City gearing up for warmer weather with plethora of projects

Summertime in Ohio can only mean one thing – it’s construction time.

The city of Mount Vernon has been busy working on several projects and also gearing up for others in the near future, according to City Engineer Brian Ball.

Ball reported at a news conference Tuesday that the city has opened bids on four new projects recently. The first is a sanitary project on Mansfield Avenue and Cottage Street. All-American Dirt Works had the low bid at $133,856.

The second, Phase 1 of the Memorial Park improvements, will have to be re-bid as the city just received one bid for well over the engineer’s estimate of $743,520. Ball said they retooled the project to make it more affordable.

Sweet Meadows Farm Drainage LLC had the low bid for the pickleball court project at Riverside Park at $425,863. The project is federally funded along with some private donations.

Bids for extensive renovations to the Mount Vernon Municipal Center were also opened recently with Modern Builders putting in the low bid at $784,648.

“All of these projects are in the future pipeline,” Ball said.

While plans are being made for future projects, the city is very busy with current projects, including the brick street replacement project on Burgess and Hamtramck streets. Ball said crews working there Monday found a cistern on the corner of Hamtramck and Main streets. The cistern, which collected stormwater and was likely used for fire suppression, was 12-foot deep by 10 foot in diameter.

Workers are currently installing water lines and underground utilities on the streets between Main and Sandusky streets. Once that is finished, they will build new curbs, install a concrete pad and replace the bricks.

Ball said asphalt will begin being placed on the west section of Venture Drive right after Memorial Day.

The engineering phase for the State Route 13 project along South Sandusky has also been finalized, Ball said.

Director of Public Works Tom Hinkle reported the street department has been hard at work with several projects. They are continuing the stormwater project – rebuilding catch basins and cleaning lines. A new stormwater jet trailer has been beneficial to the workers clearing the line.

The rapid flashing beacons have been installed along East High Street, following the creation of bump outs by the city. The bump outs allow pedestrians to see and be seen better by traffic along East High.

Hinkle also said a new vehicle detection unit was installed at the Park/Chestnut/Coshocton intersection. The radar detection system will better identify when vehicles are waiting for a light.

He also said mowing and street sweeping has begun around the city. The street sweeping schedule will be available on the city’s website — mtvernonoh.gov — and Hinkle reminded residents not to park on their street when it will be swept.

The city’s splash pad at Riverside Park is expected to open Memorial weekend and the Hiawatha Water Park will open June 2. Hinkle said many parts of the water park have been repainted, including the slides, splash pad and frog.

With Memorial Day coming up Monday, Hinkle reminded residents the parade will force the closure of East High Street from Public Square to Edgewood Road that morning.

More than 2,700 water meters have been changed in the city, according to Josh Beltz of the utilities department. The city has been repairing and replacing meters that are old or broken and hope to get about 3,800 replaced. That would make about half of the 7,500 meters in the city new and allow them to put them on a 10-15 year cycle of replacing half of the city’s meters.

Beltz said the wastewater treatment plant phosphorus project has reached 60 percent design and will now be reviewed by the Ohio EPA. He said they hope to have everything finalized so they can break ground this winter.

The city will once again partner with Ohio Means Jobs for a hydrant painting project this summer. Beltz said several high school students will paint the hydrants on the north side of the city.