In June 2016, Bethel Township Trustees purchased the two properties on US 40 in Brandt on which the old Molly Burger Restaurant and the Odd Fellows buildings were located. The trustees approved at the February 14, 2017 meeting the contract to demolish the Molly Burger Restaurant. The building has since been razed. The only thing that remains is the basement walls that require a final inspection before they can be toppled and the hole filled.

The Odd Fellows Building will be inspected to determine if it can be restored for a reasonable cost. If not, that building will be razed as well. According to Planning and Zoning Director, Marty Caskey, “The Odd Fellows Building is serving as a deluxe hotel for raccoons and other rodents. I don’t think it can be restored, but we have to go through all of the proper proceedings.”

If the building is demolished, it will have to be torn down by a hazmat abatement crew since the facility was used for business purposes at one point. No final decision has been made for the final use of the properties. For the now, the lots will be leveled and seeded.

At the February 28, 2017 meeting in regular business, Fire Chief Andy Ehrhart reported that the Fire Department made 17 runs between February 11, 2017 and February 24, 2017. He said, “This is a low call volume for us. We usually make 25 to 30 runs during a two-week period.”

The department responded to 11 emergency medical calls including two vehicle accidents with injuries. They also responded to three brush fires that turned out to be controlled burns by farmers cleaning out fence rows. In addition, they responded to one chemical hazard that turned out to be nonhazardous. Nonhazardous materials were stored in a chemical container that fell off a truck in Phoneton.

For Planning and Zoning, Caskey reported that no zoning certificates were requested or issued. He also reported that the Bethel Board of Zoning Appeals is scheduled to meet on Marche 23, 2017 to hear a conditional use request for the property at 968 Bellefontaine to establish a veterinary clinic at that location.

The Bethel Zoning Commission will also meet on March 23, 2017 to hear a request to rezone two lots at 9140 SR 292 and US 40 to rezone them from B-1 General Business and B-2 Office/Residential Business to I-1 Industrial and to join the lots to establish a gas station at the location.

The next meeting of the Bethel Township Trustees is scheduled for March 14, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the Township Meeting Room. Prior to that meeting, the trustees will hold a public hearing for the rezoning of several parcels at 6476 US 40 and to combine and then split the parcels into three lots.

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