BUCYRUS — Eric McNutt of the Bucyrus Fire Department provided information to the Bucyrus City Council Finance Committee about the need for new battery-operated equipment during the Joint Committee meeting Thursday evening.
City auditor Joyce Schifer said the fire department has $50,000 available to spend on the equipment after not using it this year for retirements.
“No one is retiring this year,” Schifer said. “We can transfer the money to the new equipment line in the budget.”
McNutt said the equipment currently used by the fire department is more than 30 years old.
“The tools we are looking at our powered by lithium batteries that are good for 1,000 cycles,” McNutt said. “The equipment includes cutters, spreaders, which are commonly referred to as the Jaws of Life, and a ram that extended so it would take the place of the three we have been using that are small, medium and large.”
The finance committee voted to approve legislation to go before the entire council at the next regular meeting to allow for the transfer of the funds.
A proposal by Schifer for an appropriation to the police department materials and supplies line item from donations received for Safety Town and Operation Hope in the amount of $250 also was approved for legislation by the finance committee.
The city’s Planning, Zoning and Floodplain Administrator Landyn Hill was in attendance to answer questions about several proposals, including an amendment to an ordinance that currently does not allow extending structures to be built onto houses that are currently in districts that do not permit single-family structures.
“We recently had a resident on Gaius Street who wanted to build a deck onto his home,” Hill said. “He had to come to the Board of Zoning Appeals to obtain a variance so this amendment would clean up that issue and allow residents living in those districts to do things like that in accordance with the residential district closest to their residence.”
The Platting Committee approved the issue for legislation.
The committee also approved a change to the ordinance that governs permanent signage in the downtown business area which will allow new businesses to install canopy signs that do not extend more than 50 percent of the area from the face of the building to the curb. The signs cannot be larger than 20 square feet and awnings cannot have posts. Awnings and signs already in existence will be grandfathered in and allowed to stay in place.
The issue of sidewalk repairs was brought up by council president Sis Love regarding two sidewalks near Bucyrus Elementary School that are in disrepair.
“The city has the authority and legal basis to force residents and property owners to install or repair sidewalks,” City Law Director Rob Ratliff said.
Council member Bruce Truka said the city should have Council Clerk Todd Hill look into grant programs that are available for the city to fund the sidewalk repairs since it is costly for residents to shoulder the burden of repairing or replacing them.
The platting committee tabled the issue to allow Hill time to research grants that are available.
The Health and Safety Committee voted to approve traffic control map changes while the Public Lands and Building Committee made the decision to invite a presenter to a meeting soon to discuss a possible solar project for the city’s electrical system.
The next regular council meeting is Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. at Bucyrus City Hall.