Minutes of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission/Solid Waste Policy Committee
October 21, 2005
ATTENDANCE
Attachment A lists the attendance at this meeting, at which the following matters were
discussed.
MINUTES
On a motion by Mr. Shannon, seconded by Mr. Hayes, the minutes of the August 11, 2005 meeting
were approved.
RESOLUTIONS
On a motion by Mayor Mulcahy, seconded by Mr. Ronayne, Resolution No. 051020-A, personnel
actions was unanimously approved.
On a motion by Mayor Mulcahy, seconded by Mr. Shannon, Resolution No. 051020-B, a contract extension with the Schmidt Copeland Parker Stevens, Inc. was unanimously approved.
On a motion by Mr. Ronayne, seconded by Mayor Mulcahy, Resolution No. 051020-C, the preliminary layout for the Woodgate Farms subdivision, Phase 8, "Landings of Timber Lakes" in Olmsted Township was unanimously approved.
On a motion by Mr. Shannon, seconded by Mayor Rawson, Resolution No. 051020-D, the final plat for the Woodgate Farms subdivision, Phase 8, "Landings of Timber Lakes" in Olmsted Township was unanimously approved.
COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL ISSUES
Solid Waste Plan Update
Patrick Holland, Director of the Solid Waste District reported that the District's Draft 5-Year
Plan Update had been delivered to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) was being
reviewed. Mr. Holland stated that initial non-binding comments from the OEPA were due to the
District by November 20, 2005.
Mr. Holland stated that the next steps would be to address the OEPA issues, have a 30-day public comment period, hold a public meeting, and revise the plan based on any feedback that is provided. After these tasks are done, by early April 2006, the Policy Committee is required to have the plan ratified by the city governments in Cuyahoga County. The plan update process is to be finally completed in late 2006.
Mr. Holland reported on two important issues that depending upon their outcome could impact trash collection and taxation.
The first issue is related to the trash tax. Ohio House Bill (HB) 66 changed the corporate franchise tax to a commercial activity tax. Mr. Holland stated that the commercial activity tax revenues have been lower than expected and the General Assembly is considering revisiting the commercial activity tax in the next session. Mr. Holland stated that to make up the revenue, the General Assembly could increase trash tax.
Mr. Holland explained that the second issue involved the trash tax and interstate commerce. Mr. Holland stated that prior to HB 66; the trash tax was collected at the landfill. House Bill 66 mandates the collection of the tax at the transfer station and the landfill. Because of this change Miami County has filed suit against the state, including Governor Taft.
Miami County has a centralized waste collection system. It trucks all of its trash to a county-owned transfer station and then takes the trash to the cheapest and closest landfill, which is in Indiana. Prior to HB 66, Miami County did not have to pay the tax because it takes its trash out of state. The change made in HB 66 has Miami County paying the tax twice.
The lawsuit contends that as a county, Miami is not a taxpayer and should not be subject to the trash tax and that HB 66 violates the interstate commerce clause.
Mr. Holland reported that a preliminary hearing was held several weeks ago and that the judge ruled against the state on its motion to have the case dismissed and to remove the Governor from the suit. In addition, the judge ruled against the state's request to change the venue from Miami County to Franklin County.
Mr. Holland stated that if Miami County prevails it would have great impacts. First, if counties are determined to not to be taxpayers, OEPA's budget would be severely impacted. Secondly, due to fuel increases, transporting solid waste by truck has increased and more districts are favorably considering rail haul as an option. Mr. Holland stated that he has already started to look into changing modes of transport and has discovered that the City of Cleveland's Ridge Road Transfer Station already has a rail spur which could allow the District to consider disposal sites that are farther away that may be cheaper.
Mr. Roynane stated that he had to leave and distributed copies of the Lakefront Plan and thanked everyone for their participation.
Innerbelt Bridge - Alternative Proposal
Mr. Alsenas reported that the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), which is managing the
Innerbelt project is close to recommending a preferred alternative for the project. Mr. Alsenas
indicated that there were still many issues to be resolved on this project such as the Midtown
Corridor's concerns about the Innerbelt Trench and the Quadrangle's concerns with its access
that it may be premature for ODOT to be moving forward so aggressively.
Mr. Alsenas presented an alternative to the two-bridge concept that ODOT was recommending. After discussing the alternatives, Commissioner Dimora asked the CPC to pass a resolution to urge the Governor, federal officials and the General Assembly to consider a signature or world-class designed bridge for the Innerbelt and have the state and federal governments pay for this new bridge. The motion to approve was made by Commissioner Hagan, seconded by Mayor Mulcahy and was unanimously approved.
Commissioner Dimora adjourned the meeting.
Attachment A
Cuyahoga County Planning Commission/Solid Waste Policy Committee
OCTOBER 21, 2005 ATTENDANCE RECORD
| Member | Present |
|---|---|
| Ms. Virginia Aveni | Yes |
| Mayor Robert Blomquist | No |
| Commissioner Jimmy Dimora | Yes |
| Mayor Merle Gorden | No |
| Commissioner Timothy Hagan | Yes |
| Mayor Jerry Hruby | No |
| Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones | Yes |
| Mr. Jack Licate | Yes |
| Mayor Thomas Longo | Yes - represented by Mayor Mulcahy |
| Mayor Eileen Patton | Yes |
| Mayor Kenneth Patton | No |
| Mayor Judith Rawson | No |
| Mr. Chris Ronayne for Mayor Campbell | Yes |
| Others: Paul Alsenas, John DeMuth, Ed Hauser, Kristin Hopkins, Patrick Holland, Claire Kilbane, Marionette Richardson | |
