By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com

The installation of the new Hord Livestock wash facility still does not sit well for some residents in Bucyrus.

The rezoning issue, which would move a large chunk of land on the south end of town from a Limited Industrial/Commercial (LIC) district to a General Industrial (GI) district, had been the subject of a public hearing on Monday, alongside other pending zoning issues.

Hord Livestock, which is currently installing a new wash station at the northwest corner of Isaac-Beal Road and Beal Avenue to better handle its increasing washing operations, faced some opposition at the public hearing and at Wednesday night’s special Bucyrus City Council meeting.

Drives and some infrastructure have already been put in place.

The washing station would be the second such facility of its kind for Hord Livestock. The original washing station, which is located on Lincoln Highway across from Wynford High School, has been in existence for 15 years. It is a state-of-the-art facility, explained Hord Livestock project manager Jamie Christman, but the single station can no longer keep up with the washing demands of the trucks and trailers the hog operation uses.

Christman stated that it typically takes three hours to wash and dry each trailer, during which time it is also baked for 20 minutes to kill off any diseases. According to Christman, the new facility would handle washing five or six trucks and trailers per day.

The trailers, which have shavings in them to haul the pigs, would be swept out at the 30-feet-by-50-feet enclosed sweep-out facility. The shavings and excrement would later be spread and incorporated into fields. Christman felt there would not be an issue with any smells.

One benefit Hord Livestock saw to moving its facility into the city limits was the ability to use the city’s water and septic system. The business currently hauls its own waste water and uses well water. The wash station would use between 1,500 and 1,800 gallons of water per wash.

“I think the city is sort of excited to sell us that amount of water,” Christman said.

“(The) amount of water going through won’t strain the system,” Mayor Jeff Reser added.

Hord Livestock also has a retention pond at the facility to drain water from the buildings.

“It’s actually putting less of a strain on the storm water,” Christman stated.

Trucks and trailers owned and used by Hord Livestock are not an unusual occurrence on Beal Avenue. Christman said that eight to 10 trucks travel down that road every day hauling pigs.

Paul Davis, who brought up concerns at the public hearing, also questioned why such a large tract of land had been rezoned from LIC to GI. The rezoning encompassed a number of lots on Isaac-Beal Road and Beal Avenue, and the airport area, including numerous lots owned by the Hord family, the City Garage, Port Bucyrus, the newly moved Central Ohio Recycling and Salvage, and the railroad tracks. He questioned why the city chose such a wide swath of land and whether residents in that area would have a say in what kind of businesses would later be able to be established there.

“I think to make our community more attractive for manufacturers to come in,” Council President Sis Love explained. She added that rather than have random parceled districts, the city usually groups sections together to provide better potential for interested businesses.

The GI districts are established to provide for industrial and any employment activity. The land typically consists of undeveloped, large lots that can be adaptive for reuse.

“When these types of opportunities come along – that’s where they’re going to be,” Reser said. He added that bigger industrial type-complexes like Timken would be directed out to Crossroads Industrial Park, where the city has been marketing for such businesses.

Council passed the rezoning ordinance that included the Hord operation. Also included within that rezoning ordinance was redistricting 816 North Sandusky Ave. and three nearby lots from LIC and Neighborhood Residential to GI and rezoning two lots at 216 South Spring St. from an Urban Neighborhood (R3) district to Neighborhood Business.

Three other pieces of legislation were also passed during Wednesday night’s special council meeting.
• Ordinance 46-2014: created an Income Tax category and Refunds line item within the Safety Forces Levy Fund with zero balances.
• Ordinance 47-2014: transferred $2,000 from the Police Department/Personal Services within the Safety Forces Levy Fun to Income Tax/Refunds within the Safety Forces Levy Fund to be able to refund overpaid taxes.
• Resolution 221-2014: authorized the Service/Safety Director to apply for the 2015 Ohio Public Works Commission grant in the amount of $158,500 for the Plymouth Street Project and the S. East Street Waterline Project.

A Finance Committee has been set for today at 4:15 p.m. The Service Committee will meet at 5 p.m. on Nov. 10 and the Public Lands and Building Committee meeting will follow at 5:30.

There will be an ad hoc committee meeting to discuss signage in the city at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 10. This will be an open meeting in Council Chambers.