By Kim Gasuras
Elm Street resident Jonathan Griffin is at the end of his rope when it comes to dealing with a vacant and derelict property next door to his house.
“I am dissatisfied with the city’s handling of this property, which is no handling of the property,” Griffin said during the Bucyrus City Council meeting Tuesday evening.
Griffin said he has called the city’s code officer, Gordon Groves, on multiple occasions and e-mailed him about the house next door to his that smells like something died inside, has trash piled up around it, and bugs that are now making their way to his family’s home.
Griffin said Groves responded that he has 30 properties on his list to deal with before the Elm Street house.
“That is not acceptable. I am paying money to an exterminator to keep the bugs away from my home so when my three-month-old daughter begins to crawl, she won’t be on the floor with bugs,” Griffin said.
Griffin said that he and his wife grew up in Bucyrus and came back to town to raise their children.
“We believe in Bucyrus but this cannot continue,” he said.
City law director, Rob Ratliff, said the issue was brought to his attention Tuesday morning and the property owner has been sent a 10-day letter.
“If the situation is not resolved, criminal proceedings will begin,” Ratliff said.
Both Griffin and Ratliff said they have been in contact with the property owner, Alpha and Omega Real Estate Group in Mansfield.
In other business, Valerie Spreng of the Bucyrus City Tree Board addressed council about an ordinance that her group has written regarding trees throughout the city. The ordinance was referred to the health and safety committee of council for further review and discussion.
At the beginning of the council meeting, council president Sis Love asked each member to place their cell phone in front of them because they would be receiving a special message. That message came about half-way through the meeting and was sent to them by the Crawford County Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
“It’s a test message and we hope to do this for all of our residents who register for alerts,” Love said.
Mayor Jeff Reser said information will be posted on the city’s website and sent out with utility bills so residents can sign up to get a variety of alerts, including alerts from the city addressing issues such as boil advisories and tornado warnings.
Council passed ordinances for the creation of crime victim grant funds, updates to the city’s codified ordinances and traffic control maps. A resolution was also approved to authorize payments for improvements at the city’s airport.
The next council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Oct. 3 at Bucyrus City Hall.