MOUNT VERNON – A contractor for Mount Vernon’s Public Buildings & Land Department has completed repairs of several roofs downtown that should keep water out of the buildings.
Roof repairs were made at City Hall, 10-16 N. Main St., and 3 E. High St., Public Works Director Tom Hinkle said. A tall lift was used to provide access.
At City Hall, some missing slate was replaced.
The fascia overhang area of the building at 10-16 N. Main was in pretty bad shape and had to be re-secured. According to Hinkle, the work was done to keep water from getting behind the fascia and causing more damage. A TPO membrane was mechanically fastened in the internal box gutter to prevent further damage to the soffit area underneath. Missing slate was replaced around that internal box gutter with a new plywood soffit painted white to match the box gutter. And new metal was installed at the end of the box gutter, which was missing.
More water intrusion was the problem at the building at 3 E. High St., with the contractor working to get the roof sealed.
Hinkle said the plan is to have the buildings torn down, but until then, they must be kept safe for the people who run their businesses in them.
Fire hydrants are red again
Youth working with an Ohio Means Jobs Knox County summer program have been painting fire hydrants around town, Utilities Director Aaron Rinehart said.
Ohio Means Jobs Knox County – the Opportunity Knox Employment Center – launched an in-house summer youth employment program scheduled for eight weeks to include a week of soft skills training and financial literacy, as well as six weeks of hands-on work experience at various worksites. To wrap up the program, a week of industry tours was used to teach participants about different employment pathways.
The program exceeded expectations from youth enrollment through active participation, Workforce Development Administrator for Ohio Means Jobs Brandy Booth said.
“We appreciate the City of Mount Vernon serving as a worksite to help our youth participants gain valuable employment skills," she said. "We would not be able to have a successful program and help these young people gain valuable work experiences without these partners."
Brick, asphalt streets repaired after water line work
Mount Vernon’s Street Department continues work on streets with asphalt patching needed because of water digs and potholes. Brick street repairs were completed at East Vine and McKenzie streets. A a crew rebuilt the curb in front of 200 and 201 E. Vinin a related project e because of the water dig. Hinkle said the curbs were damaged during water line repairs. These were part of an old limestone section of curb and gutter, which used solid chunks of limestone. Hinkle said the Street Department crew had to form concrete for the curb and gutter, which are necessary to hold the brick in place.
A stormwater catch basin on Yauger Road required a complete rebuild. Hinkle said that storms that have come through town several times in the past two weeks were accompanied by winds that blew down branches on streets. Workers cleaned up that storm-related debris.
Residents have probably seen Griffin Pavement Striping on city roads this week. The contractor for the city started on long-line thermoplastic striping of roadways. Yellow centerlines and white edge lines are part of the contract. They also will repair where stop bars, left turn indicators and crosswalks have deteriorated.
“Applying thermoplastic, it’s better than paint," Hinkle said. "Plastic style, melted, lay it down, and it’s there for a while."
On South Division, only edge lines were being redone. West Vine, West Gambier, Martinsburg Road and Newark Road were scheduled for centerline work only. The work on Newark starts at the split at Burger King and goes south to city limits. Martinsburg Road work also will be south of town.
According to Hinkle, most of the work will be on Coshocton Avenue, because lines wear off quickly at intersections. The Public Square and other places around town will also have crosswalks and stop bars touched up.
Bike racks installed on Public Square
In addition to the constant mowing and trash pickup this time of year, the Parks Department installed two new bike racks on the Public Square.
Hinkle said the city had received many requests from Main Street Mount Vernon and other community groups, as the city didn’t have any bike racks.
Vandalism continues at city park
Someonene vandalized two picnic tables at Dan Emmett Park so badly that both were a total loss, Hinkle said. Replacement tables have been ordered.
“Guys had to remove everything. We were really left with a pile of just destruction,” he added.
Vandalism at the Phillips Park bathrooms was more cleanup than repairs. Someone took all the toilet paper, shoved it into a urinal and wrapped it around toilets. In this case, nearby security cameras may have caught the suspect or suspects on the scene.
Hinkle said he doesn’t think most residents understand how big an issue this has become. The city is using video and any witnesses to find and prosecute these individuals.
The Safety-Service Director said last week that suspects believed to be juveniles broke a lot of bottles in the parking garage, making it impossible or difficult to exit.
Ball field lightbulbs replaced
The scoreboard at Memorial Park Babe Ruth Field had to be repaired because its receiver card malfunctioned. The receiver was replaced to bring the wireless system back into operation.
To replace bulbs for ball field lights atop tall poles, the Parks Department rented a 75-foot lift. The cost and efficiency require the city to wait until multiple bulbs need to be replaced around town, Hinkle said.
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