By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
A little bit more room is needed for the Plymouth Street construction project and, thanks to the cooperation of most residents, that is exactly what the city is providing.
Bucyrus City Council passed legislation Tuesday night that would secure temporary easements from property owners. Law Director Rob Ratliff said he ran into issues with only two properties, one of which involved a real estate company working with the state on a HUD home. Ratliff, however, may be taking the other property owner to court.
Though the value calculation for the easement is $20, the state minimum requirement to pay the homeowners for the easement is $300. That figure was offered to everyone along Plymouth; everyone accepted the offer except one homeowner who declined it and instead requested $1,500 for the easement.
The Ohio Department of Transportation will be widening, improving, and repairing Plymouth Street/Ohio 598 from North Sandusky Avenue to the city limits, but would require crews to take up a bit more than the road’s width as the construction progressed. The project will include standardizing the width of the sidewalks and tree lawns, along with putting in new sidewalks, aprons, and curbs.
Bucyrus’ newest Most Wanted might have set a record for being on the list for the shortest amount of time. Ratliff announced during the council meeting that he and Police Chief Dave Koepke selected Rebecca Blankenship as this month’s Bucyrus’ Most Wanted. According to the law director, Blankenship has had multiple convictions and warrants, including being wanted on two charges for underage consumption, providing alcohol to minors, and probation violation.
“She’s a friend of the court,” Ratliff said, holding a picture of her up for the council to see. “Not yet 21 years old, but already multiple convictions plus warrants, failures to appear.”
Less than an hour later, Ratliff informed Crawford County Now that Blankenship may have been apprehended during the course of the meeting.
During Ratliff’s report he noted that criminal prosecutions for the city were up dramatically from last year, making a jump from 1,555 in 2014 to 2,206 in 2015. He credited that jump to having a full police force. Disorderly conduct (160), possession of marijuana less than 25 grams (125), and driving under suspension (117) made up most of the criminal charges in 2015.
Two other pieces of legislation were passed during the meeting.
Councilman Bill O’Rourke continued his protestations on the Superfly Auto-Con when it came time to adopt the legislation, voicing the lone nay vote. O’Rourke attempted to have the resolution tabled earlier in the meeting, citing concerns about the number of cars that could potentially appear for the show. He focused on a number cited in previous meeting minutes – 1,900 – that discussed how many cars had appeared at previous Superfly Auto-Cons in Akron. According to O’Rourke, Koepke said the Graffiti Cruise only held 700 cars. O’Rourke repeatedly stated that he wanted to know exactly how many cars would attend the July 31 event.
“If we get 700 cars, that would be fantastic,” Mayor Jeff Reser said. He did not, however, expect that many cars to attend the event.
Reser agreed with Councilman Steve Pifer: they would inform Superfly Auto-Con that the number of cars would have to be limited to 700.
Councilwoman Wanda Sharrock was the lone nay vote on the ordinance to create a combined custodian/clerk position.
The council also voted to approve a change of LLC membership interests from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control. The liquor license for Wren’s Nest has been requested to change from Susan Perry to John Wren.
A joint committee meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday. Issues to be discussed by the various committees include appropriating donations for the Schines Art Park wall, repaving the parking lot between Bakers Pizza and Vanessa’s, legislation for a massage business, and a letter from the Tax Incentive Review Council.
A clarification: O’Rourke asked about the 1,900 cars expected to appear at the Superfly as it was reflected in the minutes. Crawford County Now’s recording of the committee meeting in question showed that the 1,900 was referring to the number of cars, stated by North, expected at an upcoming Superfly show, not the show in Bucyrus.