Council honors Barnes Nursery and moves on park grant, union contract

Before Monday’s Bellevue City Council meeting, Mayor Kevin Strecker presented Sharon and Kyle Barnes of Barnes Nursery with a key to the city. He said the company, which took over the city’s compost site, has been an asset, donating compost to The Bellevue Hospital’s community garden and mulch to Central Park. “They run a community minded business and they are someone we want to have on our team,” he said. Strecker also announced a free Narcan training and distribution by Huron County Public Health from 5 to 7 p.m. May 31 at the Bellevue Public Library.

Safety-Service Director Mike Lantz said work on the Near Road bridge would start the next day and take a couple of weeks, catch basins were going in at the water treatment plant because of flooding, and the plant’s clarifier was being sandblasted and recoated.

First Ward Councilman Duane Baker said he has had calls about tall grass at abandoned houses and urged council to look at tearing down houses that have had no utilities for years, as Sandusky has done. Strecker said the city is looking for money to demolish some buildings, including the old Ben Franklin building downtown, and Third Ward Councilman Steve Hill agreed.

Council suspended the rules and voted 7-0 for Resolution R-9-16, letting Parks and Recreation Director Marc Weisenberger apply for an ODNR NatureWorks grant for Robert Peters Park: better lighting, resurfaced tennis and basketball courts, ADA-compliant restrooms and a back entrance. The project is estimated at about $98,000, with about $78,000 reimbursed. Council also passed Ordinance 8-16, an AFSCME contract, 7-0, and gave a second reading to renewing the Huron County EMA agreement.

Background: Barnes takes over the compost site and the first Narcan distribution. Grant program: ODNR. More in Local News.