BUCYRUS — Bucyrus City Council passed several pieces of legislation, including the 2019 budget, Tuesday evening during its last regular meeting of 2018.
Along with the budget, council passed ordinances allowing for various appropriations, advances and reductions as well as zoning changes and a property transfer.
The zoning changes include the area where the McFarland Trailer Park once was located. It now will be zoned as general business instead of urban neighborhood residential to allow for growth in the area. Council also passed a property transfer, which allows Mayor Jeff Reser to transfer the property to the newly formed Bucyrus Community Improvement Corporation by a quitclaim deed.
In other council business, Bucyrus Tree Board Chair Valerie Spreng, who is a graduate of the Tree Academy along with Reser and councilmember Bruce Truka, gave a presentation to council members about the upcoming work of the committee.
Spreng said plans are in the works to replace trees that were taken down as part of street projects on Plymouth and Spring streets.
“On Plymouth Street, we face some challenges,” Spreng said. “The tree is lawn is narrow and there are many power lines in the area. The best spot to plant has a gas line in the ground.”
She said the board is planning to plant small, flowering trees along the street and Reser added that the board will be reaching out to residents along Plymouth Street to inquire if they are interested in allowing shade trees to be planted in their front yards.
Also, during the meeting, a letter was read by council clerk Todd Hill from Bucyrus resident Kurt Fankhauser regarding the city’s enrollment with the aggregation program for electric services.
“I opted out of the aggregation program the last time it was issued, and I never signed up for a third-party supplier,” the letter read in part. Fankhauser also included a bill to the letter for reference. “I am currently paying 4.96 cents per KWH. The program the city just signed everyone up for is at least 10 percent higher being 5.498 cents per KWH.”
Reser said Fankhauser is on a variable rate and the city’s rate was lower over the course of the year since the rate through the city is fixed.
“We do not make money on aggregation,” Reser said, noting it is a service to help residents keep their utility costs down. “People can opt out, but we actually had more people recently opt back in than opt out.”
Due to nothing pressing on the agenda of the council’s committees, a joint committee meeting will not occur this Thursday evening.
Council’s next meeting will be on a Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m., due to the New Year’s Day holiday being on a Tuesday.