Mount Vernon city administrator Chris Nosbisch said that the city will be avoiding adding any additional maple trees to trees replaced in the right of way in their derecho tree replacement project.
“We’re not discouraging the planting of maple trees because we don’t like maple trees,” Nosbisch said. “This is strictly out of fear of encountering a disease that will hit maple trees.”
Nosbisch explained that if the city were to encounter a disease that impacts maple trees, it would impact roughly 50 percent of the current tree canopy in the community.
“There’s too many maples in the community at the moment, and our goal is to diversify our tree canopy,” Nosbisch said.
There will be door hangers going to the residents who have been identified as one of the 50 locations for a new tree in their right of way in the southwest quadrant.
“We’re choosing to use door hangers with the information as that might be acknowledged better than a letter,” Nosbisch said.
Council member Craig Engel asked if people say no to a tree being planted in their yard, if there would be moving to others.
Nosbisch said if just one neighbor declines, then they’d move forward, but if everyone in the same block declined, the city would likely fight to make sure a tree is replaced in that block’s right of way.
Nosbisch said there might be closer to 125 trees that need to be replaced in the northwest and southwest quadrants, which were hit hardest by the derecho.
The city is looking for volunteers who want to assist with the tree replacement June 4.
CIP updatesMount Vernon city administrator Chris Nosbisch said the city is planning to borrow $1 million to address capital improvement projects.
Nosbisch said the city will be paying off $1 million in debt this year.
Most of the projects on the CIP plan have prices that were estimated before COVID-19 hit, and Nosbisch anticipates many of those cost estimates could increase upwards of 30 percent.
The first project that Nosbisch said needs to be tackled is completing work on the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department.
The project was originally estimated at $800,000, but Nosbisch estimated the expense will be much higher.
Palisades Road improvements are slated for 2023. Council member Craig Engel said the city needs to take into consideration the potential work on the new activities complex at the Mount Vernon High School happening at that time frame. Nosbisch said summer 2023 is when they would be looking at improvements to the Palisades Road, as that would have the lowest impact on traffic.
The city anticipates working on $4 to $5 million in projects over the next year and a half.