After weeks of delay, Akron City Council approved the construction and operation of a proposed waste transfer station in East Akron.
The waste hub, approved in a 10-3 vote Monday during council’s regular meeting, will replace the Fountain Street facility in Middlebury and the recycling center on Exeter Road. The $20 million municipal solid waste facility, to be located at 1400 E. Archwood Ave., will also include a community drop-off area, so that residents can dispose of additional waste.
Monday’s vote followed Council Member Johnnie Hannah’s Thursday meeting in Ward 5. The meeting, a result of Hannah’s failure to hold one prior to a nine-hour public hearing discussing the waste transfer project, gave residents a final chance to express their concerns about property values, increased traffic, smell and rodents, Hannah said.
It also led him to ask his colleagues for more time on the proposal, in hopes of finding alternative options for the facility.
“Let’s pump the brakes on putting this waste transfer station in Ward 5,” Hannah said Monday.
Additionally, some residents still have questions regarding the specifics of the new waste transfer hub. Ward 4 Council Member Jan Davis said that while she was initially prepared to vote for the transfer station at Monday’s council meeting, Thursday’s Ward 5 meeting changed her mind. She said it took her some time to understand the proposal herself.
“If it’s taken me a month or so to dig into data and try and comprehend it all, I don’t expect that the residents of Ward 5 [will] comprehend that in a two-hour, passionately driven meeting,” Davis said.
Council President Margo Sommerville also asked council members to vote for more time. She said that it was a missed opportunity that the city was not able to make residents feel like they were a “legitimate partner” in the process of deciding on the new facility.
Sommerville apologized to Akron residents who live near the Fountain Street facility, saying it was “deplorable,” that the condition of the property had become so bad.
“That’s just not on WM, that is also on the city,” she said.
Waste transfer station conversation won’t end here, council members and WM agree
Despite Hannah, Davis and Sommerville’s preference to take additional time before deciding the matter, City Council voted 8-4 in favor of taking the vote Monday, before ultimately voting to approve the proposal.
At-large council members Jeff Fusco and Linda Omobien advocated against taking time, assuring that Monday’s vote would not be the end of the process.
“I don’t think whatever the vote is tonight will stop or should stop the discussion with the residents of Ward 5,” Omobien said.
During the public comment period, WM Area Disposal Manager Erick Palmer said “Our conversations with the neighbors will not cease.”
Palmer said that WM is willing to form a citizens’ advisory council, which would meet every six months.
After City Council voted in favor of the waste transfer station, Hannah told Signal Akron that what happens next is the council’s responsibility.
“It’s not over until it’s over,” Hannah said. “And we fought a good fight. But this time, we’ve not lost the battle yet. The fight is ongoing, and we will continue to speak out for Ward 5 residents.”
Akron council members who voted for the waste transfer station:
Samuel DeShazior, Ward 1
Phil Lombardo, Ward 2
Brad McKitrick, Ward 6
Donnie Kammer, Ward 7
Bruce Bolden, Ward 8
Tina Boyes, Ward 9
Sharon Connor, Ward 10
Vice President Jeff Fusco, At-large
Eric Garrett, At-large
Linda Omobien, At-large
Akron council members who voted against the waste transfer station:
President Margo Sommerville, Ward 3
Jan Davis, Ward 4
Johnnie Hannah, Ward 5