Dunkirk enacts update on rules

DUNKIRK — Come springtime, residents of Dunkirk will have new landscaping rules to follow.

Dunkirk City Council on Monday approved two new ordinances regarding weeds that will be enforced in the spring.

Council members also received updates on community projects.

For the past month, council has discussed updating the city’s current weed control ordinances to amend how high weeds can grow and how frequently grass needs to be cut. The ordinance change limits grass to a height of 4 inches and weeds to a height of 8 inches.

The ordinance also states property owners will have five days after receiving notice to remove any overgrown vegetation. If the owner fails to remove the vegetation within five days, the city will remove it and bill the property owner.

Any funds brought in from weed removal will be put into a non-reverting fund, which will later be used to clean up blighted properties.

Also Monday, Mayor Gene Ritter reminded council there will be a revitalization meeting at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 29 at West Jay Community Center. Ritter said the meeting will detail Dunkirk revitalization plans for the next five years, including the future of the Depot and the Stewart Brothers Building.

“We’ve got some interest in our depot, which we’re pretty determined that we’re not going to be selling that building. If anything, we’ll be leasing it,” Ritter said. “But I think we may end up putting some money into the interior of it first, try to keep it historic.”

Council also approved increases for the city’s fire contracts with surrounding townships. Approved, as suggested by Ritter, were 1-percent increases that bring Richland up to $5,500, Jackson to $3,200, Niles to $2,400 and Knox to $2,225.