MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon residents living in the Stump Street-Northview Drive area will receive letters in the next 30 days to inform them about an upcoming utility project.
Underground Utilities Inc. of Monroeville, Ohio, had a pre-construction meeting with City Engineer on Wednesday.
“They should also know that the city is going to want to meet with them to do a dye test in their home to figure out whether their sanitary sewer is going into an actual sanitary sewer or stormwater lines,” Safety-Service Director Rick Dzik said.
The notice sent to residents is to schedule a time to do that testing. He said they hope the project starts late in the second week of November.
The city also is accepting proposals for closed-circuit camera work in the city’s storm water system. Information for prospective bidders can be found on the city’s website.
Ohio EPA inspects wastewater treatment plant.
Utilities Director Aaron Reinhart said that the Ohio EPA performed its three-year survey of the wastewater treatment plant, and everything came back good. They must continue to work on reducing the level of phosphorous coming out of the plant.
The distribution-collection division continues to do routine maintenance on the system. Both water towers were inspected and are good for another five years. He said that Dixon Engineering of Medina performed the inspections with a small ROV (remotely operated vehicle) that inspected the towers from the inside.
Reinhart said that the Mount Vernon water treatment plant received new CO2 panels, which are used to adjust the pH levels after the water is softened.
Kayak access to river cleaned up
The Street Department did some trimming at the access point for kayaking on the Kokosing River. Public Works Director Tom Hinkle said they cut back the brush and cleaned up the area.
Hinkle said the Street Department would turn on the school zone flashing lights early next week in preparation for the first day of school the following week as a reminder for everybody to slow down.
The department has been busy with events, including First Friday and this weekend’s Music & Arts Festival. Downtown roads were closed on Thursday afternoon to give vendors access to set up before the festival started on Friday. Any state routes that go through the Public Square and Gambier Street downtown had to be rerouted.
Walk of Honor brick sign-up deadline nears
He said the cutoff date is approaching for the Veterans Walk of Honor. Applications must be turned in by Sept. 30 to be placed in time for Veterans Day. The department installs the bricks twice yearly, before Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Applications can be found on the city’s website and should be turned in to the Mount Vernon Auditor’s Office along with payment. Call 740-393-9581 for more information.
A new sweeper scrubber was delivered to the Public Buildings and Land Department. It will maintain the parking garage and several service department garages.
Now that the sweeper-scrubber is in use, new striping will be installed for parking stalls and hazardous areas in the parking garage, Hinkle said. That will take place a week from today, on Saturday, Aug. 19, to minimize the inconvenience caused by the work.
New signs will be purchased for all three levels to designate parking. The third level will be restricted except for accessible parking. The middle level will be for city staff from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The rest of the time and on weekends, it will be open to the public. The bottom level will be available for public parking seven days a week.
Dzik said that the bottom two floors of the municipal parking garage will be available for public parking during this weekend’s Mount Vernon Music & Arts Festival.
Ask for replacement flags at cemetery
Two new workers at the cemetery were being trained and were undergoing orientation this week, even as regular maintenance was being performed.
All the little flags throughout the cemetery that were worn out were taken down, Hinkle said. Anyone who wants to put a new flag back up can go to the cemetery office to get a flag.
