New Mt. Vernon Special Road District building is major upgrade

The Mt. Vernon Special Road District has a new building in the same location where the old building stood.
The new building was built by Troyer Construction for $65,000. Jim Rodgers installed the electrical wiring; the amount he was paid for his work wasn’t immediately available.
Road Commissioner David Smothers said the new building has several features which make it energy efficient, including insulation and LED lights. In colder weather, it will be much less costly to heat than the old building, which had no insulation.
“That was kind of a goal where they could come in and work on inclement weather days,” Smother said. “They could come in and wouldn’t freeze to death, (and) it wouldn’t cost a fortune to try and heat it.”
The building took about two months to build; Smother said the biggest delay in construction was the heavy rainfall in the late spring and summer after the foundation was poured. Construction crews had to wait to make sure the foundation was set before they could begin building on it.
“Once they got started, it didn’t take them too long,” Smothers said.
The new building is 5,000 square feet, twice the size of the old building. The increase in size allows the road crews to have a shop and maintenance area in the building and also keep all of the road district’s vehicles and equipment out of the elements when not in use.
Smothers said the new building is a good investment which will serve the road district for several years.
“Compared to what they had, this is a good upgrade, and this will last a long time,” he said. “It was done right.”