Recyling contract draws fire
Some object to county’s latest recycling proposal
Sanitary Engineer Amy Lyon-Galvin defends the decision to select Rumpke of Northern Ohio to re-establish recycling operations at the Central Processing Facility. Photos by GLENN WOJCIAK
Schirmer Construction LLC has gotten a contract to repair this wall which collapsed outside the Medina County Human Services Building.
MEDINA – Four opponents to a new recycling plan addressed county commissioners at their weekly meeting Aug. 7 asking them to rescind a contract awarded to Rumpke of Northern Ohio a week earlier.
The agreement follows years of lively debate over the best recycling options available to the county. The new contract calls for Rumpke to install state-of-the art sorting equipment at the CPF which could remove paper, plastic and other recyclables from trash hauled there but the process would only be applied to commercial waste collected from apartment buildings and other commercial sites around the county, not most residential garbage.
Waste hauler Curtis Perkins joined Rumpke rivals Steve Viny and Clayton Minter in asking county commissioners to rescind the contract with Rumpke over technicalities in the negotiation process. Viny and Minter represent Envision Waste Services and claimed a flawed evaluation process led to Rumpke winning the contract over Envision and two other bidders.
Charles Calvert also objected to the Rumpke contract, claiming it does not fully utilize the county’s Central Processing Facility which he helped obtain funding for when he served in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Aware of the keen interest in recycling options in Medina County and the inevitable criticism over the decision to choose one of a variety of options, Sanitary Engineer Amy Lyon-Galvin presented a defense of the Rumpke contract noting that the county’s Solid Waste District employed a methodical process in reaching its conclusion that was based on facts, not emotional arguments.
The process to select Rumpke was also done in consultation with technical advisors who have expertise in recycling and solid waste processing as well as outside legal counsel experienced in public contracts.
County commissioners did not respond to the appeals to rescind the Rumpke contract.
Septic system repairs
County commissioners authorized the Medina County Sanitary Engineer to apply for a $150,000 grant from the Ohio EPA Water Pollution Control Loan Fund to repair failing septic systems for low-income homeowners.
The grant is expected to pay for the repair or replacement of 10-15 septic systems around the county. Lyon-Galvin said this is the sixth year the county has conducted the septic system repair program in cooperation with the Health Department. The program has allowed the county to repair more than 70 septic systems at a cost of nearly $1 million.
Wall repair
County commissioners approved a contract with Schirmer Construction LLC to rebuild a retaining wall outside the Human Services Building at a cost of $234,731. Commissioners rejected an early round of bids on the project because they came in higher than estimated.
The wall borders a ramp which leads to the Office for Older Adults in the basement level of the building. The wall had bowed when county officials asked for the first round of bids to repair it and since then has completely collapsed.
Architectural studies
County commissioners approved agreements with Brandstettter Carroll Inc. to provide evaluation and design options for the County Administration Building and County Courthouse at a cost of $105,000.
Road repairs
Melway Paving Co. won two bids to do repairs on county roads. County commissioners approved an agreement to pay Melway $233,000 to chip and seal several county roads and $145,000 to plane and repair other roads maintained by the county.
Website design
Commissioners approved an agreement with Proximity Marketing to build a new website for county government at a cost not to exceed $15,000.
Alcohol counseling
The Medina County Office for Older Adults reached an agreement with the Alcohol, Drug and Metal Health Board to provide alcohol and other drug addiction prevention services to OOA clients during the current fiscal year at a cost not to exceed $10,400.
Appointee
County commissioners reappointed James “Cliff” Bellar to a one-year term on the board of directors for Community Action Wayne/Medina.
Personnel expenses
County commissioners authorized the travel expenses for several county employees to attend a series of out-of-town meetings and training seminars. Among those expenses were $479 for a member of the sanitary engineer’s staff to attend a two-day training program on geographically referenced information in Columbus and $300 for a deputy sheriff to attend a three-day program on child sexual abuse investigations.
The agreement follows years of lively debate over the best recycling options available to the county. The new contract calls for Rumpke to install state-of-the art sorting equipment at the CPF which could remove paper, plastic and other recyclables from trash hauled there but the process would only be applied to commercial waste collected from apartment buildings and other commercial sites around the county, not most residential garbage.
Waste hauler Curtis Perkins joined Rumpke rivals Steve Viny and Clayton Minter in asking county commissioners to rescind the contract with Rumpke over technicalities in the negotiation process. Viny and Minter represent Envision Waste Services and claimed a flawed evaluation process led to Rumpke winning the contract over Envision and two other bidders.
Charles Calvert also objected to the Rumpke contract, claiming it does not fully utilize the county’s Central Processing Facility which he helped obtain funding for when he served in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Aware of the keen interest in recycling options in Medina County and the inevitable criticism over the decision to choose one of a variety of options, Sanitary Engineer Amy Lyon-Galvin presented a defense of the Rumpke contract noting that the county’s Solid Waste District employed a methodical process in reaching its conclusion that was based on facts, not emotional arguments.
The process to select Rumpke was also done in consultation with technical advisors who have expertise in recycling and solid waste processing as well as outside legal counsel experienced in public contracts.
County commissioners did not respond to the appeals to rescind the Rumpke contract.
Septic system repairs
County commissioners authorized the Medina County Sanitary Engineer to apply for a $150,000 grant from the Ohio EPA Water Pollution Control Loan Fund to repair failing septic systems for low-income homeowners.
The grant is expected to pay for the repair or replacement of 10-15 septic systems around the county. Lyon-Galvin said this is the sixth year the county has conducted the septic system repair program in cooperation with the Health Department. The program has allowed the county to repair more than 70 septic systems at a cost of nearly $1 million.
Wall repair
County commissioners approved a contract with Schirmer Construction LLC to rebuild a retaining wall outside the Human Services Building at a cost of $234,731. Commissioners rejected an early round of bids on the project because they came in higher than estimated.
The wall borders a ramp which leads to the Office for Older Adults in the basement level of the building. The wall had bowed when county officials asked for the first round of bids to repair it and since then has completely collapsed.
Architectural studies
County commissioners approved agreements with Brandstettter Carroll Inc. to provide evaluation and design options for the County Administration Building and County Courthouse at a cost of $105,000.
Road repairs
Melway Paving Co. won two bids to do repairs on county roads. County commissioners approved an agreement to pay Melway $233,000 to chip and seal several county roads and $145,000 to plane and repair other roads maintained by the county.
Website design
Commissioners approved an agreement with Proximity Marketing to build a new website for county government at a cost not to exceed $15,000.
Alcohol counseling
The Medina County Office for Older Adults reached an agreement with the Alcohol, Drug and Metal Health Board to provide alcohol and other drug addiction prevention services to OOA clients during the current fiscal year at a cost not to exceed $10,400.
Appointee
County commissioners reappointed James “Cliff” Bellar to a one-year term on the board of directors for Community Action Wayne/Medina.
Personnel expenses
County commissioners authorized the travel expenses for several county employees to attend a series of out-of-town meetings and training seminars. Among those expenses were $479 for a member of the sanitary engineer’s staff to attend a two-day training program on geographically referenced information in Columbus and $300 for a deputy sheriff to attend a three-day program on child sexual abuse investigations.
