Residents in Mount Vernon may have seen heavy equipment and work going on at Nature Park in the past week.
Mount Vernon City administrator Chris Nosbisch said that the city crews are working on removing vegetation and trees along the south and west side of the quarry, a project that public works staff have discussed tackling in the past.
“This removal wasn’t really possible while the right of way on Business 30 was under Iowa Department of Transportation control,” Nosbisch said.
Nosbisch said that clearing trees and vegetation from that area of the park could take multiple years to conclude, and is being done as city crews have time to tackle the project.
“Removing trees and brush is a good project to tackle in the winter months,” Nosbisch said. “Because this winter has proved to be mild to date, staff has had time to dedicate to some of the removal of trees and vegetation.”
Nosbisch said many of the workers people may see working near the quarry and at the dog park are city crews using city equipment.
The brush removal will help reduce the amount of leaves in the quarry, as well as help improve future trail connections.
“The work we’re doing now will allow engineers the ability to assess the current conditions of the ground around the quarry and formulate a project plan for the parks and recreation board and city council to look into,” Nosbisch said.