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Weathersfield Township Recycling center proposed
By Mary Smith
MINERAL RIDGE
Weathersfield Town- ship trustees fielded questions this week about a proposed recycling center and landfill for construction and demolition-debris on the west side of Warren Avenue, just north of Deforest Road.
Two companies and the trustees applied for a $250,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant earlier this month to help start the business.
The two companies are Southside Environmental Group of Robbins Avenue, Niles, which owns the land; and Kurtz Brothers Inc. of Cleveland. Kurtz will have to match the $250,000 grant, chairman Gil Blair said.
Blair, an attorney, presented about 35 residents at the meeting with information the trustees have on the proposed recycling center and answered questions.
The few residents who questioned the trustees were critical and suspicious.
John Vogel, a former township trustee, questioned why he had not heard anything about the proposal until late January, after the Trumbull County commissioners were urged by Blair to partner in the grant plans.
Blair said he had one e-mail and two phones calls. Other trustees said they heard nothing about it.
Vogel said that the township’s zoning board had “adopted some of the strictest restrictions on landfills and construction and demolition sites, laws which were adopted by several communities in the county.” And yet, he said, the zoning board of appeals granted four variances from that legislation to allow the possibility of the new venture.
The zoning board of appeals July 12 granted the two companies approval for a variance, because the land is 34 acres instead of the required 50 acres; and for a conditional-use permit.
Vogel also questioned whether the site was set back 1,000 feet from Waddell Park and St. Stephens Cemetery and asked if the Youngstown Catholic Diocese had responded when notified about the proposal. He said trustees should have informed St. Stephens directly, and not the diocese, which Blair said owned the land.
Many types of construction materials will be collected, and all will be separated, ground up for mulch or soil, and the metals will be reused. An estimated 15 percent of the materials will not be able to be reclaimed. That material will be buried, in compliance with the EPA and the county health department.
The property is zoned Industrial B, as are RMI Titanium and the former RG Steel plant, both near the proposed site.
Blair told the audience the zoning board of appeals followed all correct procedures before granting the variance.
He also noted that the companies must still present the trustees with engineering studies and drainage plans for the site.
Restrictions made by the board for the conditional use permit included nine restrictions, among them that 6-foot-high berms with vegetation and conifer trees on top of the berm be installed along Warren Avenue and the Cayten property, a home next to the land. Also, the entrance and exit driveways must be aggregate and are to be gated. A water truck will be used to control dust inside the property, and no waste generated outside of Ohio will be brought in. Also, the township will be allowed to dump limb clippings onsite without cost.
Vogel asked about an environmental assessment, and who would study how the facility would affect the ecosystem — charging that the zoning board “blew-off” four of the strongest zoning rules by giving the variance.
Blair responded he did not think that is a “fair statement.”
Guy Hassen of G&S Trucking claimed that he has seen sludge being moved by truck into the current location.
Materials piled up at the front of the existing site is believed to be foundry salt, Jason Ziss, director of business development for Kurtz Brothers, said.
Southside Environmental now uses the site for recycling soil.
Asked by James Sweeney what the township would gain from the new venture, Blair said trustees are hoping to obtain a tipping fee for the materials processed. Trustee Steven Gerberry said the county would get a percentage and the township would get a percentage.
Blair also added the companies would be making a large investment in the township and may also hire as many as 40 people.