Mt. Vernon spends big on new equipment, infrastructure updates, members sworn in at busy meeting

The Mt. Vernon Board of Aldermen had a busy day at their April 14 meeting. Over the course of the more than hour-long meeting, the board swore in new and returning members, bestowed funding to Red,White and Boom, and passed multiple ordinances.

The meeting began with a swearing-in ceremony, bringing new members, Jasmine Burks and Daryck Wheeler, into the fold. Also sworn in were returning officials, Mayor Jason Haymes and Board President Lowell Phillips.

The board reconvened with their new members and moved on to department reports.

City administrator

Perhaps one of the more anticipated items for discussion came when City Administrator Robert Harrington proposed that the city give up to $10,000 to support the efforts of the Red, White and Boom committee, which holds the Fourth of July festival with nearly no financial assistance from the city each year. The board agreed with Harrington, and approved up to $10,000 be spent on the event.

The city also purchased a dump truck for about $50,000. After no motion was made this first time around, the board came back to the issue and eventually approved of the purchase.

Additionally, Harrington requested that the board set aside money to stripe and seal the Mt. Vernon square and Spirit of ’76 Park, stating that it's been needed for a long while. The board agreed to do so at a total price of about $51,000.

Lastly, the board received news from Harrington that many areas of city hall were not up-to-date; in order to remedy this, the board will have to spend more than $100,000; a sum that they approved. As a result, city hall could be tented in order to treat for mold. The HVAC system, which has long needed a repair, is not a part of this price, as the city would need to completely overhaul the system in order to see any benefit.

Public Works

Next up was Dustin Davis, director of public works, to deliver his recommendations to the board.

The first of these recommendations was the purchase of more chemicals for the golf course. The board approved the amount of more than $17,000. Davis also requested that the board approve the hire of the most recent addition to the team at the golf course. The board approved that as well.

Ordinances

Finally, the board approved multiple ordinances.

- The first of these was an ordinance specifying what varieties and how many animals can be kept at a residence in city limits, including rabbits.

- Another ordinance was approved that would require any new developments to have a certain amount of land set aside as green space. Some developments will have a higher required amount of green space. Also in the ordinance is the option to donate that land to the city for the development of a green space or park.

- The board also passed a slightly controversial ordinance, at least in the eyes of board member Craig Nelson. This ordinance would buy the property, commonly referred to as “the old mill” near Spirit of ’76 Park. This purchase was viewed by Nelson as unnecessary and just another problem for the city to deal with. It was approved anyway, with Nelson voting “no.”