GALION — Safety concerns were brought to councilmembers’ attention during Galion City Council’s meeting Tuesday evening.

Galion resident Steve Rowland approached Galion City Council regarding an old barn on Ohio 61 that he says would be in the best interest to be torn down.

Rowland said the barn used to serve as a restaurant in 1952, and the barn has been sitting vacant with nobody paying taxes on it for the last 10 or 11 years since the owner died.

“It looks bad in there, people are dumping trash and things in it, and it’s just an eyesore,” Rowland said.

Rowland expressed concerns regarding nine fires that have happened in that area and said, “I think that barn may be next if we’re not careful, and that place sits right next to a gas station.”

Rowland said he talked to the treasurer in Bucyrus and could not get anything done on it, and said he has tried speaking to Matt Crall, but has not been able to get in touch with him.

He said the man who owns the gas station next to the barn wants to expand his business by possibly adding a truck stop and a motel but cannot proceed with no action being taken on the property.

A notable piece of legislation dealt with at the meeting was Ordinance No. 2019-76, and it states that it’s an “ordinance repealing section 947.03 of the city of Galion codified ordinances, and amending chapter 549 and sections 375.03, 505.11, 509.10(B)(3), 517.01 (VV), and 301.12 of the city of Galion codified ordinances, relating to the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, storage, carrying, sale, other transfer, manufacture, taxation, keeping, and reporting of loss or theft of firearms, their components, and their ammunition.”

Per law director Thomas Palmer’s request, the amendment is being moved to a second, if not a third reading, due to it being one of the first of its kind in the state in response to the new Ohio law that cities are no longer to regulate firearms, but rather that it is now a matter of the state, according to ORC. 926.8 that goes into effect on Dec. 28 of this year.

Palmer has been in contact with other attorneys and law directors around the state regarding Galion’s ordinance and ORC. 926.8, and there are 40 of them who want copies of Galion’s ordinance to model their own after.