Mount Vernon Optic-Herald

A group of investors made a presentation to the Mount Vernon City Council at its monthly workshop session Tuesday, May 25, asking that the council rescind a city ordinance to allow drilling of an exploration oil well inside the city limits.
The group that made the presentation included Richard Hamrick, Bruce Faulkner, Mike Flowers and Tom Ramsay. The site where they want to drill is directly to the south of Prosperity Bank’s drive through area and inside the chain link fence on property owned by Tom Scott Lumber Yard.
Mr. Hamrick told the council that initially the group did not realize there was an “issue with drilling inside the city limits.” According to Lee Elliott, administrator for the City of Mount Vernon, the 1980 city council foresaw drilling within the city as a potential health and safety issue which could threaten development and adopted an ordinance against it. See the June 3 edition of the Mount Vernon Optic-Herald for more details on the proposal.