By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Final work is being done on projects all across Bucyrus.
Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser stated at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting that work is continuing on the demolition of the Schines Theatre.
Reser was somber as he said the rubble of the old theatre was a lesson for everyone to make sure the city does not lose any more of its historic buildings.
“You just need to talk to the people who came to view the demolition and hear their stories to see what the theatre meant to them,” Reser said in his report. “We need to protect our history. This one got away from us for various reasons and we need to be vigilant to make sure that it is not repeated.”
Reser expected that work on the theatre will be halted during the three days of the Bratwurst Festival next week.
Law Director Rob Ratliff reminded citizens that is was illegal to take anything from the demolition site. A man who attempted to take asbestos-contaminated bricks from the site was stopped by the job crew and had to be decontaminated.
Current mill and pave projects should be finished by the end of this week or the beginning of next week, Reser said. Lines will go down on those roads in September.
Councilman Bruce Truka questioned Reser on the possibility of sealing road cracks throughout the city on areas that are not on the mill and pave project. Reser said there may be money in the budget to get some of the cracks sealed.
Truka also questioned the restrictiveness of an ordinance passed at the July 21 Bucyrus City Council meeting. That ordinance, which prohibited swimming, wading, or bathing in any of the city-owned waterways, deterred fishermen, duck hunters, and frog gigging, Truka argued.
“It’s too restrictive,” Truka said. “It seems you’re cutting off a vast majority of people for a small part.”
The ordinance was returned to the Public Lands and Buildings committee to consider less restrictive language.
Two ordinances dealing with appropriations were passed by council. An appropriation reduction of $200 was made in the Water Filtration/Capital Outlay find for the end of the grant used for the new water treatment plant design while another reduction was made in the Police Department/Capital Outlay fund to correct an error in the 2015 budget that was already paid for in the previous year’s budget. The second piece of legislation appropriated $100 for a canine expenses donation and $3,700 to the Access Television fund for a change in salary.
A joint regular committee meeting is scheduled for this Thursday. The Finance Committee will be handling various appropriations, the Health and Safety Committee will consider information submitted by the Law Director on alarm fees and indigent burials, and the Public Lands and Buildings Committee will review the restrictions on city-owned waterways.