City to pay thousands to remove 415 tons of contaminated Gibbs Park soil

Lester appointed to Mt. Vernon Board of Aldermen, replaces outgoing Martin in Ward 3 position
There’s a new face on the Mt. Vernon Board of Aldermen. Darrell Lester was appointed to the board during their meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8. He will represent Mt. Vernon’s Ward Three in place of Sandi Martin, who stepped down after purchasing and moving into a new home outside of the ward. Lester was sworn in near the beginning of the meeting and then took his seat with the other board members.
During their meeting, the board voted to approve a change order for the Gibbs Park/South Street/Market Street project in the amount of $37,800.99 and the South Street culvert project in the amount of $1,214.75.
The board also voted to approve paying up to $14,000 for the cost of removing up to 415 tons of contaminated soil from Gibbs Park. City Administrator Max Springer told the board it was originally estimated they would be removing 250 tons from Gibbs Park at a cost of 12,067.50, but they removed 375 tons in the first two days the soil was hauled, and another 40 tons on the day of the meeting. The city will be reimbursed by insurance for total costs of the soil disposal over $10,000.
Additionally, the board approved paying a total of $20,125 for dirt to replace the contaminated soil from Gibbs Park, as well as the mulching and hydro-seeding of the park. Springer reported the park required 47 loads of fill dirt at $125 per load and 44 loads of black dirt at $225 per load. The fill dirt cost a total of $5,875, the black dirt cost a total of $9,900, and the mulching and hydro-seeding cost $4,350.
The board also approved a bid by Kelsey Rutledge to purchase 6.59 acres of land from the city. The land is located in the northwest part of Mt. Vernon.
 Rutledge made a bid of $4,600 per acre; the city’s reserve price was $4,555 per acre. The city advertised for sealed bids for the land from Sept. 18 through Oct. 4. Rutledge’s bid was the sole bid made for the land.
Finally, the board voted to approve allowing the Public Works Department to spend up to $20,000 to clean and camera 8,629 feet of sewer line in the city. Ace Pipe Cleaning, who will handle the project, proposed a price of $12,414.39. Joe Kelley, director of Public Works, told the board that the extra money would allow the department flexibility due to discrepancies in the sewer systems mapping.
The board next meets on Tuesday, Oct. 22.