By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Expect solid waste rates to rise this summer. The Crawford County Solid Waste District Policy Committee signed the five-year plan update Thursday afternoon, which will then be submitted to the Ohio EPA for approval.
The solid waste plan would increase rates to $2 per ton for in-county refuse drop-off and increase out-of-county refuse drop-off to $4 per ton. The current $2 out-of-state fee per ton will remain the same.
The fees are being restored to their pre-2009 rates, which were reduced due to the recession.
Brian Rockwell, director of the Solid Waste Management District, said the rates would go into effect as soon as the plan was approved by the Ohio EPA, which could be as soon as July.
The policy committee made the amended plan available at a public hearing earlier this year. The Bucyrus City Council approved the updated plan in March; Chatfield, New Washington, and all 16 counties also approved the plan. Crestline Village Council voted to postpone approval of the plan at a meeting on April 18, citing concerns over approving a draft proposal while Galion City Council unanimously rejected the plan as a protest due to not having representation on the policy committee board. The board received no response from Tiro or North Robinson.
Questions whether opposition from two major county municipalities would affect the plan are a moot point at this stage of the game. Rockwell used the 2010 census and a 2014 population estimate to determine what percentage of the county would be using the waste removal services. Needing to hit at least 60 percent of the county, the district easily met its mark with 64 percent of the population expected to use the services even without the added benefit of Galion, Crestline, Tiro and North Robinson. Those four entities comprise 35.65 percent of the county population.
“The fees still will apply to Galion and Crestline,” explained Rockwell.
The committee also did a little reorganizing. Mike Hall, whose two-year term as a representative for the public was up, was appointed to a two-year term to serve as a representative for general interest of the citizens. Mark Milliron, Village Administrator of Crestline, was appointed to a two-year term as a public representative. Doug Leuthold, representing industrial and commercial generators, was reappointed to a two-year term.
The board is comprised of four seats with a representative from Bucyrus, for the townships, for the county commissioners, and for the health commissioner along with the appointed positions. Previous to this meeting, Rockwell said no one from Galion or Crestline ever expressed interest in being a part of the board.
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