Akron pastor Jimmie K. Rodgers opposes a proposed East Akron waste transfer station that would accept recyclables, along with residential and commercial garbage. At a public hearing City Council held Thursday for the project, Rodgers questioned why the existing Fountain Street facility needs to be moved.
“Something stinks,” Rodgers said.
Tara Mosley Weems, a former Ward 5 council member, strongly supports the proposed facility, saying the proper research has occurred to ensure the 1400 E. Archwood Ave. site is the best choice for Akron. The lifelong East Akron resident said it’s “the right location, and it’s the right thing to do.”
Ward 5 resident Margaret Bush questioned why there are waste transfer stations anywhere in Akron. Bush suggested that a facility would be better situated on the outskirts of the city, away from residential areas — for example, near the Akron-Canton Airport.
“I want to know how many of them live in my neighborhood, in this neighborhood, and do they want [the facility] in their neighborhood?” Bush asked rhetorically after proponents of the waste transfer station shared their opinions with Akron City Council.
“Because we don’t want it here.”
Rodgers, Mosley Weems and Bush were among those to express a litany of opinions, suggestions and criticisms in council chambers during a wide-ranging meeting that lasted more than nine hours. People attending Thursday’s public hearing filled the six rows of seating in council chambers as well as the hallway, gallery space and an adjacent conference room.Â
In all, more than four dozen Ward 5 residents, nonprofit leaders, local pastors, officials from WM, formerly Waste Management, and others attended the meeting, which continued until about 11:15 p.m. as council passed a motion to take more time to consider the proposal.
Late in the meeting, City Council President Margo Sommerville questioned why the current facility at Fountain Street is run down, with no improvements made to the facility over time. Sommerville expressed concern the same scenario could occur with a new facility in another location.Â
Sommerville said, “Someone dropped the ball, and I have to lay it in the lap of the mayor’s office” that there were no meetings in Ward 5 about the project — informational meetings were held in Wards 10 and 6.
“That is disrespectful. It should never have been allowed,” she continued, calling for Mayor Shammas Malik’s administration to apologize to those neighborhood residents.
If the city is serious about not repeating the mistakes of the past, Sommerville said, “let’s be serious about finding a location that’s remote, that’s isolated” to keep Ward 5 from becoming a dump site.
WM says it plans to limit negative impact on community
Critics of the proposed waste transfer facility voiced a slew of complaints, from potential smells to traffic control. Meanwhile, WM, the company behind the proposal to replace “legacy facilities” at Fountain Street in Middlebury and in East Akron at the WM Akron Recycling facility, shared research its officials said showed the negative effects would be minimal.
In constructing the facility, WM vowed to preserve nearby trees, said Greg Soltis, a planner for RDL Architects, a Beachwood-based firm working on the proposal. Soltis added that the facility will be located near similar services, such as the Akron Water Distribution Division.
“The proposed use there is an essential service for the City of Akron,” Soltis said. “The city has made a large investment [in] infrastructure designed to actually serve industrial uses.”
WM officials said an odor suppression system would neutralize potential smells rather than mask them. Additionally, the building would be emptied daily and cleaned routinely, indoors and outdoors, to prevent odor, dust and potential rodent infestations.
The facility would be open Monday through Friday from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 6 a.m. to noon, excluding holidays.
Oscar the Grouch takes on trash in Akron
As attendees approached Akron City Hall on Thursday afternoon, they were greeted outside by Akron resident Nick Christopher, who dressed as Oscar the Grouch, the green, furry, ornery, trash-loving character from “Sesame Street.”
Christopher and others held signs that made their position clear: “Don’t turn East Akron into a dump.”
Christopher said he showed up because he wanted to save his city.
“We’re supposed to take care of our cities,” he said, “not destroy [sic] them.”
