By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Deer are wreaking havoc on one of Bucyrus’ fledgling businesses.
Ethan Stuckey, one of the spokes in the wheel that makes Pickwick Place go round, attended the Bucyrus City Council joint committee meeting Thursday evening to discuss the nuisance deer have become at the property.
“We’ve had heavy deer grazing on newly planted apple trees there and also on sweet corn and Indian corn, they’ve been bedding there, destroying the crop there,” Stuckey explained. “In the next few years we’re going to be planting more and more – up to two to three acres of apple trees – so the potential for deer grazing is high, considering they do enjoy apple treats a lot.”
Stuckey added that he already contacted the local wildlife officer about the issue. Though the officer stated he would issue a permit, he was uncertain about the local laws in place.
Law Director Rob Ratliff indicated that the urban deer problem is an issue statewide, but the city currently does not have any laws on the books regarding the problem. Pickwick Place, located at 1875 N. Sandusky Ave., is still within city limits, but butts up to county land.
Ratliff, along with the wildlife department, recommended that any urban deer hunting be restricted to bow hunting and proper permits. The law director added that other cities have allowed urban deer hunting only after the property owner was given permission from the Service/Safety Director and the local police chief. The hunter would also need a hunting license and could only hunt during the proper season, though Ratliff said a nuisance license could be issued to the property owner by a wildlife officer during the off-season.
“Wildlife (department) was of the opinion that because this is land that was kind of newly developed – and especially land that was being newly developed with really yummy stuff – it’s become an attraction for the deer,” Ratliff said. “He was under the belief that one or two hunting seasons will probably eliminate a lot of the problem.”
Spring Street resident William Stuckert expressed concern over killing the animals rather than trying to control the nuisance deer without harming them. Stuckert, a deer hunter, suggested finding other means of controlling the problem.
Ratliff added that the issue would not have to pertain only to land that abuts the county, but could include everything within the city. That decision, however, would be up to the committee to decide. The Health and Safety Committee asked Ratliff to have a draft of the legislation written up by the next committee meeting.
The Finance Committee also heard an update status on the former Clark service station. Ratliff said the former gas station has been foreclosed upon and is currently owned by the county. Phase one and two assessments have been completed, which led to the issue of phase three.
According to Ratliff, the county is looking to have the County Land Bank act as the qualifying entity to apply for the Brownfield grant. That move would transfer the property to the land bank, which would also manage the grant. After remediation is completed, the city could accept ownership of the property and would have to maintain it. The county is also wanting the city to indemnify them if the project exceeded $100,000. The current estimates show the project coming in at $50,000, which would be covered by the grant up to $100,000.
Ratliff said it was up to the city on how they wanted to handle the issue of indemnification. Ultimately, the Finance Committee chose to have the county return for a discussion if the final tally came in over $100,000.
The Health and Safety Committee will be seeking legislation to establish no parking along the entire length of Ann Street. Though such a measure has already gone through council, the city’s traffic control map shows that small sections of Ann Street were left out. This request came after fire chief Jay Keller said fire trucks could not get through the street when cars were parked on each side. This legislation will be held until October where it will then be combined with other traffic-related issues.
The Service Committee will be seeking legislation for an agreement between the city and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) concerning snow plowing. As in years past, the two entities plow portions of the others’ roads due to their location. ODOT will continue 4.726 miles within the city along Ohio 98 North while the city plows 2.45 miles of Ohio 4 North in ODOT’s area.
The Platting Committee passed a motion to proceed with a street vacation request on Failor Avenue. Penny Charleston, of 1100 E. Southern Ave., made the request after learning that Failor Avenue, if ever opened up, would take out part of her garage, driveway, and yard. A large cedar tree is also directly in line of Failor Avenue if the street was continued past its current point as it was originally supposed to be. Failor Avenue is currently unfinished, but, according to the city’s plat, it is still a street. Charleston asked for the incomplete part of the street to be vacated and obtained signatures from abutting property owners as required.
The Finance Committee will be seeking legislation for establishing two Crime Victims grant funds for the victim’s advocate and appropriating monies into those funds. The committee also dealt with legislation that will designate FCBank, Huntington Bank, and United Bank as depositories for active and interim monies for the city.