Recycling center plan is in limbo

The property is controlled by a county agency that aids people with disabilities.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- A proposal to create a recycling center on Columbiana County property appears to have stalled.
Robin Houlette, who operates HMF Recycling Facility, proposed early this month that he move his operation from Elkrun Township to county land.
The county property, which Houlette said he would be willing to lease or buy, is just off state Route 45, south of Lisbon in Center Township.
Houlette could not be reached recently to discuss the status of his proposal.
Commissioner Jim Hoppel said Friday he hasn't heard from Houlette.
"Nothing has progressed on it at all," Hoppel said.
He added that he has learned that the county property is under the control of the county Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities board.
Vehicle storage
The MRDD uses the nearly 20-acre property to store its 21 buses, two vans and an office trailer used by drivers.
"Nobody has approached us" regarding using the property for a recycling center, said Gerald Baker, MRDD superintendent.
Baker said the MRDD probably would consider a proposal from Houlette, but any use of the land would have to ensure enough space remains for buses, or an alternative location would have to be found.
Houlette has told commissioners that he is interested primarily in a 15,000-square-foot garage on the site.
The structure, which is in disrepair, isn't being used right now.
The garage would provide ample space for his recycling operation, and even allow it to expand, Houlette has said.
Should he move his operation to the county land, Houlette said, he might expand his facility from six full-time employees to about a dozen.
The site would accept recyclable items -- including tires, appliances, motor oil, antifreeze, newspapers, cardboard and scrap metal -- from the public.
"I don't think it's dead in the water," Hoppel said of Houlette's proposal. "There's nothing to indicate that yet."