The City of Mount Vernon set a public hearing for Monday, March 2, to designate stones in Mount Vernon Cemetery that are being looked to be improved.
The cost of restoring those stones is $2,700, and city administrator Chris Nosbisch said that amount is not available this current fiscal year, but could be in the coming fiscal year.
“Before any of these stones have any work done, however, people who may be related to the deceased need to be notified to tackle the work on their own or object to the work being done,” Nosbisch said.
The 10 stones being considered are: the Henry Stotler gravestone, Charles C. Haskin, Elias Ford, Peter H.H. Kepler, Maria Pierce Hayden, Olivia Henrietta Holcom Wilcox, Ida E. Rigby McLennan, Infant Son Ellison, Rachel Thomas and Martha Smyth Craig’s.
The cemetery commission is looking to hire Pam Kraus of Monticello Monument to level, repair and reset the gravestones through the spring and into the fall of 2026.
Council member Sherene Hansen Player asked if it would need to have signs adjacent to the graves that are in danger of falling due to age.
Nosbisch said many of the stones are not in imminent danger of falling without people messing with them in general.
“Many of these stones have been this way for quite some time,” Nosbisch said.
Council member Craig Engel said that posting a sign at the entrances to the cemetery about entering at your own risk may not be a bad idea.
Nosbisch said the state gives cities a wide umbrella when it comes to risks, that many are assumed to be enter at your own risk.
Citizen asks for smart meter bill adjustment
Citizen Sonja Conklin asked the City of Mount Vernon to potentially come up with a more streamlined manner for not adhering to Smart Meters.
Conklin had previously brought up her issues with the Smart Meters and not having one installed at her home at a previous council meeting, having opted out of a similar program with Alliant Energy.
Conklin said she viewed the $50 fee charged for not adhering to the water meter read as an extortion fee, as it’s almost the same cost as her water usage.
“Alliant Energy charges $7 a month to opt out of smart meters and they use previous bills/usage to generate a meter read,” Conklin said. “What I propose is that instead of tasking a city employee to do monthly readings, the city move to quarterly readings for those not on the water meter reads, using estimates for normal usage within that span.”
If there are times where water usage is far higher than previous month’s bills found at the quarter, citizens would be billed that amount at the quarterly check in.
The council took no action on the matter brought up during citizens opportunity to address the council on items not on the agenda.