By JONATHAN SNYDER
Bluffton NOW!’s Community Reinvestment Program application for 101 North Main St. was approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety on Tuesday.
Jerry Flack applied on behalf of the group to turn the main floor of the building from a storage area and small office space to a place that fits more offices and a conference room. The project costs $32,348.45 total. Bluffton NOW! will invest $16,174.22.
Board member Josh Hunt asked about the new budget for the CRP program and Bluffton NOW! President Mike Lautzenheiser stated that they are “significantly far from empty.” With the previous investment of $25,000 for BAF Investments, the remaining budget is estimated at $58,825.78.
“This project is taking space that’s not being used and making it active,” Hunt said. “That’s the point of the program.”
Additionally, the board granted a request for more time to get training and obedience lessons for a nuisance dog. Anita Ybarra’s seven-year-old dog attacked another at a boarding facility in Ossian, which led to the death of the other dog. Wells County Animal Control Officer Kyle Morphew reviewed the video and stated the attack was unprovoked.
Ybarra stated that the dog currently lives with three other smaller ones, two of which have been around his whole life. Ybarra further noted that she has never seen any aggressive behavior from the dog before and he has not attacked any workers or strangers.
Bluffton requires a dog under nuisance animal orders to get mandatory training and are only allowed to leave their home when transport is necessary, without a muzzle.
Ybarra stated she understood the requirements and is willing to do all she can and “make some hard decisions” but since the dog is having trouble taking to the muzzle, she requested for more time on getting the mandatory training.
The board gave Ybarra until the end of May to get mandatory training for the dog, but held firm on the dog needing the muzzle when he goes out.
Additionally, a parking request from Amanda and Jenna Frauhiger was cleared up by the board. The Frauhiger’s stated they have people who use their Airbnb in the upper level of 107 West Market St. As the police department has began reinforcing parking spot limits downtown again, the Frauhigers shared concerns that the public lots are blocks away from the location. The Frauhigers noted that the nearest public parking lot is at the Mt. Fuji restaurant, but the lot there is filled for most of the day.
While the board took no official action, they clarified that the rule applied only during business hours and street sweepings, so someone could park in that road from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. and still be in compliance. Additionally, the downtown pathways project, which revitalizes some alleyways in downtown Bluffton, is meant to help connect the public lots to businesses and other properties on Market Street.
The board also:
• Gave Water Filtration Operator Zach Smith a $1 hourly merit raise
• Accepted Paid On-Call Firefighter Kelly Thompson’s resignation, ending a 39-year tenure in the department.
jonathan@news-banner.com
