By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Annexation is always a hot topic at Bucyrus City Council meetings but issues that came along with annexation does not sit well with one Bucyrus man.
Larry Gallant addressed the Bucyrus City Council Tuesday night with grievances he has with the city’s income tax and services. Gallant lives on North Sandusky Avenue in the portion north of U.S. 30 that the city annexed. During the six years he has lived there, Gallant said, he was charged city income tax but was never the beneficiary of city services. Rather, the Ohio Department of Transportation plowed snow from the road, the state took care of road maintenance, and the county mowed the grass.
“What does the city provide me that I’m paying for?” Gallant asked.
Gallant was finally moved to address the issue when a warrant was issued for his arrest for non-compliance of paying income taxes. He admitted that he was not been able to work for the past two years due to health problems and fell behind on paying his taxes.
“I have been and always will be a law-abiding citizen,” Gallant said. “I feel I am being treated unfairly.”
Gallant said he had already been to the Law Director’s office to discuss the matter, as well as the Zoning and Engineering’s office, where he said he was treated abruptly and aggressively by Administrator John Rostash.
“I feel right now you’re just handing off my plate to the guy at the next table,” Gallant criticized. “I want somebody to please help me or come up with some solution. This is a hardship on me.”
Law Director Rob Ratliff told Gallant that if he could appear at the County Courthouse on Wednesday then they could get the matter dealt with.
Another issue that the city has already been eyeing but has not finished putting plans into place is abandoned buildings and homes. The perfect example of why the city is looking into legislation to be able to deal with such properties was brought before council.
Wesley Howell plans on buying property on Whetstone Street that has been abandoned and rehabbing it. The apartments at 902 to 906 Whetstone Street, however, come with $15,000 in unpaid property taxes.
“It’s a really big chunk of my budget,” Howell said.
Unfortunately, the property near the fairgrounds is owned by someone out of the state and carries a significant mortgage from a bank that is also located outside of Ohio.
“The city has very little control,” Ratliff explained. Without any state or local rules in place to take authority, Bucyrus is stuck in the middle.
Ratliff called it a “property-tax absentee-owner spiral,” a problem that persists throughout the city with other properties.
“This property highlights it, but it’s a broader topic throughout the city,” Ratliff said, adding that this was the exact reason why the Health and Safety Committee was currently working on paperwork concerning abandoned properties.
Ratliff and Council President Sis Love told Howell that they will meet with the county commissioners to discuss the issue.
The Positive Seekers brought its latest project before the Bucyrus City Council. The group hopes to restore Union Cemetery on Tiffin Street, just across from the Holy Trinity Cemetery, and a good portion of the initial planning stages came together during a meeting Monday night.
“We got some direction in which we need to move in regards to our plans,” said Joe Graham, president of the Positive Seekers.
Graham asked the council if it could look into the ownership of Union Cemetery and if the city would consider working with the Positive Seekers to repair and move forward.
Currently, it is unknown who actually owns the cemetery though the city has maintained it for a number of years. There is no written record of why the city has maintained it but there was an agreement between the city and county for the creation of a Norton Township in the 1980s. Little more is known of the situation.
Law Director Ratliff said the recent Cemetery Walks in August, which focused on the Holy Trinity and Union cemeteries, really highlighted the deterioration of the Union Cemetery. Ratliff did not believe a title on the land has ever been done but once ownership of the cemetery is cleared up, he said they could get to work on applying for grants.
The cemetery predates the incorporation of the city and is the resting place of veterans from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.
The councilman who has pushed for the examination of four-way stops in the city met opposition from a resident Tuesday night. Councilman Bill O’Rourke, who was absent from the meeting, stated numerous times in the past that the city can’t control traffic flow with stop signs.
Add that to O’Rourke’s belief that the same traffic pattern doesn’t exist as when the stop sign was needed for children walking to class at the former Kilbourne School and the Traffic Commission began reconsidering the need for such a sign. The removal of the stop sign at Southern Avenue and Rogers Street is a move that is opposed by Love, who lives in that area.
John Kime Jr. expressed concerns over the removal of the stop sign.
“I don’t see the benefit of taking it out,” Kime said, adding that he often sees students walking along the intersection.
“You stand with the majority of neighbors who live there,” Sis said.
The stop sign at the Southern-Rogers intersection is one that has caused a lot of disagreement within the Traffic Commission, which is composed of the mayor, service-safety director, and the fire and police chiefs.
Due to a lack of a quorum, council held four pieces of legislation to a first reading. The joint committee meeting scheduled for this Thursday has also been cancelled.
Spooktacular will be moved from its regular location to Aumiller Park this year in order to accommodate more children. That will take place from 5 – 8 p.m. on Oct. 24. October 31 has been set aside as a rain date. Trick-or-Treat is scheduled from 6 – 8 p.m. on Oct. 29.