City of Mt. Vernon wants reparations for improperly engineered sidewalks

The city of Mt. Vernon will seek to be repaid following the completion of the Hickory Street sidewalk project. Officials say that OWN Inc., the engineering firm that helped to plan the sidewalks, failed to meet expectations, resulting in the city deploying their own workers and concrete to get the job done correctly.

The city wants OWN to pay for the manpower, vehicle hours, and concrete used to correct the mistake. 

This was brought to the city government at the board of aldermen meeting on July 14. City Administrator Robert Harrington, during his report, stated that the issue was not with ATS, the contractor who constructed the sidewalks; the problem stemmed from the engineering done on the project. 

According to Harrington, the sidewalks were not to grade where they intersected with side roads; in some spots there were six-inch lips where the sidewalk met the roadway. This issue was not a result of the construction of the sidewalk but rather the engineering itself. 

“We had to go back in there and fix those so that we could get MODOT to come in and give us a thumbs up and approve the project as finished,” said Harrington.

Harrington met with the CEO of OWN, who said that they could work something out. Mayor Jason Haymes said that he would like the city to be reimbursed for the resources they expended in fixing the engineering firm’s mistakes. 

“I mean, those backhoes running right there, those aren’t free, you know,” said Haymes. “[You have to] pay the guy that’s on it, and then that machine ought to get at least $150 an hour."

Harrington told the board that he planned to meet with OWN again to work out a reimbursement agreement. 

Red, White and Boom

Harrington also took a moment to go over the Fourth of July event hosted in the city, Red, White and Boom. The celebration was a success this year, he said, despite a scramble for last-minute fireworks after the usual supplier backed out due to bankruptcy. 

Harrington and the aldermen stepped up during Mt. Vernon’s time of need, providing about $14,000 to purchase fireworks from a vendor in Kansas. 

According to AI software that measured cell phone usage by those over 18 in the city park, there were over 10,000 people in attendance at the event. That number is large by itself, but Haymes noted that there were many who set up lawn chairs or rolled out blankets on the city square, at Mt. Vernon High School, and in other areas, so that number is likely much higher. 

“20,000 wouldn’t be a ridiculous estimate of the number of people,” said Haymes. 

Harrington commended the board for taking such swift action to make sure the show went on. The board thanked Harrington for the same.

“I think we need to give him an ‘attaboy,’” said Alderman Dave Eden to Harrington. “You stepped up and made it happen; without you there wouldn’t have been [a fireworks show.]”

Parks and Rec

The city is in the process of finding a director of Parks and Recreation, a new title in Mt. Vernon. Meanwhile, a Parks and Recreation committee met for the first time on July 9. Comprised of aldermen and officials, this committee’s report was delivered for the first time at the July 14 meeting. 

The most relevant discussion outlined in this report pertained to the acquisition of new carts for the city golf course. 

The committee presented multiple options to the board through their report, the first option being to buy 20 carts outright for a price of $97,000. The second option was to lease the carts for 60 months at a total cost of $78,607. The final option was a lease-to-own agreement, which would see the city become the sole owner after paying $112,607 over 60 months. 

The board of aldermen accepted the committee report and, in doing so, accepted the committee’s recommendation to lease the golf carts for 60 months at $78,607. 

Ordinance approved

The city government took time at the end of the meeting to approve an ordinance allowing the city to charge a convenience fee of four percent when citizens use credit or debit cards as an alternative payment method. "This move will save the city money in the long run," said Harrington.