Flag policy review held

The Mount Vernon City Council held a review following a year of the flag policy.

City administrator Chris Nosbisch said that one request was not championed by city council, and one request was vetoed in the middle of the year.

Council member Mark Andreasen said he will be bringing back the request for the flag that was vetoed earlier this year, citing the decision for the veto was to let a whole year elapse before any changes were made.

Council member Craig Engel said it was important to review how the policy was sitting with the council after a year being implemented.

Nosbisch said if the council does review the policy for addition of new flags, he would make a change that removes city administration from making requests to changes to the policy.

“This is the city council to make decisions on what flags should or should not be flown, not city staff,” Nosbisch said.

Nosbisch said there has not been any significant outcry to the flags displayed this first year in the policy.

Council member Stephanie West said she had reread the policy and still feels well about the decision.

Mount Vernon approves site plan for

First Street business

The City of Mount Vernon approved a site plan for a new business along First Street East. The new business owned by Doug Berner will add office space and contractor equipment storage in the location of the former bowling alley, which is zoned for limited commercial.

Berner has been working with the council to clean up the area and work on a site plan that progressed through the planning and zoning commission. The planning and zoning commission approved recommendation of the site plan. The commission asked Berner to have a sanitary sewer line must be televised and connection approved prior to construction beginning. A six foot opaque fence is required along the rear lot line and northwest corner to protect existing residential uses adjacent to the parcel.

There will also need to be streetside landscaping to provide visual and auditory screening from the Mount Vernon cemetery.

All distances need to be properly confirmed in final plans with dimensions noted as well.

Berner said work will begin as soon as his contractor says it is possible to begin.