that Police Chief Robert Morgan has said is less than overtime pay.
Councilmember John Francis asked other members if they thought the panic button was enough during Monday’s council meeting.
Councilmember Mike Hillier said it was funny that even Council President Bruce Hawkins didn’t know the city would be charged for security.
“I think that communication is vital. And I think that that was missing in this exchange,” Councilmember Amber Keener said.
The consensus of the council was to have officers provide security.
Knox officials seek opioid settlement help
Knox County Commission President Teresa Bemiller and Knox prosecuting attorney Chip McConville spoke to the City Council about the need to appoint a representative for a seven-county opioid settlement district.
One of the three funding mechanisms in the OneOhio opioid settlement sets up districts across Ohio.
“There is a lot of money at stake with this. There are millions upon millions of dollars – billions of dollars, globally speaking – in terms of these settlements,” McConville said. “This is a settlement that really takes into account what local entities and local jurisdictions have had to spend in terms of dealing with the fallout of the opioid epidemic.”
The regional representatives will propose how those funds should be spent on area-wide initiatives to fight drugs, basically drug addiction opioids, he said.
“Now this isn't going to be a quick process. This will be over a period of at least 18 years,” Bemiller told City Council. “We're slated right now to get about $24 million in Region 18, and it could go up.
The OneOhio foundation board will decide how much money it funnels down at any time to each district, she said.
Law Director Rob Broeren said the council needed to approve legislation setting its representative – in this case, Mayor Matt Starr – so he can represent the city in a meeting April 27.
Council approved the legislation.
Project engineer hiring tabled
The council tabled indefinitely a proposal to hire a project engineer because members said they didn’t know how well other measures to improve the Engineering Department have worked so far this year. And they wanted to see an actual job description for the position and not just a list of potential duties.
Councilmember Tammy Woods and other members said they were surprised to learn after the fact that the assistant city engineer recently hired is the husband of the city’s contract engineer.
Starr confirmed in a previous meeting that the city envisioned hiring Emily McKinley as project manager, which would end her contract work with the city.
Councilmember Amber Keener said she hoped the city would open the hiring process for any future project manager position for anyone qualified to apply.
Woods said they had approved hiring an assistant engineer and were told the new utilities director could take some of the load off of Engineering.
“I would like to see the positions that we have approved, filled and working before we know what the true need is in that office,” she said.
Hillier said if McKinley wasn’t hired, the city would still have to pay her for contract engineering.
Public hearing set April 25 on multi-family rezoning
City Council will hold a public hearing at 6:45 p.m. April 25 on the rezoning requested by Rockford Homes for a 496-unit apartment development on 38.5 acres at Upper Gilchrist and State Route 36.
To overturn the Municipal Planning Commission’s approval of the rezoning to R3, the council would need at least a 6-1 vote against it.
Hillier was joined by nearby residents in expressing concern about traffic congestion.
Safety-Service Director Rick Dzik said it was time the city pulled out its previous plan to create a three-lane roadway to help with traffic, and that includes sidewalks.
Deborah McElroy of Upper Gilchrist Road said she was concerned about the transparency of the process and how the property has gone from a proposal for single-family residences to apartments.
Hillier said when the property was annexed into the city, it was zoned R1, which allows single-family homes. Rockford Homes has asked for the rezoning for their proposed development.
Another resident expressed concerns about hassles that could develop with residents of the apartments.
