Macedonia still weighing issues with Valley View Road land donation
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect that Macedonia has designated March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.
City Council continues to mull the donation of 5.8 acres at 9150 Valley View Road, which once housed the operations of Aerosol Systems.
Action to accept the donation offered by 9150 Group LLC was postponed Feb. 23. If accepted, the land would be used for future public purposes. The property has sat largely dormant since Aerosol Systems closed in 2002. The firm made degreasers and cleaners.
Law Director Mark Guidetti has said the city has worked with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency because of longstanding environmental issues on the property, and most of the issues have been resolved.
“There are various approaches the city could take to finalize the remediation work,” said Guidetti. “That ranges from doing the bare minimum and seeing if nature takes its course to taking an aggressive stance [site injunctions], which would be more expensive.”
He said estimated cost for the remediation is from $200,000 to $300,000. “There’s a variety of scenarios, so I can’t provide an exact amount of dollars,” he said. “A lot of the remediation work has already been done.”
Other business
Council requested the director of the Ohio Department of Transportation to proceed with the Valley View Road resurfacing project from Twinsburg Road to the Hudson border.
The city’s estimated share is $73,800, with federal funding through the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study slated to be about $292,500.
Council also authorized the sale via govdeals.com of a 2013 Dodge Charger and a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria that are no longer needed by the service department. The vehicles have logged 118,133 and 77,645 miles, respectively.
Minimum reserve pricing has been determined to be $4,500 for the Charger and $2,000 for the Crown Victoria.
Section 1 of the city’s compensation schedule pertaining to non-union city employees was amended to create certain seasonal positions in the parks and recreation department.
Amendments to the 2023 appropriations were approved. Finance Director John Veres said they include transferring $300,000 from the general to the emergency reserve fund, thus bringing the amount in the latter to $1 million.
He also said $250,000 will be transferred from the general fund to the municipal property fund to use for any improvements made to the property and building at the former Aerosol Systems site.
Action was postponed on an ordinance which would add a section to the city's laws requiring the registration of residential rental properties.
It would establish guidelines for a mandatory residential rental unit registration program in the R-1 residential zoning district. Failure to register would be a second-degree misdemeanor.
Building department director Bob Rodic said the city is awaiting a roster of local rental properties registered with Summit County, and Council can then act on the proposed ordinance.
An application to place a property at 9066 N. Bedford Road into an agricultural district was moved to second reading. The property is owned by Patrick Michael DeShane, and the placement would be good for five years.
The applicant claims the property consisting of 7.84 acres has been devoted exclusively to agricultural production, and the activities conducted there have produced an average yearly gross income of at least $2,500 in the last three years.
Mayor Nick Molnar read a proclamation designating March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.
Molnar reported three candidates for the open police chief position soon will be interviewed, and a Sephora beauty products store is planning to move into the final vacant space at Gateway Plaza on Route 82.
In addressing the recent major fire at I Schumann & Co. in Oakwood Village and the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, the mayor said the city and county have resources to deal with such emergency situations.
He said keeping Macedonia residents safe is a major priority, and the local safety forces are well-trained in responding to disasters. He added the fire and derailment have had no effect on the city’s water and air quality.
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Macedonia Council postpones vote on accepting land donation
