Officials tackle scrap-tire issue

0The city is working with the county on short- and long-term plans for scrap tires.
& lt;a href=mailto:rgsmith@vindy.com & gt;By ROGER SMITH & lt;/a & gt;
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city is trying to get its mountain of scrap tires hauled away and prevent a new one from forming.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency estimates the city has more than 50,000 tires in piles stored outdoors on the street department's Teamster Drive grounds. Agency regulations, however, allow just a maximum of 1,000 tires stored inside a container.
The tires have accumulated during the past four years. That's the last time the city disposed of an even larger collection.
The city hasn't had the money the past few years -- street workers remain laid off -- to get rid of the tires, officials say.
"It's turning into a big problem," said Carmen Conglose Jr., deputy director of public works.
The city picks up discarded tires when they appear on roadsides or in vacant lots. Block watch groups cleaning their neighborhoods can collect 50 to 100 tires just within a few blocks, which the city also takes.
Council's safety committee is to take up the issue at a meeting Wednesday.
Councilman Artis Gillam Sr., D-1st, the committee chairman, said he wants to talk about getting rid of tires and how the city will deal with future scraps. The tires can hold standing water and become a breeding ground for mosquitoes that could carry West Nile virus, so the piles have to go, he said.
What's occurred
In February, the OEPA cited the city with four violations over the tires.
The agency said it warned the city twice last year that the piles violated regulations. The city told the OEPA early this year it was working with Mahoning County on tire disposal. Nonetheless, the OEPA made the citations and threatened more action if the problem isn't resolved.
The city has an $80,000 grant from the Mahoning County Recycling Division that's expected to clear away most or all of the tires.
Recycling companies are interested in tires but won't absorb all the costs to process them, Conglose said, so somebody has to pay the difference.
Bids are to be opened Monday from qualified companies interested in removing the tires, said Joseph Mastropietro, street superintendent.
The city paid $80,000 four years ago to dispose of an even larger collection. Mastropietro expects the county grant will erase the problem again, although rising costs make it uncertain if some tires will remain.
Meanwhile, the city and county are working on ways to properly store and collect the tires in the future, Mastropietro said.
The county doesn't want the city to continually rely upon grants to get rid of tires, so a long-term plan is needed, he said.
A solution likely will involve the city's acquiring a suitable container and then arranging for regular disposal, perhaps through the county, he said.
& lt;a href=mailto:rgsmith@vindy.com & gt;rgsmith@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;