By Kerry Rahm
krahm@wbcowqel.com
The deteriorating condition of a Dudley Street home was the focus of one citizen’s ire at Tuesday night’s Bucyrus City Council meeting.
Debbie Mapstone addressed council on behalf of her parents, Clarence and Nancy Zornes, concerning the residence beside theirs at 450 Dudley Street.
Councilmember Bruce Truka and Law Director Rob Ratliff went to the house and took several pictures of the property, which showed numerous large holes in the roof of the garage and a yard cluttered with debris and overgrown vegetation.
A roach infestation, which started at that residence, has spread to the Zornes’ home, according to Mapstone. She said her parents, who are elders, feared that disease could be transmitted from the roaches.
“They now have roaches from [that house]. They have lived there for 54 years. This is ridiculous,” said Mapstone, who said that her parents will now have to pay to have their residence exterminated.
“Something needs to be done about it,” she said.
Mapstone also claimed that a two-year-old child lives in the home.
The residence in question had been falling apart for years, said Mapstone, and stated the problem has been going on since Dan Ross was mayor, which was when she first brought the issue to council. She stated that several neighbors took issue with the residence as well.
“We’re not getting any results,” said Glenna Young, a neighbor who also came specifically to address council about the residence.
Ratliff said that property violations letters have gone out to the residence, but as the letters are certified, no one at the home has ever picked them up.
“It is in the process,” said Ratliff.
Ratliff stated that unfortunately, the city must exercise due process, and must go through the full procedure of notifying the home’s residents before further action can be taken.
“We’ve prosecuted people, and this one is on the list,” he said.
Council President Garnet “Sis” Love said that the council will check in with Ratliff on a weekly basis to work toward getting the matter resolved.
Sidewalk usage by local businesses was once again a relevant topic, as Norman’s Niche owner Natalie Norman appeared before council yet again.
She pointed out that several businesses place signs, tables and chairs in front of their establishments to both advertise to and attract customers.
“We all use the sidewalks, regardless of whether it is okay or not, to promote our businesses. We’re all trying to promote energy in our town,” she said.
Norman produced a list of signatures of people who liked Norman’s Niche’s outdoor seating.
She proposed that the city put a time frame on outdoor seating, with 10 pm as the cut off time to cease outdoor alcohol consumption.
“We all know the outdoor bars allow some alcohol to go outside,” stated Norman, and sent the councilmembers pictures of those businesses which have done so.
“There are bottles broken out front of their business. I’m trying to do it the right way and not allow that, but it does happen in Bucyrus,” she said.
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Although the council garnered a number of figures regarding the City Hall roof, it was realized that the project had not yet been bid out.
“One of the requirements, because of the money involved in this, is that we do have to go for bid,” said Love.
Love pulled the legislation that was slated for the evening and returned it to the Public Lands and Buildings and Finance committees.
Love mentioned that Bratwurst Festival set up will begin Wednesday morning. She urged everyone to watch for traffic changes and allow a little extra time to negotiate their routes due to atypical traffic flow. “It takes a little bit more patience to make it around town,” she said.