The work on the new planter and flagpole at the Mount Vernon City Hall completed in late October.
Citizen Jacqueline Briggs Martin said she loves the look of the new planter and flagpoles outside city hall.
“I want to thank you all for putting that in motion and the construction that went to address those issues,” Martin said. “It looks so much nicer and will look even better when flags are flying there.”
City administrator Chris Nosbisch said that Mount Vernon has many talented workers who did stone mason work on the planter.
“They saved the city plenty on the job by doing the project entirely on their own, and made it look very nice,” Nosbisch said. “I know we have a very talented staff.”
Council member Paul Tuerler said the fall bouquet and work by city workers made that look nice.
“The other thing I notice is it is much more pedestrian-friendly on the corner sidewalk along First Street,” Tuerler said. “I love trees, and in open space, they make sense, but the thing that was encountered all the time at festivals was the narrowing of the walkway on the side of city hall as crowds navigated around that walkway. This makes things much better and safer for people to walk through there.”
Public works director Eldon Downs said there is some need to adjust the lights in the area for the flagpole.
Some benches will also be installed in the area.
Injury at chili cook-off Someone was injured at the Mount Vernon Chili Cook-Off Saturday, Oct. 14, when they tripped on one of the sidewalk pavers in uptown near the street curb, fell and struck their head.
City administrator Chris Nosbisch said that looking at fixes for the pavers is something he thinks should be tackled as part of the streetscape project.
“None of the potential fixes will be completed before winter,” Nosbisch said.
Nosbisch said that this is one of eight incidents that have happened in the uptown over the past eight years.
“We have a very active uptown with all those festivals,” Nosbisch said.
The pavers sink into the concrete after one or two years, which contributes to the tripping hazards.
The streetscape project currently has six bids that staff is reviewing, with the project to be awarded in December.
Nosbisch said the project would be impacted by work on Hwy. 1, which is being investigated for the 2027 construction season by the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Mount Vernon council approves power wash station at police stationA power wash system and dog wash bay were approved for purchase for the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department’s renovations, a roughly $10,000 expense.
Chief Doug Shannon explained that the department had previously purchased a 50 gallon water heater for this addition, but that wasn’t installed due to staffing shortages at the time. Contractors noted that where that water heater is now being located would not be able to run the system in the garage, and a second water heater does not have the proper capacity, either.
“We also need to make some minor changes to the gas lines and electrical lines to the garage,” Shannon said.
“Those changes include adding a few more electrical outlets to the garage, instead of the two that exist currently.
A power wash bay in the garage will cut down on the need to wash cars away from the department, an annual cost of roughly $1,000 for the department.
“It will also help eliminate the amount of salt, sand and other detritus from the space,” Shannon said.