9th Street Update

Our project on 9th Street Reconstruction Project has been delayed slightly. The contractor had some delays on other projects due to the recent bad weather so they won't be able to get here until next week. We are very eager to see this project go forward as it will take care of two blocks of street that have deteriorated badly and it is our first project with Local Optional Sales Tax funds which means no new debt obligation for this project.

In Case of an Emergency...

This past week, I have spent time in two separate meetings dealing with emergency planning. The first meeting was on Wednesday. This meeting dealt with developing a multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan for Benton County. The second meeting took place yesterday to discuss how to prepare for the activation of an emergency shelter in Vinton. As we have seen over the past couple of years, emergencies are not just something that might happen, but rather a thing that will likely happen. We have had two situations (ice storm in February 2007 and the 2008 flood) severe enough to have a shelter. I feel good about the processes we have started with these meetings since we will likely have more emergencies in the future. Some might think that it is not good to discuss the likelihood of these types of events because it only scares people. Well, if the event will probably happen, like we have seen so far, then only by discussing the events now, will we be better prepared to handle them in the future.

Water Tower Washing

The City of Vinton recently had the water towers washed. If you had seen the towers for the past couple of years, you would have noticed a thick layer of mildew growing on them. Now they are cleaned and a protectant was applied to keep the mildew from growing, at least for a few years. Check out the story and pictures at: Vinton News