SPRINGFIELD TWP. Officials ask for sewer funding

A March 1 deadline is looming.
BY MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW SPRINGFIELD -- To avoid losing $450,000 in federal funds, Springfield Township trustees agreed to ask Mahoning County Solid Waste District to come up with a $623,000 local share for the Petersburg Sanitary Sewer Project.
The $2.7 million sewer project is set to start in July, and funding commitments for portions of the project already have been obtained from several other sources.
Presenting request
Atty. David Shepherd of Poland will present the request today to Mahoning County Commissioner Ed Reese, who chairs the MCSW.
Shepherd represents trustees in negotiations with the local Waste Management Inc. landfill for a host community agreement. Trustees had hoped that as part of the agreement, Waste Management would commit enough money to provide the needed matching funds for the sewer.
But Wednesday night, trustees said those negotiations are at a stalemate, and no new talks are scheduled.
Deadline application
In the meantime, they face a March 1 application deadline or stand to lose the U.S. Department of Agriculture funds.
Trustees had hoped to forge an agreement with Waste Management in which the township would receive $1 for every ton of waste dumped at the landfill instead of the 25 cents it gets now. This would amount to $324,000 per year instead of the $81,000 received last year.
Trustee Reed Metzka said, however, that Waste Management has offered the township only $30,000 per year for 20 years, an amount trustees rejected.
Metzka said after the meeting that in exchange for the agreement, the landfill wants the township to support an increase in the permitted size of the mound of waste at the Garfield Road facility.
Trustee Shirley Heck said negotiations with the landfill have not fallen through, but added, "We didn't want to rush to put together a host community agreement."
Working against the March 1 deadline, trustees have now turned to the MCSW in the hope it will hand over most of the money it received last year from the landfill for the sewer project.
The MCSW receives $1.50 for every ton dumped in the landfill, which amounted last year to $627,000.
The amount the county and township receive per ton are set by state law, but can be negotiated higher. Trustees believe that since Springfield Township has to deal with the increased traffic and hazards associated with the landfill, it should receive more of the compensation.
As an additional hedge against losing the USDA funds, trustees said they have agreed to borrow $600,000 at 2.9 percent in case the MCSW will not provide the grant share.
The township would repay the loan using $28,000 per year from the $81,000 it receives from the landfill.
Fire Chief Brian Hughes told trustees that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has awarded the township a grant for four dry hydrants.
ODNR will pay $1,333 and the township will match that. Two of the hydrants will be installed at the high school and two in locations to be determined. The hydrants are near a lake or stream and draw water out so it does not have to be transported in case of a fire.