By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
With a few abandoned structures becoming home to raccoons in Galion, city residents came before Galion City Council Tuesday night to voice their concerns.
Roger Petrella appeared before council to notify them about abandoned houses at 411 and 418 South Union Street. Noting that the houses were structurally unsound, Petrella said raccoons were denning within the residences. While speaking of the nuisance animals, Petrella procured a picture of his dog.
“My dog had an encounter with the raccoons and contracted leptospirosis, which is rare in Ohio, and died from the disease. Currently I am being tested for it because it is also transferable to humans through the infected urine. An alert needs to be issued on how it affects dogs and humans, and that kids should not play around these homes. This is a serious disease and the kids would just need to come in contact with the urine to contract it.”
Petrella noted that the symptoms of leptospirosis in dogs would be more water intake, while stopping eating, and that in humans the disease are flu-like symptoms.
After Petrella finished speaking on the matter, Petrella’s neighbor Jerry Myers spoke on the matter noting that he had spoken with the Ohio Division of Game and Wildlife, which turned his inquiry over to the health department, which informed him that the raccoons had to be caught and killed on site.
Fred Rinehart seconded the potential risk to children, and placing a complaint about another vacant structure on South Union Street.
“There is a potential risk to children,” Rinehart said. “I noticed a few kids trying to break into 410 South Union Street, and told them not to do that because they are breaking laws. I haven’t seen them back, but the house could be boarded up and secured.”
Mayor Tom O’Leary spoke on the matter noting that the diseased animals that occupy the structures need to be eradicated.
“We have been going through the condemnation process on the structures, and intend to have the rodents eradicated. We need to find the most economical vendor and get rid of them,” O’Leary said.
“I feel a great sense of loss that Roger lost his dog,” O’Leary continued. “Just giving them traps isn’t good. While the disease is not communicable according to the health department, this is a real issue, and a real shame that he had to lose his dog.”
O’Leary noted that he would have Galion City Public Information Officer Matt Echelberry research the disease and put information on the disease on the city’s webpage.
Ann Heimlich confronted Galion City Council over the issue of her windows at her business Grandma Ann’s Attic. While speaking before council, Heimlich noted that her windows were fixed by a contractor on Sunday, and if the city gave her ‘static’ about her new windows that her lawyer would become involved. Heimlich then turned to allegations of corruption of the city.
“The mayor called and asked why I thought Galion was corrupt,” Heimlich said. “I said Galion is being sold off one building at a time to a single person. I don’t appreciate it I didn’t know there was this much corruption.”
After Heimlich left council member Shirly Clark spoke about the situation
“I didn’t want to make the statement while Heimlich was here, because I didn’t want her to get excited because of her health,” Clark said. “We tried getting a meeting on Friday but couldn’t get to it. There was a misunderstanding with the contractor and they completed it.”
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Dale Hartle of the Ohio Regional Development Corporation made a presentation to Galion City Council on fair housing. The presentation was required due to CHIP grant funding from the state awarded to Galion, Bucyrus, and Crawford County.
After the presentation O’Leary noted that while combining with other entities meant a larger pool of money for the group to work with, he wondered where the money would go.
“It is true we get more money, but I am curious if the commissioners are attuned to us over here,” O’Leary said. “We have an issue of adequate funds to demolish homes, when the block grant funds that went towards a water line to nowhere. As a result we lost $50,000 to demolish abandoned structures because the state is putting small cities together with the county.”
Galion City Council approved all items in the legislation portion of the agenda including applying an OPWC application for the Portland Way sewer subdivision which runs along Ohio 598. The subdivision currently is over 50 years old. Council also approved allowing the Safety-Service Director to enter into an agreement with ODOT for bridge inspection of the city’s waterways at no cost to the city. The CRA agreement between McGuire Galion Property LLC was also approved by council paving the way for the construction of an Arby’s restaurant.