John R Ernsberger

The meeting involved the approval of minutes from a special council meeting on January 22, 2026, and a regular council meeting on February 3, 2026. Citizen participation included communications regarding the need for citizens' written opinions to be given equal weight to in-person speakers, concerns about commercial trash rates, and discussion surrounding the visitors and travel bureau budget. The Mayor's report covered the Crawford Partnership program involving state capital budget funding applications for various community projects, including a dog park in Crestline and endeavors in Gallion related to homeless assistance and a history center. The city of Bucyrus submitted a package to support the YMCA regarding asbestos remediation for their old facility, and Centennial Park outlined plans to finish their park project. Furthermore, the Mayor discussed communications with the Crawford County Board of Health regarding Gallion potentially joining the county health department and concerns about the city of Bucyrus overpaying its share to the health department by $650,000 over the last ten years. The Mayor concluded his report by mentioning a discussion point regarding inherited sewer plants.

The meeting was convened as a special session to address previous procedural errors. Key discussions centered on increasing solid waste rates by $1 per month for residential and commercial accounts as an emergency measure, following public participation where concerns about the timing and justification of the increase were raised. A significant portion of the meeting focused on amending storm water rates (BC-927-05) as an emergency to secure a loan for separation projects mandated by the EPA, involving a 50% rate increase for the remainder of 2026, 10% for 2027, and 3% annually thereafter. There was substantial public commentary regarding the perceived lack of transparency and urgency associated with these rate hikes, particularly concerning the dedication of funds from the wastewater treatment plant project. Furthermore, the committee authorized a contract with Arcadus to administer the Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP), which involves flow meter data collection necessary for future wastewater plant design, also authorized as an emergency action.

The Service Committee meeting addressed several critical items. Key discussions involved adjustments to the storm water fund, where a presentation outlined the need to increase the fee from $4 to $6 immediately, followed by a 60-cent increase the subsequent year, partly driven by loan application requirements related to the Sanduski Avenue project. It was noted that the fund rate has not increased since 2003. Further discussion centered on a contract with Arcadus for long-term control plan development concerning sewer separation, involving the transition of administrative control from US EPA to Ohio EPA. The committee also reviewed future plans for solid waste management, specifically seeking approval for a $1 monthly increase in the garbage rate to fund the purchase of a single-arm automated trash truck, which is projected to result in a reduction of two personnel in that department. The proposed rate changes included specific increases for residential, senior, and commercial customers, as well as adjustments for dumpster services.

The Health and Safety Committee meeting discussed the status of several open projects. The committee decided on the Derelch buildings project, opting to keep it on the open projects list. The item for 450 Dudley Street was confirmed for removal from the open projects list following prior confirmation and an email request. The food truck regulations remain an open project pending a meeting between committee members, the fire chief, and the health department. The codified ordinance regarding animals and fowl, as well as the codified ordinance for wavelength and cameras, will remain on the open projects list despite initial recommendations for removal. Taxi cab licensing was removed as legislation has passed. The criminal ordinance package will remain on the open projects list pending work between Mr. Goi and Police Chief Dorsy. Signal rates will be removed as related legislation has passed. Public communication item will be removed as previously decided. The discussion on Ebikes and non-traditional motorized vehicles will remain open pending further research requested by a committee member. The item for 1308 Fremont Street was noted as improperly removed from the list and should be returned for continued consideration. Significant discussion was held regarding the appointment process for the Property Maintenance Appeals Board, including term expirations and replacements for resigned/deceased members. The committee agreed to request draft legislation for appointing the Health and Safety Committee as the chief appointing authority, and a separate piece of draft legislation for appointing the new board members and alternates.

The special finance committee meeting was convened to address a critical error discovered in legislation passed on the preceding Tuesday regarding the WPCLF loan. The error was a missing word in Section Two of the resolution, where "water user charges" was written instead of the correct "storm water user charges" as the dedicated source of repayment. The committee was asked to take two actions as an emergency measure: first, to repeal resolution 205-2026, and second, to pass a resolution authorizing the safety service director to apply for, accept, and enter into the WPCLF agreement with the corrected repayment source specified. The committee successfully voted to repeal the previous resolution and moved to approve the new resolution authorizing the loan application.