This aerial image shows the three buildings on Flax Street the city wants repaired, with the line showing the property boundaries.

A property owner has until the end of the year to make upgrades to three buildings at 15 Flax St., the city of Delaware’s Board of Zoning Appeals ruled Wednesday.

If the upgrades are not completed, the BZA may ask the city to condemn and demolish the buildings at its meeting on Jan. 13, 2016. In its unanimous vote, the board said the property owner would not be granted any further extensions to make the upgrades.

The three buildings sit on 3.61 acres on the north side of Flax northwest of Milo Street and near the river. It is zoned as a light manufacturing district. City staff said the buildings are old and were once a factory, but had been vacant for years.

The board’s staff report said the buildings “have had several violation notices the last five years or so to repair and secure the building and to mow or remove rubbish and garbage from the site. … None of the building improvements have been made and city services have been and continue to be burdened with securing the structures and mowing violations. In addition, the vacancy and state of disrepair of the building(s) and property has become a nuisance and danger to the neighborhood and city. The city police department has 59 documented police reports at this property since 2010.”

The property has 15 violations of the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code, the staff report said.

The BZA had originally considered the case in March, but attorney David Gordon, representing the Los Angeles-based owners, Yoav and Schlomo Botach, asked for it to be tabled. The case was again tabled to allow for further inspection of the buildings. City staff then recommended allowing for the extension to make the upgrades to the property.

BZA member Robert Badger said he had gone to the property prior to the meeting and noticed that while there had been some lawn mowing and shrub trimming, the site hadn’t been cleaned up.

Behzad Vedaie, a Columbus-based engineer who represents the owners, said that the people cutting the grass were chased off the property. He also said that a contractor who was going to make repairs went out of town on another job.

James Mardis, who said he owns the land next to the river, said the grass cutters were removing the shrubs on his property, and he had threatened to call the police. He also said he felt the buildings should be demolished.

Badger said he hadn’t seen any work being done at the site, and wondered if the project could be completed in time.

“It does not achieve compliance today,” said zoning administrator Lance Schultz. “It’s going to take a lot of work.”

Delaware police have charged a juvenile in connection with last week’s assault of a Delaware man on the city’s bike path.

Meanwhile, officers are still searching for a man they say assaulted a girl in a separate incident on the bike path two days earlier.

Police said Wednesday that officers are taking the time to perform extra patrols along the bike path after the two incidents last week.

Police said there have been no incidents on the bike path since last week’s attacks.

A charge of assault has been filed against a 16-year-old boy involved in a fight on the bike path between East Winter Street and East William Street on June 2, police said. The case has been referred to Delaware County Juvenile Court.

Josef Andrew Hutchinson, 18, of Delaware, was seriously injured by the 16-year-old in a fight and was transported and admitted to OSU Wexner Medical Center, police said. Hutchinson was released from Wexner the following day, hospital staff said. Hutchinson and the boy knew each other.

Two days before the fight, a 17-year-old girl from Prospect, Ohio, said she was assaulted by a stranger on the bike path — near where the path crosses U.S. 23 and River Street on the east side of the Olentangy River — about 5:30 p.m. May 31, police said. The girl told police a man ripped her clothes and touched her inappropriately.

Delaware Police Chief Bruce Pijanowski said the incidents were not related and said the decision to add an extra patrol was merely a precaution.

Police last week developed a sketch of the man who they believe is responsible for the May 31 assault. The girl described the attacker as a white male, about 5-foot-8 with a medium build, brown hair with some stubble on his face, and tattoos on both arms. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans.

Police are urging anyone with information regarding the incident to call 740-203-1111.

Both incidents remain under investigation, police report.

Delaware Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle said she thought the American flags downtown looked worn and dirty, and decided to do something about it. Riggle approached Ron Falvo at JR Cleaners about the cost of cleaning all the flags but Falvo offered to clean them for free. Above, Riggle and Falvo hold up a freshly cleaned flag at JR Cleaners Wednesday morning. Riggle said she wanted to have the flags cleaned and put back up before Flag Day this Sunday.

Delaware Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle said she thought the American flags downtown looked worn and dirty, and decided to do something about it. Riggle approached Ron Falvo at JR Cleaners about the cost of cleaning all the flags but Falvo offered to clean them for free. Above, Riggle and Falvo hold up a freshly cleaned flag at JR Cleaners Wednesday morning. Riggle said she wanted to have the flags cleaned and put back up before Flag Day this Sunday.

The Survivor Lap is one of the highlights of a Relay for Life event.

This weekend’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Delaware has a new time and location.

Last year, the event was at the Delaware County Fairgrounds. This year it was going to be at Ohio Wesleyan University’s Selby Stadium, but that’s been changed again.

The Relay will take place at OWU’s Williams Circle, 7-21 Williams St., perhaps better known to locals as Fraternity Hill.

“It has a nice paved walkway,” said volunteer Dr. Erinn Nicley. “It turns out to be a blessing in disguise.”

The other change is with the time. Many Relay events start at 6 p.m. Friday, but Delaware decided to try something new this year. The Relay will begin at noon Saturday, and conclude at 6 a.m. Sunday.

Nicley said some events will take place earlier than usual, including the Fighting Back ceremony at midnight. However, the popular luminaria ceremony will still be at 10 p.m.

“People used to get scared away from our event because they think they have to be there the whole time but, no, you don’t,” Nicley said. “You can come and go, drop in, spend a couple of hours, buy a luminaria bag, donate some money, have some fun and then go home if you want to. For those who want to pursue the traditional path, they can stay overnight if they want.”

Each year, the Relay has a different theme. Nicley said this year’s theme uses a “Monopoly board to raise public awareness for all the different types of cancers that are out there. … A lot of the teams like to play off that.”

To date, 17 teams and 73 participants have raised $21,246 for the Relay. Nicley said the Delaware Relay has raised nearly a million dollars since it began in 1997.

“I don’t think we’ll make it this year, but we’ll be close,” Nicley said. “Maybe if someone makes a big donation.”

At the City Council meeting Monday, Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle named June as American Cancer Society Relay for Life month.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 67,000 new cases of cancer are expected to be reported in Ohio this year. However, the death rates have dropped 22 percent since the 1990s, and the five-year survival events has increased since the 1990s.