In 2022, the Mount Vernon News brought readers coverage of the city’s activities, from street repair projects to clean-up efforts from a storm.
Here’s a recap of some of the issues we covered:
Mayor and city council
Mount Vernon City Council approved pay raises and spent money fixing the municipal parking garage and several brick streets in 2022.
The council also saw how the city's fire department covered hundreds of more fire and emergency services calls after adding College Township coverage through a contract.
Municipal parking garage
In May, city council approved spending $600,000 to shore up every level of the concrete Municipal Parking with structural steel to make it safe for city employees and residents. “We're looking at over 50 tons of steel,” City Engineer Brian Ball said at the time. “Approximately three-quarters of a mile of steel beams will be delivered and installed.” The work was close to final inspections at the end of 2022.
Brick street repairs
The city stuck to its plan to rebuild two or three blocks of its historic brick streets every year or two with North Catherine Street from Vine to Coshocton in 2022, City Engineer Brian Ball said. “Part of the strategic plan, what we’re going to do is perhaps peel the onion a little more, because OK, we’re not going to spend $25 million shortly to fix all these streets,” he said in August at a council meeting.
Lime sludge removal
Mount Vernon’s plan to remove thousands of cubic yards of lime sludge from its water treatment plant lagoon to a neighboring property brought residents’ complaints and an Ohio EPA order to remove it that the city is still appealing. As a result, the city’s utilities director resigned after less than a year in that position. “We're talking in the millions if we have to landfill this. Not only do we have to pay for the trucking, but then we have to pay the landfill fees,” Safety-Services Director Rick Dzik said when the city council instead approved paying a hauling company to truck the lime sludge to interested farmers.
Police officers’ pay increased
A contract agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police gave officers a 5% hourly raise at the start of 2022, another 2% increase in July 2022 and 2% wage increases this year and in 2024. A one-time signing bonus between $1,525 and $1,760 also was approved. In addition, lateral transfers – hiring officers who worked for other police agencies – helped fill vacancies. “As you know, we had a concern about the lack of officers, and I appreciate those sides agreeing to keep those officers,” Councilmember Mike Hillier said.
College Township coverage increases fire calls
The Mount Vernon Fire Department answered 340 more calls by early December 2022 than it had the previous year because the city took on coverage of College Township, including Kenyon College. Many of the calls to the college were false alarms, but campus security was working with Mount Vernon on the problem, Fire Chief Chad Christopher said. “We’ve worked really hard on trying to reduce them as they started putting in different smoke detectors in different buildings and stuff like that,” he said.
Violent storm recovery
In June, a brief EF-1 tornado swept through parts of Knox County, cutting power to homes and damaging trees and buildings. The 25-yard twister followed a 7.1-mile path from Chesterville in Morrow County before lifting south of Green Valley Road near Cochran Road in Knox County. In the aftermath, city crews worked 38 hours of overtime to remove debris and restore power. At the time, Mayor Matt Starr said, “It looks like a war zone through here.”
Notable retirements
Longtime Knox Public Health Director Julie Miller stepped down in February 2022, ending a four-decade healthcare career. During her tenure, Miller met challenges such as the 2014 measles outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic, growing the agency from 30 to 98 employees. Miller described her secret to success: "Listen and meet people where they are. I mean, you can't go wrong when you do those things.”
Dodi Melvin, director of NAMI for Knox/Licking counties, stepped down in August. Melvin, a former MVN columnist, used her platform to bring awareness to mental health issues. “I tell those who have a fear of seeking mental health [help] not to be embarrassed because it's perfectly okay to have a mental illness," Melvin said. "It's no different than having a heart ailment."
In June, Lisa Schott retired as managing director of the Philander Chase Conservancy (PCC) at Kenyon College. Her 12 years at the conservancy capped a 25-year career with Kenyon. Then-president of Kenyon Sean Decatur said of Schott, “At PCC, she has nurtured productive relationships between the college and local farmers and landowners, built on a foundation of trust and mutual respect.”
Domino’s Pizza franchisee Russ Mentzer announced retirement plans in June. His career took him from behind the wheel delivering pizzas during college to behind the counter as a Domino’s Pizza franchisee. “My main focus will be to slow the hands of time and savor every moment,” Mentzer said of his plans to focus on being a grandfather after he leaves the Domino’s helm.
Charitable events
Food For The Hungry, Knox County’s flagship charity, comfortably exceeded its $250,000 goal by receiving donations of $321,698, plus 20 truckloads of food. “Community members came together again this year to support food assistance projects and provide emergency client services through Interchurch Social Services, The Salvation Army and other food assistance organizations of Knox County,” a press release stated.
In June, members of the Danville community pitched in to help replace storm-damaged bleachers, saving the school $45,000. "This is a great example of the stewardship and value of our community,” the school said in a Facebook post.
