By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Last week the start date for the Schines Theatre demolition was tentatively scheduled for Tuesday but the hours passed by without action taking place at the corner of Warren and Sandusky.
City Administrative Assistant Eunice Collene made the announcement early Tuesday evening that work will officially being at approximately 8 a.m. today. A lift will arrive to work on the wall above the Midwest Furniture building. It is Moderalli Excavating’s hope that 15 to 20 feet of brick that extends above Midwest Furniture’s roof will be removed.
The city will block off Warrant Street and the alley behind the theater. As it currently stands, the city is not planning to block off Sandusky Avenue, though that could change as the project moves along.
The City of Bucyrus obtained two grants – one from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and another from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission – in order to tear down the old theater that has been worn down by fire, neglect, and time. As part of the conditions of the grants, the area will be turned into the Schines Art Park.
“The theatre demolition project has been a more stressful undertaking,” Jeff Reser said in his Mayor’s report during Tuesday night’s Bucyrus City Council meeting. “There have been many difficult roadblocks to overcome along the way, especially in the last few months.”
Reser thanked Collene for her perseverance and determination to see the project to the finish. Collene has served as the project coordinator.
Reser also informed the City Council that Integrys, the city’s selected company for its natural gas aggregation program, was bought out by Constellation Energy Services. The change was effective April 1. Reser said the city’s contract will remain the same and there will be no changes to customers’ rates and terms.
Dale Hartle, president of Ohio Regional Development Corp, discussed fair housing with City Council. Hartle said he is required to make sure entities using federal money have a certain amount of education to make them aware of fair housing and issues surrounding them. Currently, Bucyrus has received or is currently receiving funding from Community Development Block Grants and house funding from federal funds.
Fair housing prohibits discrimination within seven protected classes: race, religion, color, national origin, sex, familial status, or disability. Ohio added military status to its protected classes in 2008. Fair housing protects those classes from those who attempt to refuse to sell or rent to them.
Anyone with questions concerning the natural gas aggregation program can call the Mayor/Service-Safety Director’s office at 419-562-6767 ext. 221.
Council passed four pieces of legislation Tuesday night. The legislation before Council prohibited swimming, wading, or bathing in any of the city-owned waterways; banned vehicular traffic on Sandusky Avenue and sections of Mansfield, Rensselaer, Warren, and Charles streets for the Bratwurst Festival; assumed liability for negligent or nuisance acts regarding the re-routing of traffic for the festival; and authorized the Service/Safety Director to enter into an agreement with the Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival Inc. to provide safety forces, cleaning services, and traffic re-routes at a cost of $16,500 for the festival.
The regular joint committee meeting scheduled for this Thursday has been canceled. The joint meeting will be scheduled for next week at a time yet to be determined.
Council voted to move its Aug. 4 regular meeting to 7 p.m. on Aug. 3 due to National Night Out set for that Tuesday.
A Traffic Commission meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. this Friday.