HUBBARD Council OKs plan to annex treatment plant

Federal money to help repair city flood-damaged property is on the way.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HUBBARD -- After more than two years of paying taxes to the state for property in Hubbard Township, city legislators have finally made the sewage treatment plant a part of the city.
Council approved legislation Monday to annex almost 25 acres along Elmwood Drive Extension, which sits just outside the city's northeast corner boundary.
Because the plant, owned and operated by the city, was not in the city's limits, taxpayers were footing a bill of roughly $600 per month to cover taxes paid to the state on the building.
Now that the land is in the city, the taxes will no longer apply because the state exempts communities with municipal systems.
In May 2001, city officials petitioned Trumbull County commissioners to approve the annexation. The request was made after the state imposed a kilowatt-hour tax in 2001. Before that, the location of the city plant in township limits was not a problem.
The original petition was extended, and then denied, because Hubbard officials failed to reply to requests from the county auditor for more information, including legal descriptions of the land and right-of-way boundaries.
Dump cleanup
In other news, Auditor Michael Villano reported that representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers are pleased with the progress the city has made in cleaning up a portion of its dump.
"The cleanup is about 50 [percent] to 60 percent complete," he said, adding that the process has taken about a week and a half and should last about another week or two.
The corps ordered the city last month to remove about 19,000 ton of debris at an estimated cost of $117,000 and take it to an approved landfill. The move is also costing the city about $50,000 to $80,000 in equipment and labor to move the debris from the wetlands behind Maple Grove Cemetery.
Had the cleanup not taken place, though, Villano had warned legislators that the issue would be turned over to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the city could have faced a possible fine of $100,000 and be forced to remove another 20,000 to 30,000 tons.
Federal funds
Also during his report, Villano said about $199,000 in federal money to help with projects to repair flood damage in the city should arrive within about three weeks.
Hubbard was one of the cities hit hardest by the flooding July 27.
Original estimates were that the storms caused between $250,000 and $300,000 damage. The federal money will be added to state money that won't be released until all of the repair projects are complete, Villano said, which could take some time.
One project in particular, he said, included repairing a section of the parking lot at the city's street department building, which won't be done until spring.
slshaulis@vindy.com