Kerry Rahm
krahm@wbcowqel.com

The joint committee meeting held at Bucyrus City Hall Thursday evening addressed many issues, and worked to move closer toward a resolution over the debate about funding the Lions Field fence replacement.

Council member Steve Pifer reiterated his wariness about using funds from the Philbin Charitable Trust to re-build a fence for one of the ball fields at Lions Field.

Pifer felt the old fence was torn down in haste, and lamented over using an estimated $39,000 to build a new one. Concern arose that this amount would exhaust most of the fund, and caused further worry about being unable to use that money for possible future emergencies if needed.

The details were rehashed from Tuesday’s City Council meeting, but the primary argument that seemed to prevail is the fact that baseball and softball season is just two to three weeks away.

At one point, Pifer said that there may be a less expensive way to get the job done, and later set up an argument using the city pool as a comparison. Again, the discussion came back around to the fast approaching start of the season.

Council member Wanda Sharrock stated, “But here we are, and we have two ballfields that can’t be used, and they are city property… but the fact is, we have kids that want to play ball, we have adults that want to play ball.”

The motion to take the issue to full council was later approved.

Tracy Beavers, a retired Lieutenant from the Bucyrus City Fire Department, along with her husband John, an active firefighter at the Akron Fire Department, came to address the council about an important issue.

Beavers spoke about garnering support from the council for House Bill 292 and Senate Bill 27. The Ohio Senate as well as the House of Representatives have these two bills before them regarding worker’s compensation and incidences of cancer in firefighters.

She started by informing the committee members of a 2010 multi-risk study posing the question: Do firefighters have a higher risk of cancer due to on the job exposure?

Beavers then presented copies of a CDC study that linked cancer and specific chemical exposures firefighters have to contend with as a hazard of their profession.

Beavers disclosed that both she and John have past and current cancer diagnoses. Their diagnoses, she argues, are directly due to the fact that they were both firefighters, and may have had a higher risk of getting cancer due to chemical hazards. Most items today are plastic, and when burnt they “put off combustible materials that cause cancer.”

Beavers said the City of Akron passed emergency legislation as an expression of support for bills 292 and 27 for firefighters disabled by the specific types of cancer listed in the CDC report. These cancers are “directly related to firefighting,” according to Beavers.

Beavers said her only reason for coming was to ask the City Council to support the passage of Senate Bill 27 and House Bill 292 for “presumptive cancer legislation for firefighters.”

She admitted both bills are “quite lengthy,” and have “a lot of stipulations” and said that these stipulations are “all spelled out within the legislation.” Beavers then stated, “I know that that is something that you guys are probably much better at deciphering than I am.”

Greg Hershey, Union President of Local 1120, also spoke to bolster support for the bills and worker’s compensation.

The council heard the two pleas for support, yet decided to review both bills along with the CDC study before coming to a conclusion. The issue will be discussed further in a special Health and Safety meeting in April.

Other topics of discussion included the ongoing marijuana legislation, still on hold due to needing input from Bucyrus Police Department Chief Dave Koepke, who was unable to attend the meeting.

The idea of a designated exchange point (a safe, neutral meeting space inside the city) was approved, as well as stipulations for this year’s Graffiti Cruise.

Rob Ratliff was asked about the Volunteer Peace Officers Dependents Fund, and he concluded that a board should be created to further discuss procedure and operations.

“No details [have been] worked out,” he said.