By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
With the new water treatment plant almost ready to be up and running, questions still linger as to what will become of the site of the soon-to-be former water treatment plant at the Bucyrus joint committee meetings Thursday night.
While no action was taken on the matter, one option that was discussed was the possibility of the site becoming a dog park. City Service/Safety Director Jeff Wagner noted that the old horseshoe pit at Aumiller Park currently serves as the city’s lone dog park. Wagner mentioned the site could be absorbed into the adjacent Lane Street Soccer Fields for the Bucyrus Area Youth Soccer clubs.
When asked for public input, Elizabeth Skidmore spoke about potential dog park uses and availability.
“It could be something that everyone can use, but it should be expected that people be respectful,” Skidmore said. “It could either be free, or could be accessed through a key card, which could be charged at $10-$15 per year with all of the dog’s documents, tags, and vaccinations.”
Council member Bruce Truka liked the idea noting that it would be a good place to have a dog park.
The item was tabled for further discussion.
With two members absent from the meeting, the Health and Safety Committee didn’t have enough for a quorum, however a few items on their agenda were discussed at the meeting.
Fire Chief Jay Keller, Captain Chad Schwimley and Lt. John Schiefer were on hand to discuss certificates of occupancy.
“The first thing that changed for us was that we were normally the last to sign off on the certificates and we knew that it was complete,” Schiefer said. “Since then they have changed the schedule on how they handle the occupancy certificates. When we were last we knew that the plumbing, electricity, and water had been inspected.”
“On the commercial end when someone moves, we had a call at Sears, but we didn’t know that they had moved,” Schiefer continued.
“It is like the Eckleberry fire, it is important to know when leaving on a run whether people are living there or not,” Council member Bill O’Rourke added.
Law Director Rob Ratliff spoke on what wouldn’t trigger occupancy certifications noting that single, double, and triple family occupied dwellings, if a building didn’t change use, and that nothing from rentals and mobile homes would be trigger identifiers to be inspected by a building inspector from Richland County.
The fire department members responded by saying that while the area building inspector doesn’t inspect for a certificate of occupancy if the identifiers are not met, the city still could. They pointed out the city of Sandusky has a Building Department that handles rentals.
Chief Keller asked if a single family dwelling gets converted into a multi-family dwelling if the water department would set out multiple meters for the dwelling. To which Ratliff responded that they should.
Schwimley asked that once a move is made by a business and is processed through City Hall if the new address could be put into a data base so that the Fire Department would be aware of the move.
The Health and Safety Committee also discussed water fluoridation. During the discussion, Kurt Fankhauser addressed the committee in which he described an article from the Columbus Dispatch that reported the City of Columbus reducing their water fluoridation from 1.40 to .9 which saved the city $77,000 per year. Fankhauser noted that the city could drop their current levels of 1.0 to .9 to potentially save money.
Council President Sis Love noted that some towns have natural fluoridation and didn’t need to add the extra fluoride.
The current water fluoridation law was enacted in 1969 that required fluoridation for water systems that serve more than 5,000 people with water to help improve dental health. The law gave the option to be exempt from the law through a vote held within 240 days of the passage. Currently 22 of the original 30 cities remain exempt from fluoridation including Crestline and Galion in Crawford County.
Both Public Lands and Buildings and Finance committees approved the lease agreement for use of the Plymouth Street Station with the Central Joint Ambulance District. The lease would be for one year at the cost of $1,500 per month.
The Finance Committee also approved appropriations from the General Fund/Security of Persons and Property/Police Department Materials and Supplies in the amount of $5,020.06. The funds, donated privately and through the Community Foundation, will be used to support the Police Explorer program as well as Safety Town.
The Economic Development Committee appointed Dan Wirebaugh to the Crawford County Public Health Board. The appointment still needs to be passed by City Council to make it official.