MOUNT VERNON – The Mount Vernon City Council is considering hiring a liaison for the Police Department’s Community Advocate Division to help deal with the heavy workload.
Police Chief Robert Morgan said, if approved, the new hire would primarily work the second shift, focusing on domestic and family violence issues.
As the position would only be filled for six months of the 2023 budget year, the cost for the city would be approximately $42,000. A $35,000 grant, $1,000 from the United Way, and ARPA funds designated by Mayor Matt Starr and Auditor Terry Scott, would take care of this year’s funding, Morgan said.
He said if the city does not get grant funding in 2024 for the position, the city could either eliminate the role or find other funds in the budget for it. The city will be clear with the person hired that the position is based on grants.
“We’ve partnered with numerous agencies for care for mental health, addiction,” he said.
The city’s community advocate, Dan Jackman, has worked on hundreds of cases each month, Morgan said.
“We’ve had 41 domestic violence calls already this year, active domestic violence calls," he said. "We’ve had over 300 disturbances already this year. So we're at 100 a month. And then you factor in drug overdoses, substance abuse issues."
Jackman said he has helped people to get mental health care and has made referrals to behavioral health partners like Riverside Recovery, The Main Place and the Freedom Center.
Council authorizes engineering intern program
The Mount Vernon City Council approved the addition of a new engineering intern program since the Kenyon College intern program was ending.
City Engineer Brian Ball said that the students only worked during the school year but that was expanded to the summers. The program also is expanding to other colleges. He said that with the new program, staff won't need to come back every year to get the program reauthorized but will only need to bring salary increases to City Council.
Ball said the interns want to present their work to the City Council, including the history of buildings around City Hall, research on the businesses on Sandusky Street – related to the city’s traffic redirect – and analyzing utility bills. Air conditioning problems were discovered, as well as problems at sewage pump stations.
“We studied the electrical consumption, and then we found a couple of those had problems that we couldn't see actually looking at a pump,” Ball said.
Former interns are doing fantastic work, Ball said. For example, one became a mechanical engineer and another works for the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C.
City fixing Elliott Street sewer line
The City Council authorized the safety service director to advertise for bids and enter into a contract for the Elliott Street Sanitary Sewer Project.
“Literally out the back door of City Hall behind the new Veterans Center, you have a block of people that are all struggling to get rid of their sewage and are really close together,” Ball said.
Approximately $100,000 will be needed for a realignment and replacement of the line.
Late annexation notice delays council action
Law Director Rob Broeren told the City Council that the city got notice of annexation by Knox County later than the five days required by state code, which will cause it to miss its deadlines on filing notice, including on what municipal services the city will provide.
He said the notice was sent by certified mail. Personal service also is allowed.
Broeren said his department would research what the timing and requirements mean for the city and would report back.
The council will decide three separate things, with two past deadlines. The first are municipal services provided and incompatible land use and zoning buffers. The third aspect will be the annexation itself, which will come later.
Sewer, stormwater line inspections sought
Mount Vernon will hire a firm or firms to perform camera inspections of its stormwater and sanitary sewer lines within its Tax Increment Financing district.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 linear feet of sewer camerawork has been completed. With 225 miles of known sanitary sewers, the project will take an additional 75 years to complete, Ball said. City crews are starting with areas that have known problems.
Hawkins becomes regular Planning Commission member
Todd Hawkins has been moved from being an alternate to a regular member of the Municipal Planning Commission.
“They're not paid individuals, they’re volunteers," Councilmember John Francis said. "And he actually stepped up the game to volunteer to put a little more time into it, so you have to love that."
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