By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
The Bucyrus City Council Health and Safety Committee made urban deer hunting one step closer to reality Thursday night.
After Ethan Stuckey spoke on Sept. 8 and said that Pickwick Place was experiencing with deer destroying some of the crop. The matter was placed in the Health and Safety Committee. Thursday night the Health and Safety Committee approved an amendment on the deer hunting within city limits to be voted on by council.
The amendments to the ordinance extends the ability to hunt within the city limits from the four city reservoirs to any city owned property and owners property as long as the hunter applies and is granted a permit from the mayor’s office.
When applying for the permit the hunter must make a showing as to why they want to hunt, they must have a license and the animal must be in season. If the hunter is wishing to hunt on a property not owned by the city they must obtain a permission slip from the home owner along when applying for the permit from the city.
Related Content: Committee meeting discusses possible nuisance deer at Pickwick Place
The Service Committee agreed to have the full City Council vote on granting Service-Safety Director Jeff Wagner the authority to apply for the Ohio Public Works Commission State Capital Improvement Grant for the amount of $320,000 for the water line project on South East Street, Nora Street, and Oakwood Street. The city would be responsible for investing a $160,000 match to the grant.
The Public Lands and Buildings Committee approved an agreement to allow ODOT to complete bridge inspections within the city at no cost to the city.
Public Lands and Buildings also approved the hanger at the Bucyrus Airport that is leased by Bucyrus Air Unlimited. After approval, City Law Director Rob Ratliff noted that he would like an audit done of the airport to see how many hangers are at the facility as well as how many are in use.
The Health and Safety Committee discussed further the Property Maintenance Code. During discussion Council member Steve Pifer noted that he would be for amending the code to read like the sidewalk code that is currently on the books, which would grant the city the authority to abate violations and either fix the problem and assess the charges onto the owner’s property tax, or in cases of unsafe structures, demolish it.
The Health and Safety Committee also discussed who would enforce the Property Maintenance Code, noting that the creation of a position would add $60,000 to the yearly budget. Another option discussed was to possibly have the Fire Department become the code enforcer in which fire personnel would patrol the city during times in which they aren’t fighting a fire or in training.
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