Reviewing Medina County news in 2016
Take another look at the big stories around the county last year
Jeffrey Felton
The two newest deputies in the Medina County Sheriff’s Department are K-9 officers Apollo (left) and Rocky shown here with their human partners, Dan Kohler (left) and Dave King. Photo by GLENN WOJCIAK
Members of the organization Sustainable Medina County rallied against the NEXUS Pipeline in downtown Medina in December. Opponents to the pipeline have been fighting the company planning to construct it in court. Photo by GLENN WOJCIAK
Bill Hutson
MEDINA – Here’s a look at some of the big stories that came out of the county seat in 2016.
Trash fees drop
Trash disposal fees at the county’s Central Processing Facility dropped to $42 per ton in January.
The tipping fee to dump trash has dropped $19 or 32 percent since the Medina County Solid Waste District ceased recycling operations at the CPF two years ago. Commissioners dropped the CPF tipping fee from $61 to $57 a ton as soon as trash sorting operations were suspended, then reduced the rate again to $45 in March 2015.
K-9 contributors
A series of generous donations from individuals and organizations enabled the Medina County Sheriff’s Department to raise about $26,000 for the purchase of two new dogs for the department’s K-9 unit.
Park purchase
The Medina County Park District was awarded a $470,000 grant from the Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Fund in January to purchase 320 acres to expand Killbuck Lakes Park near Lodi.
Transit cut
Medina County Public Transit announced plans to eliminate one bus route and shorten several others Feb. 1. MCPT eliminated its Medina circular fixed route and cut back the operating hours of several other routes eliminating about 100 operating hours in all because of a $250,000 cut in funding from Medina County commissioners.
EPA hearing
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency held a public hearing in February on the potential for air pollution emanating from a proposed natural gas compressor station on Guilford Road that would be part of the NEXUS Pipeline project. The hearing at Cloverleaf Elementary School allowed opponents to voice their concerns about the pipeline’s safety.
Cheap gas
County commissioners approved the purchase of 5,900 gallons of regular unleaded gasoline from Lykins Energy Feb. 9 at the price of 94 cents per gallon.
A year earlier, commissioners approved the purchase of 6,000 gallons of gasoline for $1.61 per gallon and in two previous years paid $2.74 and $3.20 per gallon. The low prices meant the county would likely spend $100,000 less on gasoline in 2016 than it did the previous year.
Curbside recycling
The Kimble company introduced the first curbside recycling program in several townships around the county in March.
JFS director
Jeffrey Felton, director of children’s services in Huron County, was selected to become director of the Medina County Job and Family Services Agency. Felton replaced Mead Wilkins who retired March 4.
Primary challenges
County Commissioner Pat Geissman and Clerk of Courts Dave Wadsworth held off challengers in the Republican Primary Election March 15 but challenger Bill Hutson narrowly defeated incumbent Tim Smith for a second seat on the Medina County Board of County Commissioners.
Waste mall panned
Consultants hired to analyze the feasibility of an innovative recycling proposal for the Medina County Solid Waste district reported in April the Optiva Group exaggerated claims for its proposed “waste mall” putting the viability of the proposal in question.
New finance director
Mike Pataky was hired to replace Bev Valentine as finance director for Medina County. Pataky had served as director of the Medina County Child Support Enforcement Agency for the previous 16 years. Valentine retired May 20 after 32 years of service to the county.
Charter petitions
The Medina County Board of Elections voted 2-2 July 11 to certify petitions to place a county charter issue on the ballot. The tied vote sent the matter to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted for resolution who for the second year in a row. Husted again ruled the charter initiative proposed by Sustainable Medina County did not meet elections standards and was not allowed on the ballot.
Pam Miller and John Welker, the two Democrats on the Board of Elections, voted to certify the new petitions to place a charter issue on the ballot in November. Republicans Sharon Ray and Larry Cray voted against certification after being advised by Assistant County Prosecutor Bill Thorne that they had the discretion not to accept the petitions collected by volunteers hoping to give county voters a chance to adopt a county charter form of government.
NEXUS windfall
The proposed NEXUS Pipeline could provide a windfall in new tax revenue to school districts and communities along its path according to a study on the project released in August.
The study was prepared for Nexus by Public Finance Resources and concluded the pipeline would generate $54 million in new revenue for various taxing districts around the county in its first five years of operation.
Fake pipeline letters
Members of the Coalition to Reroute Nexus complained to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in August that more than a hundred letters in support of the proposed NEXUS Pipeline were fake.
CORN spokesman Paul Gierosky said members of his group noticed that a rash of bogus letters supporting the project appeared among the comments sections on a FERC website created for the $2 billion pipeline project.
Pipeline surveyors
A ruling by the Ninth District Court of Appeals Sept. 12 cleared the way for NEXUS Pipeline representatives to survey the land of about 60 pipeline opponents.
A group of county residents opposed to the pipeline crossing their property has had been battling the pipeline company to keep surveyors off their property for over a year. NEXUS attorneys had won an injunction in Medina Common Pleas Court that would prevent landowners from banning pipeline surveyors from their land, but that decision was appealed to the Ninth District Court, which also ruled in favor of the pipeline developers.
Clean Ohio grants
The Medina County Park District landed two big grants from the Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Fund in November. Parks Director Tom James reported the district was approved for just over $1 million to purchase 157 acres at the intersection of Route 3 and Interstate 71 and another $1 million to acquire 65 acres off Fenn Road in Medina Township. The land at I-71 and Route 3 spans parts of Medina and Granger townships.
Republicans sweep election
The Nov. 8 General Election was a surprising success for President-elect Donald Trump and a big triumph for the Republican Party. Republican domination of the ballot was evident in Medina County where not a single Democrat was elected to state or county office in this year’s voting.
The winning candidates included Forrest Thompson for county prosecutor, Pat Geissman and Bill Hutson for county commissioner, Dave Wadsworth for clerk of courts, Colleen Swedyk for county recorder, John Burke for treasurer, Lisa Deranek for county coroner, Larry Obhof for state senate, and Steve Hambley for state representative.
Bus routes
Medina County Public Transit announced it will eliminate one of two fixed routes operating in Wadsworth. Budget cuts will force the elimination of the Wadsworth bus route in early 2017.
Trash policy
No basic changes in trash disposal and recycling policy are imminent in Medina County after the Solid Waste Policy Committee voted in November to retain the county’s current solid waste plan and not to eliminate the flow control policy that requires most trash be hauled to the Central Processing Facility.
Pipeline milestone
Plans to build the NEXUS Gas Transmission pipeline reached a critical milestone when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reported there are no major environmental issues preventing its construction.
The announcement came in the form of FERC’s 541-page final environmental impact statement released Nov. 30 and should clear the way for work to begin on the $2 billion pipeline as planned in early 2017.
Trash fees drop
Trash disposal fees at the county’s Central Processing Facility dropped to $42 per ton in January.
The tipping fee to dump trash has dropped $19 or 32 percent since the Medina County Solid Waste District ceased recycling operations at the CPF two years ago. Commissioners dropped the CPF tipping fee from $61 to $57 a ton as soon as trash sorting operations were suspended, then reduced the rate again to $45 in March 2015.
K-9 contributors
A series of generous donations from individuals and organizations enabled the Medina County Sheriff’s Department to raise about $26,000 for the purchase of two new dogs for the department’s K-9 unit.
Park purchase
The Medina County Park District was awarded a $470,000 grant from the Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Fund in January to purchase 320 acres to expand Killbuck Lakes Park near Lodi.
Transit cut
Medina County Public Transit announced plans to eliminate one bus route and shorten several others Feb. 1. MCPT eliminated its Medina circular fixed route and cut back the operating hours of several other routes eliminating about 100 operating hours in all because of a $250,000 cut in funding from Medina County commissioners.
EPA hearing
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency held a public hearing in February on the potential for air pollution emanating from a proposed natural gas compressor station on Guilford Road that would be part of the NEXUS Pipeline project. The hearing at Cloverleaf Elementary School allowed opponents to voice their concerns about the pipeline’s safety.
Cheap gas
County commissioners approved the purchase of 5,900 gallons of regular unleaded gasoline from Lykins Energy Feb. 9 at the price of 94 cents per gallon.
A year earlier, commissioners approved the purchase of 6,000 gallons of gasoline for $1.61 per gallon and in two previous years paid $2.74 and $3.20 per gallon. The low prices meant the county would likely spend $100,000 less on gasoline in 2016 than it did the previous year.
Curbside recycling
The Kimble company introduced the first curbside recycling program in several townships around the county in March.
JFS director
Jeffrey Felton, director of children’s services in Huron County, was selected to become director of the Medina County Job and Family Services Agency. Felton replaced Mead Wilkins who retired March 4.
Primary challenges
County Commissioner Pat Geissman and Clerk of Courts Dave Wadsworth held off challengers in the Republican Primary Election March 15 but challenger Bill Hutson narrowly defeated incumbent Tim Smith for a second seat on the Medina County Board of County Commissioners.
Waste mall panned
Consultants hired to analyze the feasibility of an innovative recycling proposal for the Medina County Solid Waste district reported in April the Optiva Group exaggerated claims for its proposed “waste mall” putting the viability of the proposal in question.
New finance director
Mike Pataky was hired to replace Bev Valentine as finance director for Medina County. Pataky had served as director of the Medina County Child Support Enforcement Agency for the previous 16 years. Valentine retired May 20 after 32 years of service to the county.
Charter petitions
The Medina County Board of Elections voted 2-2 July 11 to certify petitions to place a county charter issue on the ballot. The tied vote sent the matter to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted for resolution who for the second year in a row. Husted again ruled the charter initiative proposed by Sustainable Medina County did not meet elections standards and was not allowed on the ballot.
Pam Miller and John Welker, the two Democrats on the Board of Elections, voted to certify the new petitions to place a charter issue on the ballot in November. Republicans Sharon Ray and Larry Cray voted against certification after being advised by Assistant County Prosecutor Bill Thorne that they had the discretion not to accept the petitions collected by volunteers hoping to give county voters a chance to adopt a county charter form of government.
NEXUS windfall
The proposed NEXUS Pipeline could provide a windfall in new tax revenue to school districts and communities along its path according to a study on the project released in August.
The study was prepared for Nexus by Public Finance Resources and concluded the pipeline would generate $54 million in new revenue for various taxing districts around the county in its first five years of operation.
Fake pipeline letters
Members of the Coalition to Reroute Nexus complained to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in August that more than a hundred letters in support of the proposed NEXUS Pipeline were fake.
CORN spokesman Paul Gierosky said members of his group noticed that a rash of bogus letters supporting the project appeared among the comments sections on a FERC website created for the $2 billion pipeline project.
Pipeline surveyors
A ruling by the Ninth District Court of Appeals Sept. 12 cleared the way for NEXUS Pipeline representatives to survey the land of about 60 pipeline opponents.
A group of county residents opposed to the pipeline crossing their property has had been battling the pipeline company to keep surveyors off their property for over a year. NEXUS attorneys had won an injunction in Medina Common Pleas Court that would prevent landowners from banning pipeline surveyors from their land, but that decision was appealed to the Ninth District Court, which also ruled in favor of the pipeline developers.
Clean Ohio grants
The Medina County Park District landed two big grants from the Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Fund in November. Parks Director Tom James reported the district was approved for just over $1 million to purchase 157 acres at the intersection of Route 3 and Interstate 71 and another $1 million to acquire 65 acres off Fenn Road in Medina Township. The land at I-71 and Route 3 spans parts of Medina and Granger townships.
Republicans sweep election
The Nov. 8 General Election was a surprising success for President-elect Donald Trump and a big triumph for the Republican Party. Republican domination of the ballot was evident in Medina County where not a single Democrat was elected to state or county office in this year’s voting.
The winning candidates included Forrest Thompson for county prosecutor, Pat Geissman and Bill Hutson for county commissioner, Dave Wadsworth for clerk of courts, Colleen Swedyk for county recorder, John Burke for treasurer, Lisa Deranek for county coroner, Larry Obhof for state senate, and Steve Hambley for state representative.
Bus routes
Medina County Public Transit announced it will eliminate one of two fixed routes operating in Wadsworth. Budget cuts will force the elimination of the Wadsworth bus route in early 2017.
Trash policy
No basic changes in trash disposal and recycling policy are imminent in Medina County after the Solid Waste Policy Committee voted in November to retain the county’s current solid waste plan and not to eliminate the flow control policy that requires most trash be hauled to the Central Processing Facility.
Pipeline milestone
Plans to build the NEXUS Gas Transmission pipeline reached a critical milestone when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reported there are no major environmental issues preventing its construction.
The announcement came in the form of FERC’s 541-page final environmental impact statement released Nov. 30 and should clear the way for work to begin on the $2 billion pipeline as planned in early 2017.
