1

 

 

 

          1              TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING FOR

 

          2         PUBLIC COMMENT ON SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

 

          3                 IN CASE NO. 2004CV02705

 

          4

 

          5

 

          6       REPUBLIC SERVICES OF OHIO, II, LLC, ET AL.

 

          7                           VS.

 

          8         PIKE TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES, ET AL.

 

          9

 

         10

 

         11                 TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2006

 

         12                        5:00 P.M.

 

         13

 

         14

 

         15             HELD AT THE PIKE TOWNSHIP HALL

 

         16               7134 EAST SPARTA AVENUE, SE

 

         17                    EAST SPARTA, OHIO

 

         18

 

         19

 

         20

 

         21

 

         22

 

         23

 

         24

 

         25                  Lisa L. Elliott, RPR

 

 

                               HILL COURT REPORTERS

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                                                                2

 

 

 

          1   APPEARANCES:

 

          2      On behalf of the Pike Township Board of

                 Trustees:

          3

                       DEBORAH DAWSON, ATTORNEY AT LAW

          4            110 CENTRAL PLAZA SOUTH

                       CANTON, OHIO  44702

          5

 

          6      Pike Township Board of Trustees:

 

          7            LEE G. STRAD, President

                       ROBERT R. ANSTINE, Vice President

          8            DOUGLAS L. BAUM

 

          9

                 Pike Township Zoning Inspector:

         10

                       SHARON PERRINE

         11

 

         12      Pike Township Board of Zoning Appeals:

 

         13            LOUIS GROOMS

                       AUDREY MALAVITE

         14            NANCY SNYDER

                       JERRY EIBEL

         15            ROBERT BURKHART

                       ROBERT MILLER, Alternate

         16

 

         17                       - - - - - -

 

         18

 

         19

 

         20

 

         21

 

         22

 

         23

 

         24

 

         25

 

 

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          1                       MR. STRAD:  Okay.  I'd like to

 

          2      get started on the special meeting of the Pike

 

          3      Township Board of Trustees.  This is March

 

          4      28th, 5 PM.  Tonight's meeting is a public

 

          5      comment on a proposed settlement in a court

 

          6      action, and Miss Dawson will explain all of

 

          7      these finer points here.

 

          8                       We are going to start here, I'm

 

          9      going to introduce everybody down the table and

 

         10      everything.  I'd like to introduce myself as

 

         11      Lee Strad, Pike Township Trustee, President of

 

         12      the board.  To my right here is Bob Anstine,

 

         13      Vice President.  Next one is Doug Baum,

 

         14      Trustee.

 

         15                       On our Appeals Board we have

 

         16      Nancy Snyder, Audrey Malavite, Bob Burkhart,

 

         17      and Louie Grooms and Sharon Perrine, our Zoning

 

         18      Inspector.  At this time I'm going to turn it

 

         19      over to our attorney -- I think for the record,

 

         20      Mr. Burkhart, call your board together as a

 

         21      regular meeting.

 

         22                       MR. BURKHART:  Pike Township

 

         23      Board of Zoning Appeals in session, March 28th,

 

         24      5 PM.

 

         25                       MR. STRAD:  Okay.  Thank you,

 

 

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          1      Bob.  At this time I'd like to turn this over

 

          2      to Debbie Dawson.  She is the Assistant

 

          3      Prosecutor of the Stark County Prosecutor's

 

          4      Office.

 

          5                       MS. DAWSON:  Thank you.  Good

 

          6      afternoon, everybody.  As Mr. Strad mentioned

 

          7      to you, the purpose of this meeting today is to

 

          8      take public comment on the proposed settlement

 

          9      agreement in Case No. 2004CV02705, Republic

 

         10      Services of Ohio, II, LLC, et al. versus Pike

 

         11      Township Board of Trustees, et al.  This

 

         12      meeting is being held pursuant to the

 

         13      procedures in Revised Code Section 505.07.

 

         14                       While the position of the Pike

 

         15      Township Board of Trustees and the Pike

 

         16      Township Zoning Inspector is that the proposed

 

         17      settlement agreement does not involve an issue

 

         18      that is subject to referendum pursuant to

 

         19      Revised Code 519.12, the board is taking public

 

         20      comment this afternoon on the proposed

 

         21      settlement agreement, and the following rules

 

         22      apply:  Anyone who wishes to make public

 

         23      comment must sign in on the applicable sign-in

 

         24      sheets that are to my left.  Remember your

 

         25      number.

 

 

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          1                       Those signing the sheet to

 

          2      comment will be taken in order with Pike

 

          3      Township residents commenting first.  Each

 

          4      speaker may comment only once.  Each comment is

 

          5      limited to three minutes, no exceptions.  No

 

          6      one person can assign his or her three minutes

 

          7      to anyone else.  I'd like you to think about

 

          8      not repeating.  The board is listening to

 

          9      comments, and we would like to have everyone

 

         10      who has a different comment to make on the

 

         11      settlement agreement -- and those of you who

 

         12      haven't seen it, there are copies back there at

 

         13      the table.  Try not to be repetitious in your

 

         14      comments.  If they've already heard the

 

         15      comments, try not to repeat them, but we'll

 

         16      allow everyone to speak who wants to.

 

         17                       The board will take comments on

 

         18      the proposed agreement for two hours.  If there

 

         19      are few people left at the end of two hours who

 

         20      want to speak, the board has told me they will

 

         21      go a little bit over.  The board will not

 

         22      answer questions.  They are sitting here to

 

         23      listen to your public comments.

 

         24                       After the public comment

 

         25      session is over, the board will adjourn into

 

 

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          1      executive session to discuss this pending

 

          2      litigation with me, their legal counsel, before

 

          3      they take any action on this proposed

 

          4      settlement agreement.  And for the Court

 

          5      Reporter's well-being, please, all of you who

 

          6      come up to speak, make sure you speak into the

 

          7      microphone.

 

          8                       And when you come up, for her

 

          9      benefit, give your name and address before you

 

         10      start to make your comments.  Thank you.

 

         11                       MR. STRAD:  Okay.  Like I said,

 

         12      we are going to start and try to do this as

 

         13      many as we can.  The young lady over there at

 

         14      the board will be placing the numbers.

 

         15      Everybody has got a number.  We are going to

 

         16      try to line you up, keep the flow going, so

 

         17      that we get as many as we can here.  So kind of

 

         18      keep an idea where your number is and what

 

         19      number is on the board.  You can get behind the

 

         20      person that is speaking at that time so we can

 

         21      just continue on.

 

         22                       So I think we'll do the first

 

         23      three -- as probably everybody knows, the late

 

         24      newcomer here to the board, Jerry Eibel.  Wave

 

         25      to everybody, and please give us an excuse

 

 

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          1      later why you were late.

 

          2                       Would the first three people

 

          3      that are Pike Township residents please come up

 

          4      here, and we will get started here.  I want to

 

          5      remind you, please speak into the mic, speak

 

          6      slowly, give your name and address.  This is

 

          7      being transcribed for the court records.  We'll

 

          8      go ahead and start with no. 1 here.

 

          9                       ALISON ROBERTS:  My name is

 

         10      Alison Roberts, and I live at 8338 Dueber

 

         11      Avenue, SW, East Sparta, Ohio.  I have written

 

         12      my comments down.  My name is Alison Roberts.

 

         13      I'm a long-time resident of Pike Township.  I'm

 

         14      writing you today to discuss my concerns about

 

         15      the quality of life in Pike Township and to

 

         16      state my opposition in the agreement with

 

         17      Republic Services.

 

         18                       Before writing this letter, I

 

         19      went in search of the mission and the vision of

 

         20      Pike Township government.  I felt this was

 

         21      important so that I could understand what

 

         22      guides our township government.  I was unable

 

         23      to locate this information on the website.

 

         24      Therefore, I decided to write what I feel

 

         25      should be important to our Pike Township

 

 

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          1      government and to the residents of Pike

 

          2      Township.

 

          3                       Township government should be

 

          4      about what is best for its citizens.  It should

 

          5      be about what is best for our children, our

 

          6      community, and our day-to-day quality of life.

 

          7      The Pike Township Trustees and the Zoning

 

          8      Boards are charged with the responsibility to

 

          9      guide and manage the development of the

 

         10      township in a manner that retains or enhances

 

         11      the quality of life of its residents.  Further,

 

         12      to be responsive to the needs of the residents

 

         13      and to deliver quality services to meet those

 

         14      needs in the most cost effective means

 

         15      possible.

 

         16                       The purpose of the Board of

 

         17      Trustees and the Zoning Board should be

 

         18      dedicated to maintaining and improving the

 

         19      quality of life for its residents; provide

 

         20      accurate, helpful and timely information about

 

         21      the township to the general public; promote the

 

         22      public health, safety, and morals which are

 

         23      directly and significantly affected by the use

 

         24      of the land; protect the life and the property

 

         25      as well as preserve the township's natural

 

 

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          1      resources, scenic areas and natural beauty;

 

          2      preserve the valuation of all properties within

 

          3      the township; provide a place that families can

 

          4      use for recreation, exercise, sports and play

 

          5      in a clean and wholesome environment.

 

          6                       To achieve these goals, public

 

          7      officials must make these decisions based upon

 

          8      some basic core values.  These values are

 

          9      essential to the success of our community:

 

         10      Professionalism - provide competent skilled

 

         11      services; integrity - believe in doing what is

 

         12      right for the people they serve; equality -

 

         13      treat all people with honor, respect and

 

         14      dignity; responsibility - realize they are

 

         15      accountable to the members of the community

 

         16      they serve; compassion - show consideration for

 

         17      the whole person while responding to their

 

         18      needs; and excellence - provide high quality

 

         19      service in a competent, professional manner.

 

         20                       I ask you today to consider

 

         21      this mission and vision.  I also ask that you

 

         22      make your decision based on the goals and

 

         23      values of this community.  The Countywide

 

         24      Landfill and its expansion would be contrary to

 

         25      what I believe are the goals of this community.

 

 

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          1      It will diminish the quality of life, not only

 

          2      for Pike Township residents, but for those

 

          3      neighboring communities as well.

 

          4                       The expansion does not

 

          5      guarantee public safety, nor does it enhance or

 

          6      protect the natural beauty or scenic areas of

 

          7      Pike Township.

 

          8                       MS. DAWSON:  Time's up, ma'am.

 

          9                       ELSIE ZALESKI:  Hello.  My name

 

         10      is Elsie Zaleski, and I have been a resident of

 

         11      Pike Township for a long time.  If I tell you

 

         12      how long you'll know how old I am, so I'm not

 

         13      telling you, but I'm here to speak --

 

         14                       MR. STRAD:  Excuse me.  If you

 

         15      could state your address for the court

 

         16      reporter, please.

 

         17                       ELSIE ZALESKI:  Elsie Zaleski,

 

         18      8250 Dueber, SW, East Sparta, Ohio 44626.

 

         19      Okay.  Now I have my own opinion, but my

 

         20      daughter, Linda, who wanted to be here today

 

         21      could not be excused from her job, so she has

 

         22      written a letter, and I'm going to read that

 

         23      letter.

 

         24                       "Dear Trustees and BZA members,

 

         25      I much regret that I cannot attend this special

 

 

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          1      meeting to be held on March 28, 2006.  I am,

 

          2      however, not willing to miss the opportunity to

 

          3      exercise my right to express an opinion

 

          4      regarding the topic for this meeting.  I am

 

          5      what I refer to as a lifer here.  I have lived

 

          6      in Pike Township since I was a child.  My

 

          7      parents still live in this township.  My

 

          8      sister, her daughter and grandson live here.

 

          9      My daughter, her husband and their two-year-old

 

         10      daughter live here.  My son, his wife and their

 

         11      three children live here.  Nothing is more

 

         12      important to me than family and my home.

 

         13                       I see Countywide Landfill as an

 

         14      imminent threat to our health, our safety and

 

         15      our peace.  I have witnessed its creeping

 

         16      invasion into our lives and now watch as the

 

         17      looming mountain of trash gradually takes over

 

         18      the landscape.  We have endured the dirt, the

 

         19      danger of truck traffic, and now a noxious odor

 

         20      that fills our valley and prevents us from

 

         21      enjoying the outdoors and our homes.

 

         22                       Republic Services is now

 

         23      offering to fund a ramp to divert traffic from

 

         24      our local roads and give them a direct access

 

         25      route to the landfill.  The cost of such a ramp

 

 

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          1      is estimated to be between 15 and 18 million

 

          2      with construction to be delayed until 2011.

 

          3      That's a long time from now.  It's not

 

          4      difficult to do the math.  Republic would never

 

          5      consent to such an agreement without the

 

          6      promise of a lucrative return, many times their

 

          7      investment of the ramp.  The only thing the

 

          8      ramp would accomplish is to take the trucks off

 

          9      of the local roads and remove the delivery of

 

         10      the trash from our sight.  Out of sight, not

 

         11      out of mind.  Not so.

 

         12                       It comes down to money.

 

         13      Whatever the life of the landfill when it has

 

         14      taken its last load, Republic Services, after

 

         15      reaping years of enormous profit from the

 

         16      operation, will walk away from the mountains of

 

         17      trash the highest point in our township and

 

         18      likely the highest point in Stark County,

 

         19      leaving behind hundreds of millions of tons of

 

         20      refuse contained within a little more than

 

         21      enormous trash bags.

 

         22                       MS. DAWSON:  Ma'am, time's up.

 

         23      Ma'am --

 

         24                       MS. ZALESKI:  I have two more

 

         25      paragraphs.

 

 

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          1                       MS. DAWSON:  We can't make

 

          2      exceptions, ma'am, I'm sorry.  Thank you.

 

          3                       (Audience speaking.)

 

          4                       MR. STRAD:  I'll make it very

 

          5      clear here right now.  Sir, if there's any more

 

          6      outbursts, these two gentlemen will escort you

 

          7      out.  We will not -- we have a three-minute

 

          8      rule.  We'll not put up with -- I'd like to

 

          9      explain that these rules are here for the

 

         10      benefit of all.  We want to hear, but we have

 

         11      so many people that want to speak to us

 

         12      tonight, we must keep order, and I'll make sure

 

         13      that order is kept tonight for the benefit of

 

         14      everyone.

 

         15                       So we all have to abide by the

 

         16      rules.  If there's any outbursts like there

 

         17      was, I have two people here that will show you

 

         18      out, so it's as simple as that.  Please.

 

         19                       Go ahead, Dave.

 

         20                       DAVID ROSS:  Yes, my name is

 

         21      David Ross.  I live at 5725 Joleda Drive which

 

         22      is at Fohl Village, and I'm just here to

 

         23      support putting in the ramp; and we do need it

 

         24      because I do use Fohl Road, and going to work

 

         25      every morning I do pass a lot of trucks.  And

 

 

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          1      going down that hill, it's just not safe, I

 

          2      feel.  Dueber and Fohl, it's just not safe for

 

          3      the semis, be easier for them just to use a

 

          4      ramp and because of the children and the safety

 

          5      of the roads.  And that's pretty much all I

 

          6      have to say.  Thank you.

 

          7                       MS. SNYDER:  Mr. Chairman?

 

          8                       MR. STRAD:  Yes.

 

          9                       MS. SNYDER:  Would it be

 

         10      possible for people like Elsie who has this

 

         11      letter that didn't get the last two paragraphs,

 

         12      if she would like to put it on the table and

 

         13      you guys could review it later to finish it?

 

         14                       MR. STRAD:  We would even

 

         15      accept the whole letter.

 

         16                       MS. SNYDER:  Yeah, that's what

 

         17      I mean.

 

         18                       MR. STRAD:  We will accept the

 

         19      whole letter and put it in with the other

 

         20      documents being submitted to court.

 

         21                       MS. SNYDER:  Thank you.

 

         22                       MR. STRAD:  Go ahead.

 

         23                       TIMOTHY VANDERSALL:  Thank you.

 

         24      I think you all know me, I'm Tim Vandersall,

 

         25      General Manager of Countywide.  I want to thank

 

 

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          1      you for listening to me tonight.  I did want to

 

          2      ask, there is a lot of people here tonight, and

 

          3      I wanted to ask by a show of hands or applause

 

          4      who is in favor of this agreement.

 

          5                       (Audience applause.)

 

          6                       MR. VANDERSALL:  Thank you.  We

 

          7      operate -- you've all heard this before.

 

          8      You've all been to the site.  We operate an

 

          9      award-winning facility, in my opinion and in

 

         10      many others in this room and beyond, one of the

 

         11      best facilities in this great country of ours.

 

         12      We are the only landfill --

 

         13                       ROBERT RUBIN:  Is he a

 

         14      resident?  You told me I couldn't speak.

 

         15                       MR. STRAD:  We allowed one

 

         16      person from the landfill because they own

 

         17      property in Pike Township, and that's what

 

         18      we're doing.

 

         19                       Continue.

 

         20                       MR. VANDERSALL:  We have an

 

         21      excellent compliance record which I would put

 

         22      up against any landfill in the country, and the

 

         23      public's welcome.  You're welcome to look at it

 

         24      at any time.  You're welcome to come on site at

 

         25      any time and we'll show you around and let you

 

 

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          1      know what's going on.

 

          2                       We've gone above and beyond the

 

          3      rules and requirements required of landfills,

 

          4      including without limitation, agreeing to

 

          5      accept no out-of-state waste, a cooperative

 

          6      truck monitoring program with the Stark County

 

          7      Sheriff, a voluntary radiation detector, and

 

          8      agreement to hold capacity for the three

 

          9      counties in the district and a state-of-the-art

 

         10      odor control system.  We have an excellent

 

         11      monitoring system for gas, groundwater, surface

 

         12      water which have shown no landfill-related

 

         13      issues for over fifteen years of operation.

 

         14      Regardless of what people's fears may be, we

 

         15      have no issues with any of those three.

 

         16                       We provide many positive things

 

         17      for the community.  These include our park

 

         18      which most of you have seen which includes

 

         19      baseball fields, picnic, volleyball,

 

         20      basketball, fishing, a recycling center, remote

 

         21      control airplane flying club, multiple

 

         22      charitable donations such as American Cancer

 

         23      Society, local fire departments, local police

 

         24      departments, Bolivar Baseball Association and

 

         25      too many to name.  And we are always there to

 

 

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          1      help.  When this township calls for a cleanup

 

          2      or to assist, we've been there for fifteen

 

          3      years.

 

          4                       The operation of the landfill

 

          5      will not change in a significant manner.  What

 

          6      you see is what you get.  We said that a couple

 

          7      years ago, and it's still pretty much the same.

 

          8      What will change is that the traffic on the

 

          9      roads will change.  We've stepped up to the

 

         10      plate and we are going to build this ramp.  We

 

         11      are going to pay more than 15 million dollars

 

         12      to build this ramp.  We think that's an

 

         13      important thing for the safety of the

 

         14      residents, and we are going to get it done.

 

         15                       If the opponents, some of who

 

         16      are here tonight, would stop trying to block

 

         17      the progress the ramp would be in place now.

 

         18      Thank you.

 

         19                       MS. DAWSON:  Thank you.

 

         20                       TERRY DAVIS:  My name is Terry

 

         21      Davis, and I live at 3828 Haut Street, SW, in

 

         22      East Sparta.  I feel this judgment is not just

 

         23      about the ramp.  I do not agree with no. 2 of

 

         24      the judgment.  I feel the public should have to

 

         25      apply for any Conditional Use Permit, including

 

 

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          1      mining, and subject to all zoning requirements

 

          2      just like other businesses do.

 

          3                       I am definitely not for the

 

          4      fourteen hours a day.  I live just over the

 

          5      hill, and the aroma is not pleasant, and it

 

          6      cannot be controlled by Countywide and our

 

          7      trustees as well as this township.  My ending

 

          8      statement is let this go through the court

 

          9      system to uphold our zoning.

 

         10                       MR. STRAD:  Okay.  We are down

 

         11      to no. 6 through 9 let's have these people step

 

         12      forward, 6 through 9.

 

         13                       JAMES DAVIS:  I'm 6.  Jim

 

         14      Davis, 3828 Haut.  I live over the hill from

 

         15      the landfill, and my opinion is the ramp is a

 

         16      good thing.  We need a ramp if Countywide

 

         17      continues to stay there, but what we're giving

 

         18      up to get a ramp is not worth it.  When your

 

         19      opinion or your conscience tells you to close

 

         20      it down and this agreement says no, don't, or

 

         21      you don't have any authority to close it down,

 

         22      that's a problem.  That helps, tells every

 

         23      other business that we don't have any zoning

 

         24      here; anybody can do what they want.

 

         25                       There is more to this

 

 

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          1       agreement than a ramp, a lot more.  Fourteen-

 

          2      hour workdays, that means every night when I

 

          3      get home from work I still get to listen to it,

 

          4      not only being woke up by it.  There's a lot

 

          5      more in this agreement than just a ramp.  Thank

 

          6      you.

 

          7                       RICHARD ZALESKI:  I'm Dick

 

          8      Zaleski, 2167 Downing Street, SW, East Sparta,

 

          9      fifty-year resident of Pike Township.  I travel

 

         10      Dueber every day, pass all them trucks, so I'm

 

         11      in favor of the ramp.  There's many, many

 

         12      trucks that go up and down that road, and they

 

         13      do come over center and cause people to jump

 

         14      off the road and things like that.  So that's

 

         15      the main thing.  I'm for the ramp.  That's all

 

         16      I need to say.

 

         17                       FRANK KEMP:  My name is Frank

 

         18      Kemp, Sr.  I live at 5980 Sherman Church.  My

 

         19      comment is I applaud the landfill for going the

 

         20      route to pay the extra money, but I would like

 

         21      to see the ramp built and their expansion

 

         22      contingent on when the ramp is built, the first

 

         23      truck that rolls off the ramp goes to their new

 

         24      extension.  We don't -- they don't use the

 

         25      extension for fourteen hours a day until it

 

 

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          1      comes off the ramp.  I don't want trucks

 

          2      rolling past my house at 8 o'clock at night,

 

          3      especially in the wintertime when it's dark.

 

          4      That's about it.

 

          5                       MR. STRAD:  Okay.  Can I have

 

          6      the next, 9 through 11, please come up to the

 

          7      podium and introduce yourself.

 

          8                       ROBERT WARNER:  I'm Robert

 

          9      Warner.  I live at 2309 Cedar Street, East

 

         10      Sparta.  I'm for the expansion.  I'm a Republic

 

         11      driver.  The landfill is a good thing.  We got

 

         12      about four hundred guys that need jobs, and the

 

         13      reclaiming they do is the best in the nation.

 

         14      I hunt down around the landfill too, still a

 

         15      lot of deer, rabbits, squirrels.

 

         16                       I'm for the ramp.  I got kids;

 

         17      they're on the roads, and there's a lot of

 

         18      trucks that run back and forth.  Thank you.

 

         19                       MR. STRAD:  No. 11 -- 10.

 

         20                       DON MOORE:  I'm Don Moore.  I

 

         21      live at 5599 Ridge Avenue.  I'm in favor of

 

         22      this.  I've got no problem with it.  I've been

 

         23      in and out of a lot of landfills around here.

 

         24      This one here is one of the nicer ones that we

 

         25      go in and out of compared to the other ones,

 

 

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          1      and I'm in favor of the ramp.  That's it.

 

          2      Thanks.

 

          3                       DAVID COLLINSWORTH:  My name is

 

          4      Dave Collinsworth.  I live at 8471 Briggle.  As

 

          5      my career I sell pieces of land for equipment

 

          6      throughout the US and internationally.  I have

 

          7      been to hundreds of landfills throughout the

 

          8      US.  Some I would consider excellent, some

 

          9      mediocre and some poor.  I would consider

 

         10      Countywide to fall into the excellent category.

 

         11                       I also am the father of twin

 

         12      sixteen-year-old daughters who, unfortunately,

 

         13      have an Ohio driver's license.  Let's get the

 

         14      truck traffic off the back roads, let them put

 

         15      in the ramp.  Thank you.

 

         16                       MR. STRAD:  That concludes the

 

         17      part here of comments from residents of Pike

 

         18      Township.  I'd like to read into the record, I

 

         19      had a phone call last night from a Rita

 

         20      Cleaver.  She lives in the township at 925

 

         21      Brinker Street, SW.  She was not able to make

 

         22      it here tonight, but she wanted to make sure

 

         23      her voice is heard.  She is against the ramp

 

         24      and the expansion.

 

         25                       Okay.  All right.  We will

 

 

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          1      continue on here for non-residents.  Let's

 

          2      start with people with numbers of 101 through

 

          3      103.  Please come to the podium.

 

          4                       LINDA HARVEY:  My name is Linda

 

          5      Harvey, and I live at 12102 Sherman Church

 

          6      Road, Bolivar, Ohio.  "Dear Trustees and BZA

 

          7      members, I'm writing this letter in regards to

 

          8      the settlement agreement that you are making

 

          9      with Republic Services of Ohio.  One of the

 

         10      things in the agreement is the ramp.  In the

 

         11      newspaper it was stated that Republic will fund

 

         12      the whole amount for the ramp.  Now my concern:

 

         13      They said that it would not start until 2011 or

 

         14      12 which is another five to six years to just

 

         15      get started.

 

         16                       In the agreement you are

 

         17      allowing them to be open six days a week and

 

         18      have longer hours also.  That will make it

 

         19      another six years that your township people

 

         20      have to put up with trucks.  They have to put

 

         21      up with these trucks until 9 at night, for the

 

         22      gates will not close until the last truck is

 

         23      empty.  On a Saturday night, the young people

 

         24      are going to ballgames, dates, to see their

 

         25      friends, so this will only make it more

 

 

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          1      dangerous for your township youth and adults.

 

          2                       Now the big word, "if" they do

 

          3      not get the total go-ahead from the state or

 

          4      any other government officials, then the people

 

          5      will have to put up with truck traffic for six

 

          6      days a week and for longer hours each day.  At

 

          7      this time do you have it in writing that states

 

          8      -- and also the people that's selling their

 

          9      property, do you have it in writing that this

 

         10      is going to give them a go-ahead on this ramp

 

         11      or an alternate route?  Do you have it in

 

         12      writing?  Do you have it that they will pass

 

         13      all these things from the government that they

 

         14      can put this ramp in?

 

         15                       If you do then, you know,

 

         16      you'll have the go-ahead, but if you don't then

 

         17      you should because that big word, "if" it does

 

         18      not pass all the proper people and places, you

 

         19      have opened the door for more traffic to your

 

         20      people, for in your agreement you have that you

 

         21      cannot appeal any of the agreement once put in

 

         22      place.

 

         23                       I do not live in your township,

 

         24      but the landfill affects me as a near-by

 

         25      neighbor to your township.  I get the odor from

 

 

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          1      the landfill, I get the noise from the trucks,

 

          2      and every day I see a mountain of trash out my

 

          3      windows.  So I would pray that you would please

 

          4      take another look at what you are doing to your

 

          5      township and to your people.  I, as a next-door

 

          6      neighbor to the landfill, would like to say

 

          7      that I'm opposed to the ramp, the longer days,

 

          8      the longer hours, and the expansion.  All that

 

          9      these will do is make more trucks, odor, dust,

 

         10      noise and dangers to the people and be here for

 

         11      another forty to fifty years, plus, and they

 

         12      will keep asking for more and more acres.

 

         13      Please help your people.  Thank you.

 

         14                       RICHARD HARVEY:  My name is

 

         15      Dick Harvey, 12102 Sherman Church Road,

 

         16      Bolivar, Ohio.  At the March 20th meeting, the

 

         17      trustee meeting, Lee Strad made a comment

 

         18      there's so many comments about the odor in this

 

         19      area.  Lee Strad said if that if he had any

 

         20      power, he would stop the landfill, and he would

 

         21      stop it if he had any power.

 

         22                       I brought the Zoning Board book

 

         23      to him, and in the zoning book under Section 6,

 

         24      item B, permitted uses under C, Conditional Use

 

         25      Permit uses, it says any other lawful use or

 

 

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          1      purpose which is not objectionable to nearby

 

          2      property by reason of odors, dust, smoke,

 

          3      fumes, gas, noise or vibrations or is not

 

          4      hazardous to the health and property of the

 

          5      neighborhood.  He asked what can I do, I said

 

          6      you don't give them a conditional use.  We have

 

          7      odors and the odor is worse.  That's been for a

 

          8      long time.  I smelled an odor today, I smelled

 

          9      it yesterday, I have smelled it all the time.

 

         10                       The dust is still there.  The

 

         11      dust hasn't gone anywhere.  The BZA made the

 

         12      decision a couple years ago with this plan that

 

         13      that's why they would not give a conditional

 

         14      use to them, because these things were

 

         15      happening, and they are still happening now and

 

         16      it has not changed, Board.  It has not changed.

 

         17      We still have dust in the air, we still have

 

         18      odors, we still have truck traffic, we still

 

         19      have noise, people putting up with the noise.

 

         20      So those things have not changed.

 

         21                       What has changed that would

 

         22      make you think you go to an agreement that said

 

         23      go ahead and use this land when nothing has

 

         24      changed.  I got a letter and I gave it to the

 

         25      board.  My mother wrote a letter to the

 

 

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          1      director of Ohio EPA.  He said in this, I'll

 

          2      note that "Issuance of an Ohio EPA Solid Waste

 

          3      Conditional Use Permit does not override local

 

          4      zoning.  However, it is necessary for the Local

 

          5      Zoning Board to establish and enforce its

 

          6      zoning restrictions."

 

          7                       We are asking you trustees to

 

          8      enforce your zoning restrictions.  You have it

 

          9      right here in the book.  You can shut this

 

         10      landfill down this very night because these

 

         11      people do not need the odor, they do not need

 

         12      the dust, they do not need the noise, they do

 

         13      not need a mountain out their window.  That is

 

         14      not conforming to the harmonious land here.  In

 

         15      fact, in your zoning rules you have a rule that

 

         16      said it's got to be harmonious.  This mountain

 

         17      is not harmonious with this area.

 

         18                       You have the building tonight.

 

         19      We are asking you as a public here to shut this

 

         20      landfill down tonight.  We are asking you to do

 

         21      that.

 

         22                       MR. STRAD:  104 through 106.

 

         23                       ROD COYLE:  Good evening, my

 

         24      name is Rod Coyle.  I'm an employee of

 

         25       Republic Waste.  I live at 4433 Oxbridge Drive

 

 

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          1      in Stow, Ohio.  I've been employed by Republic

 

          2      Waste as long as they've been here in this

 

          3      area, since the year 2000.  Before that I

 

          4      worked with the other company that owned the

 

          5      landfill that started the landfill.

 

          6                       In my position I've had the

 

          7      occasion to bring dozens upon dozens of mayors,

 

          8      engineers, people who have large corporations

 

          9      to the landfill to give landfill tours.  I

 

         10      think it's important that the board understand

 

         11      that other people come to the landfill.  I

 

         12      can't speak to the issues that the residents

 

         13      are talking about, I can only talk to the

 

         14      issues that I hear from the people who come

 

         15      down on the landfill tours.

 

         16                       The engineers that look at the

 

         17      specs, the engineers who look at the landfill,

 

         18      the mayors who come down before they sign

 

         19      contracts with us, every one of those people

 

         20      have been very impressed by the landfill.

 

         21      You've talked -- you've heard from what we have

 

         22      as the landfill being the best landfill in the

 

         23      country in the year 2000.  That's very, very

 

         24      true.  I think Tim mentioned that everyone here

 

         25      has been to the landfill, so you know what

 

 

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          1      that's all about.

 

          2                       We feel very comfortable that

 

          3      the landfill is providing services that are

 

          4      necessary.  Every person in this room creates

 

          5      trash, and that trash has to go somewhere.  In

 

          6      this area the trash goes to our landfill, not

 

          7      out-of-state waste, but local Northeast Ohio

 

          8      waste, again, a very important issue.

 

          9                       Our driver that was here

 

         10      mentioned about the safety that was involved

 

         11      with the landfill.  We wear this little

 

         12      bracelet (indicating) as a sign that we all

 

         13      believe in the safety of what we call as our

 

         14      culture the culture of safety.  That ramp that

 

         15      we are talking about is very, very important,

 

         16      not only for us because of the trucks that roll

 

         17      in and out of the landfill, but for the

 

         18      residents.  We want that to happen.  We look

 

         19      forward to that happening, and we really

 

         20      believe that what service we provide down here

 

         21      is a very needed service.  Thank you for your

 

         22      time.

 

         23                       BILL HUTH:  My name is Bill

 

         24      Huth.  I live at 1580 State Route 212, NE,

 

         25      that's on the wrong side of the tracks going

 

 

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          1      towards Beach City and is about three miles

 

          2      from the landfill.  I have over the last eight

 

          3      months been receiving some unwanted odors,

 

          4      smells at a distance of three miles.  I'm in

 

          5      Tuscarawas County, not Stark County, and it's

 

          6      getting worse all the time.

 

          7                       In fact, I felt it was

 

          8      necessary to make my complaint or my situation

 

          9      known to the EPA, and I submitted a Verified

 

         10      Complaint.  Today I received a telephone call

 

         11      from the EPA director's office -- my complaint

 

         12      was submitted a year and a half ago -- saying

 

         13      that they still had a concern; that they were

 

         14      looking into the odors, that notwithstanding

 

         15      the fact that an odor abatement system or plan

 

         16      had been installed, the complaints continue to

 

         17      come in and increase.

 

         18                       They are having a meeting at

 

         19      the EPA next week to discuss this, what the

 

         20      next steps might be.  This may be an

 

         21      award-winning facility in 2004.  Let me remind

 

         22      you this is 2006.  The trash is growing.  It

 

         23      will only get worse, it will not get better.

 

         24      If we can't control the odors now, how in the

 

         25      world will we be able to control the odor ten

 

 

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          1      years, twelve years, even five years, two years

 

          2      from now?

 

          3                       There is no technology,

 

          4      apparently, because I'm told that the landfill

 

          5      has the best available technology and has

 

          6      installed it and it hasn't worked.  So I am

 

          7      very much concerned about that, and I would ask

 

          8      that you look at your zoning rules and

 

          9      regulations and apply those, particularly as it

 

         10      relates to odor abatement and smell.  Thank

 

         11      you.

 

         12                       MR. STRAD:  Excuse me for one

 

         13      second.  We are going to take a break here in

 

         14      about ten or fifteen minutes to give everybody

 

         15      a chance to take a break and everything, so

 

         16      Brenda, please excuse me.  Please continue.

 

         17                       BRENDA CHARTON:  Okay.  My name

 

         18      is Brenda Charton.  I live at 9863 Sherman

 

         19      Church Avenue, Bolivar, Ohio.  First of all,

 

         20      I'd like to speak for my dad, Fred.  He didn't

 

         21      feel as though he could get up and speak

 

         22      tonight.  He's having back problems today

 

         23      because of the cold, wet weather, but he would

 

         24      like to voice his opposition to the agreement,

 

         25      the ramp, the whole package.

 

 

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          1                       Okay.  Now this is Brenda

 

          2      speaking.  I looked over your agreement, and I

 

          3      found a very interesting loophole in it.  As I

 

          4      read it, Countywide has agreed to pay for a

 

          5      diamond shaped interchange.  It very

 

          6      specifically says diamond shaped.  Okay.  What

 

          7      if ODOT wants to build another type of

 

          8      interchange?  Meanwhile, you've signed this

 

          9      agreement with Countywide, but they would be

 

         10      under no obligation to pay for it because the

 

         11      agreement says diamond shaped; but meanwhile

 

         12      the residents would be putting up with

 

         13      fourteen-hour days six days a week.

 

         14                       There is a very big loophole

 

         15      that you have -- that you're not addressing.

 

         16      I'm having trouble speaking tonight because

 

         17      I've got to talk about something that I swore

 

         18      to God I would never speak in public about.

 

         19      You know, I hear all this about ramp and safety

 

         20      and whatnot.  Well, long ago and far away, I

 

         21      had a very dear friend who lost her sixteen-

 

         22      month-old child in a wreck with a truck on a

 

         23      highway.  This ramp would not make things

 

         24      safer.  It would just change the location of an

 

         25      accident.  The only thing that's going to

 

 

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          1      happen if this agreement is signed and the ramp

 

          2      is built is that Republic and Countywide are

 

          3      going to get richer.  That's the only thing

 

          4      that's going to happen.

 

          5                       It is not going to improve

 

          6      safety, it's not going to improve the

 

          7      conditions around the landfill for the people

 

          8      who live there, it just changes the location of

 

          9      an accident.  Thank you.

 

         10                       PETE GUTWEIN:  Good evening.

 

         11      My name is Pete Gutwein.  I'm at 2800 South

 

         12      Erie Street, Massillon.  I'm also a resident of

 

         13      Stark County.  I'm the General Manager for

 

         14      Republic Waste Services Hauling Company,

 

         15      Akron-Canton.  We employ over two hundred seven

 

         16      people, and I can tell you out of those two

 

         17      hundred seven people, they all take their job

 

         18      very seriously from the safety aspect to

 

         19      servicing our customers every day to making

 

         20      sure that everything that they do day in and

 

         21      day out is done by rules and regulations or

 

         22      above rules and regulations.

 

         23                       I'll put our drivers in this

 

         24      room up against any driver on the road.  They

 

         25      are the safest drivers that are out there.

 

 

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          1      They constantly strive to make themselves

 

          2      better, and as a company we go above and beyond

 

          3      trying to ensure the public's safety.  A ramp

 

          4      is a necessity.  We need to make sure that that

 

          5      comes in to get the truck traffic off the road.

 

          6                       The landfill expansion that's

 

          7      needed, like Tim said, it's a state-of-the-art

 

          8      facility, continues to be.  Our drivers, along

 

          9      with our customers, we control what goes into

 

         10      that landfill.  Everyone watches, our drivers

 

         11      watch, our salespeople watch, everyone is aware

 

         12      of what's going into that site, and I urge you

 

         13      to vote for the expansion of the ramp --

 

         14      expansion and the ramp.  Thank you.

 

         15                       MR. STRAD:  Nos. 107 through

 

         16      109, please come on up.

 

         17                       PAUL TESKE:  My name is Paul

 

         18      Teske.  My address is 6135 Caledonia Court,

 

         19      Bridgeville, Pennsylvania 15017.  I'm an

 

         20      employee of R & J Trucking.  I do the solid

 

         21      waste marketing for them, and it seems to me

 

         22      that why we are all here is simply a matter of

 

         23      public safety.  What we are going to do or

 

         24      what's going to be decided here is to approve

 

         25      something that will take trucks off two-lane

 

 

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          1      highways for ten miles, making that loop down

 

          2      to the landfill and back; and when you build

 

          3      this interstate ramp, that will be diminished

 

          4      to less than a mile.  As a matter of public

 

          5      safety, that's a winner all the way.  You're

 

          6      doing the right thing.

 

          7                       On another issue, just my

 

          8      opinion, in doing my job I'm in and out of a

 

          9      lot of landfills.  I've probably been in and

 

         10      out of a hundred landfills in my life, and this

 

         11      is one of the best landfills that I have ever

 

         12      been, you know, in and out of.  So it's a great

 

         13      site, it's very well run, it's one of the tops

 

         14      in the nation.  Thank you.

 

         15                       THOMAS O'DELL:  Hi, my name is

 

         16      Tom O'Dell.  I am a resident of Bolivar, been

 

         17      there for thirty-five years, and I respect

 

         18      Republic Services, the landfill, and the

 

         19      employees.  I didn't know we were supposed to

 

         20      wear badges.  I wish I would have brought mine,

 

         21      but I'd like to inform everybody that, you

 

         22      know, back in 1990 there was an agreement, an

 

         23      agreement was for a landfill so high, so wide,

 

         24      so deep.  Back in 1990 there was never an issue

 

         25      with the amount of trucks on the highway

 

 

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          1      because we started with five hundred ton, we

 

          2      went to twenty-four hundred, we went to

 

          3      thirty-five, we went to five thousand, we went

 

          4      to seven thousand, we are now at seven thousand

 

          5      eight hundred ton.

 

          6                       We started with solid waste, we

 

          7      now have hazardous waste, contaminated soil,

 

          8      leachate outbreaks.  We have leachate

 

          9      recycling, we have asbestos, and we have known

 

         10      objects within the landfill that are not

 

         11      supposed to be there.  Again, I believe that

 

         12      the landfill is doing a fairly good job.  This

 

         13      is not about traffic, this is not about safety.

 

         14      This is about money.  This is about money.

 

         15                       And money sometimes buys

 

         16      people, and BZA in August of '04 done the right

 

         17      thing.  They voted the right way.  Again, I

 

         18      challenge the BZA where is the authority in the

 

         19      zoning when the township trustees can overrule?

 

         20      In August of '04 you were being sued by

 

         21      Republic.  Now they are taking care of all your

 

         22      finances.  There is a lot of unknown.  You

 

         23      know, when you go to a doctor, if you don't

 

         24      give them the past history, it's really hard

 

         25      for them to know what the future is for you to

 

 

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          1      be able to solve the problem you have.  Many of

 

          2      us out here don't know what goes on behind

 

          3      closed doors.

 

          4                       To have somebody as a trustee,

 

          5      to have a family member employed at the

 

          6      landfill and to be able to vote on an issue at

 

          7      the landfill is a contradiction of what that

 

          8      individual should be doing.  To have a family

 

          9      member living in a home that's owned by the

 

         10      landfill is another problem.

 

         11                       To have the landfill -- and

 

         12      again I don't want -- I'm not here to throw

 

         13      stones, but I'm looking at what money does

 

         14      sometimes, okay?  And I would hope that the

 

         15      trustees, I would hope that the BZA would look

 

         16      at the whole story, okay.  And, again, you have

 

         17      to go back to the foundation of where this

 

         18      started from.

 

         19                       And, again, I understand the

 

         20      traffic.  I know a lot about the truck traffic

 

         21      up there but, you know, if the drivers can't be

 

         22      more responsible, there's accidents on the

 

         23      road.  When -- if you have problems on

 

         24      Gracemont with dirt and mud, if you have smell,

 

         25      moving a ramp -- putting a ramp up is not

 

 

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          1      solving the problem.  It is not solving the

 

          2      problem.

 

          3                       And, again, I truly respect

 

          4      each one of you for your positions, but I would

 

          5      hope that money does not buy your vote.

 

          6                       MARK CARROCCE:  Hello, my name

 

          7      is Mark Carrocce.  I'm Vice President of R & J

 

          8      Trucking.  My address is 6611 Covington Cove in

 

          9      Canfield, Ohio.  The first thing I'd like to do

 

         10      is commend the management team of Republic

 

         11      Industries -- Republic Waste for taking the

 

         12      initiative to look to spend the money to put

 

         13      this interchange in.  It basically in my mind

 

         14      goes back to their general philosophy of a

 

         15      well-run landfill.

 

         16                       We've been hauling into this

 

         17      landfill for over six, seven years, and I can

 

         18      honestly say that every time there is an issue

 

         19      where safety is involved, operations, issues

 

         20      that are involved that aren't in compliance,

 

         21      their management team is either on the phone,

 

         22      sending e-mails, very involved with keeping the

 

         23      peace and trying to do what's right to run this

 

         24      landfill the proper way.

 

         25                       And we've had a lot of

 

 

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          1      experience in dealing with them in these

 

          2      regards, so I really commend them for going the

 

          3      extra mile to put their money where their mouth

 

          4      is, so to speak, and put this interchange in

 

          5      this appropriation or Consent Judgment.

 

          6                       So the other thing, as a

 

          7      trucking company we are very involved in

 

          8      general safety.  We've spent lots of money

 

          9       In putting such things as looking to put

 

         10       Vorad systems on our trucks, anti-rollover

 

         11      systems on our trucks, things that help to

 

         12      improve safety.  And in our minds, when it

 

         13      comes to government legislation and government

 

         14      spending money on such things and public

 

         15      highways, safety is always one of the biggest

 

         16      issues.

 

         17                       And I hope everybody will keep

 

         18      in mind that a lot of trucks going in and out

 

         19      of this landfill and the amount of public

 

         20      safety that will be saved by having this

 

         21      interchange put in there.  We appreciate it, we

 

         22      appreciate what Republic is doing in putting

 

         23      that kind of money up, and hopefully everybody

 

         24      will listen because it's very important to us

 

         25      to have that.  So we are definitely in support

 

 

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          1      of having the interchange put in as a trucking

 

          2      company.

 

          3                       The other thing is, we go into

 

          4      a lot of landfills in a lot of different

 

          5      states, and this is one of the most well-run

 

          6      landfills that we definitely go in.  Roads are

 

          7      maintained, things are done the way they should

 

          8      be, not necessarily by budget, they're done --

 

          9      what needs to be done is done, and I can at

 

         10      least say that for them too.  I thank you very

 

         11      much for your time.

 

         12                       MR. STRAD:  Numbers 110 through

 

         13      112, please come up.

 

         14                       MICHAEL STEPIC:  I'm no. 110.

 

         15      My name is Mike Stepic, S-T-E-P-I-C.  I live at

 

         16      1625 Poppy Drive in Mogadore, Ohio.  I'm a

 

         17      Licensed Professional Engineer and registered

 

         18      sanitary in the State of Ohio.  I have worked

 

         19      in a variety of waste disposal sites across

 

         20      Ohio and several adjacent states.

 

         21                       For many of the presenters

 

         22      tonight, one of the things discussed was a

 

         23      mission of Pike Township and your pending

 

         24      decision.  I thought of many of the key points

 

         25      made, and the primary one being so far tonight

 

 

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          1      was the health and safety of the citizens of

 

          2      the township.  Of the many sites I visited as a

 

          3      professional in this industry, Countywide

 

          4      represents one of the premiere facilities in

 

          5      this region of the United States.  It is a

 

          6      well-run solid waste facility in an industry

 

          7      that's more than regulated by countless

 

          8      regulatory officials such as yourselves.

 

          9                       Countywide is also run by a

 

         10      long list of registered professionals,

 

         11      including registered engineers and

 

         12      ex-regulatory officials from the Ohio EPA.  It

 

         13      is an extremely proactive facility as it

 

         14      pertains to compliance with the regulations of

 

         15      being a good neighbor.

 

         16                       On countless occasions I, as

 

         17      many others within this room, have witnessed

 

         18      Countywide and Republic Waste taking steps

 

         19      above and beyond the regulatory requirements

 

         20      without argument to step up to the plate and be

 

         21      a custodian of their industry and their

 

         22      neighbors, including its installation of it's

 

         23      odor control system, the expansion of its

 

         24      active gas extraction system, prior to

 

         25      regulatory requirements and a continuous review

 

 

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          1      of its operations and improvements thereof.

 

          2                       In my opinion, the decision to

 

          3      grant the funding of the ramp tonight will meet

 

          4      the primary goal of an elected official which

 

          5      is to improve the quality of life and improve

 

          6      the safety of its citizens.  The ramp and the

 

          7      limitations of work hours as agreed upon

 

          8      tonight represents a truly professional and

 

          9      proactive step and shows a responsibility taken

 

         10      by both parties to improve the community as a

 

         11      whole.  Thank you very much.

 

         12                       GARY FRANKS:  My name is Gary

 

         13      Franks, 365 Park Avenue, Bolivar.  I'm glad to

 

         14      be here tonight.  The last time I didn't get

 

         15      the opportunity to finish what I had to say.

 

         16      The only thing I got to say tonight is -- and I

 

         17      didn't prepare a speech, but I think you people

 

         18      have to understand what you're doing is

 

         19      undermining the laws of this land.

 

         20                       We have people setting here in

 

         21      the audience that made laws, that made zoning

 

         22      laws, and you're trying to find loopholes to

 

         23      get around the laws of this land.  I think it's

 

         24      a disgrace when we try to get around the laws

 

         25      of this land to supply one company with the

 

 

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          1      opportunity to make billions of dollars.

 

          2                       They promised everything, they

 

          3      promised last year that they would have an odor

 

          4      suppressant at this landfill.  Every morning I

 

          5      wake up and go to my job, I smell the landfill.

 

          6      I smell it till noon, and then in the evening I

 

          7      smell it again.  It's so bad that my

 

          8      granddaughter gets sick and vomits when she

 

          9      drives up 77.

 

         10                       Now I don't know, I just

 

         11      believe that you have the opportunity with the

 

         12      laws that are in place to stop this and shut

 

         13      this place down now.

 

         14                       PAUL FENTEN:  Evening, my name

 

         15      is Paul Fenten.  I'm from 202 West Main in

 

         16      Plainfield, Ohio.  I'm here in support of the

 

         17      landfill, the ramp, and the safety of the

 

         18      community.  I have worked at Countywide

 

         19      Landfill since 1990, and I have been in the

 

         20      position of equipment operator, I have also

 

         21      worked there as the operation manager, the

 

         22      health and safety manager, which the health and

 

         23      safety manager, I currently fill that position

 

         24      at the landfill.

 

         25                       Countywide has at the site

 

 

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          1      probably the best staff of individuals that

 

          2      you're going to find that are trained in their

 

          3      profession.  Every landfill has its issues,

 

          4      everything from environmental issues, landfill

 

          5      structure integrity, the employee safety,

 

          6      vendor safety, public safety; but when these

 

          7      issues come up we deal with them.

 

          8                       We have no reservations about

 

          9      spending money to fix things that are wrong.

 

         10      We don't try to hide anything.  We're open to

 

         11      the public for inspection anytime they want to

 

         12      come in to see what we're doing.  I have a

 

         13      couple issues with the Solid Waste District.  I

 

         14      don't think that funds should have to go to the

 

         15      Solid Waste District.  I think it should go to

 

         16      the trustees of the townships that have to deal

 

         17      and are responsible to the public for the

 

         18      issues that come up.

 

         19                       So I hope you'll keep that in

 

         20      mind and, once again, I'd like to state that I

 

         21      am in favor of these things, and I hope that

 

         22      all of you will vote in favor of it.  Thank

 

         23      you.

 

         24                       MR. STRAD:  At this time I'm

 

         25      going to take a five-minute break here just to

 

 

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          1      stretch, get reorganized here, and we'll be

 

          2      right back.

 

          3                       (A brief recess was had.)

 

          4                       JOHN DOBIES:  My name is John

 

          5      Dobies, 8463 West Craig in Bainbridge Township.

 

          6      Good evening, my name is John Dobies.  I am an

 

          7      Operations Manager at the Massillon office of

 

          8      Republic Waste.  I came to Republic with over

 

          9      twenty-one years of waste industry experience

 

         10      working in the Cleveland area with one of the

 

         11      other US top three waste hauling companies.

 

         12                       I came to Republic because I

 

         13      wanted to work for a company that not only

 

         14      provides excellent service to their customers,

 

         15      but also portrays this through their actions

 

         16      and professionalism, their employees and their

 

         17      equipment.  Republic Waste employees and

 

         18      management, from the local level through to our

 

         19      corporate office, have a deep concern for our

 

         20      customers, our neighbors, the public in which

 

         21      we serve, and our fellow employees.  We strive

 

         22      to service our customers efficiently and

 

         23      safely.  We search for ways to improve these

 

         24      items and are constantly making improvements in

 

         25      these two areas.

 

 

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          1                       I'm here today to ask for your

 

          2      support for both the allowance of the expansion

 

          3      of the landfill and the building of the ramp

 

          4      off of 77.  We have over two hundred people

 

          5      employed locally whose livelihood depends on

 

          6      the Countywide Landfill site.  The drivers and

 

          7      landfill personnel are not the only people

 

          8      affected.  There are a lot of people behind the

 

          9      scene -- sales representatives, office and

 

         10      maintenance staff, all of us and our families

 

         11      need the approval of the expansion of the

 

         12      landfill site.

 

         13                       The ramp off 77 is needed to

 

         14      improve the safety and quality of life of the

 

         15      residents located in communities around the

 

         16      landfill site.  By removing the truck traffic

 

         17      off the local roads to and from the landfill,

 

         18      safety will be improved, the improvement for

 

         19      the residents because they will not have to

 

         20      deal with the constant truck traffic, and it

 

         21      will be less wear and tear on the local

 

         22      roadways.

 

         23                       The traffic from the waste

 

         24      hauling vehicles on the local roadways to and

 

         25      from the landfill will be virtually eliminated.

 

 

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          1      The drivers of these vehicles will be

 

          2      positively impacted from the safety benefits of

 

          3      the ramp because they will not be forced to

 

          4      travel local roadways to and from the landfill.

 

          5                       I appreciate your time and

 

          6      attention and again request your support for

 

          7      both the expansion and the support of the ramp

 

          8      on 77.  Thank you.

 

          9                       STEPHEN KRESS:  Steve Kress,

 

         10      3512 Crownpoint, Massillon, 44646.  I'm an

 

         11      employee of Republic Waste.  I work with our

 

         12      what we call major accounts.  Some of the

 

         13      accounts that I might work with might be an ARE

 

         14      or Hoover or Weight Watchers, which is H.J.

 

         15      Heinz Corporation; and part of my job is to

 

         16      make sure what they take to the landfill is

 

         17      documented correctly.

 

         18                       And when you start to explain

 

         19      this to the people, they go "What do you mean?"

 

         20      You go, well, there's a profile sheet needed to

 

         21      be filled out, and it has several questions on

 

         22      it, how the trash is generated.  They have to

 

         23      document, you know, different things like flash

 

         24      point and things and is it, you know, make sure

 

         25      it's not hazardous waste.  And they have to

 

 

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          1      sign off on that.

 

          2                       And they go "Oh, man, that's a

 

          3      lot of paperwork."  I said, well, besides that

 

          4      you need MSDS sheets for your products.  They

 

          5      go, "We got to dig all those out?"  So we make

 

          6      them dig those out.  Then we send that through,

 

          7      and if the two products don't mix right or

 

          8      something, then we don't think they are -- we

 

          9      have to take and have analytical done, maybe D-

 

         10      clip metals or something, and so it's more

 

         11      testing, and the customer is paying for that,

 

         12      the different testing.

 

         13                       And they go "Why all this?"

 

         14      And we go, "We got to make sure that the

 

         15      product going in there is not harmful to

 

         16      anything."  And then the more that they think

 

         17      about it, they go "That makes sense."  They say

 

         18      you know what, this is a great insurance

 

         19      policy.  This is great that we know that you're

 

         20      not putting something in there that you're not

 

         21      aware of and that the landfill is only

 

         22      accepting waste that they should accept.

 

         23                       So then the other thing I do is

 

         24      I often take them on a tour of the landfill,

 

         25      and it's kind of funny that some people still

 

 

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          1      refer to it as a dump; but going into the door

 

          2      that's what they might think.  Then we take

 

          3      them through to the scale house, then we go out

 

          4      back, we go up through the solidification pit

 

          5      and we show them that's how that's done.

 

          6                       Any liquids coming in, take

 

          7      them around back, see where the drain-off ponds

 

          8      are, and they can see workers back there

 

          9      picking up trash daily, and you take them

 

         10      around to the face and they can see how the

 

         11      face is working.  That's where all the trash is

 

         12      dumped for the day and then the covers being

 

         13      put on it.  And then on the way out, we take

 

         14      them by the ballfield and everything else and

 

         15      up where they fly the model planes; and they

 

         16      are amazed.  They go "Wow, we never realized

 

         17      this went on and how much involvement you have

 

         18      with the community."

 

         19                       So Countywide does a great job.

 

         20      They run a great show down there.  The ramp is

 

         21      needed because all I've heard for years here is

 

         22      too much traffic on the roads.  Well, now they

 

         23      are saying that they are going to foot the bill

 

         24      for the ramp.  Well, how much better can you

 

         25      get than us sitting there and saying we're

 

 

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          1      going to put a ramp in there.  So it's 2011,

 

          2      it's going to get taken care of.

 

          3                       The other thing I'd say is that

 

          4      I worked for Ford Motor years ago, and I seen

 

          5      the place close down and what it did to the

 

          6      people that worked there, how it affected them,

 

          7      their houses.  You know, maybe some of them

 

          8      lost their houses or whatever and --

 

          9                       MR. STRAD:  Thank you.

 

         10                       MS. DAWSON:  Time is up, sir.

 

         11      Thank you.

 

         12                       WILLIAM DUNLEVY:  Bill Dunlevy.

 

         13      I'm from 1258 Independence Circle, New

 

         14      Philadelphia, Ohio.  I've worked for Countywide

 

         15      for the last fifteen years here, and I was one

 

         16      of the first ones here in January 1990 to break

 

         17      ground for this landfill; and I'm going to tell

 

         18      you this is a nice, one of the nicest landfills

 

         19      around.

 

         20                       I'm an Operations Supervisor.

 

         21      My job is to make sure we stay in compliance.

 

         22      Anything that gets dumped out there that's not

 

         23      supposed to be dumped out there is put back on

 

         24      the truck and returned to the generator.  We

 

         25      start at 6 o'clock in the morning, we close up,

 

 

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          1      we cover the face up with tarps, and we are out

 

          2      of there normally at 6 o'clock in the evening.

 

          3                       I have good operators.  They

 

          4      all have good eyes for special waste or

 

          5      anything that's not supposed to be at the

 

          6      landfill, and like I said before, that's not to

 

          7      be put in the face.

 

          8                       I'm all for the ramps.  I think

 

          9      them ramps are very important to everyone in

 

         10      here and for school buses and the traffic and

 

         11      the road repairs, that have to take care of the

 

         12      roads and stuff.  I think that will relieve a

 

         13      lot of pressure on a lot of people.

 

         14                       And as far as the odor,

 

         15      Countywide is doing everything it can to

 

         16      control the odor.  We got a very good system up

 

         17      there, and they're going to continue to work

 

         18      with everyone about this odor here.  People, we

 

         19      have trash.  There is -- go to your house in

 

         20      your kitchen, stick your head in the waste

 

         21      paper can.  It's going to stink.  So we're

 

         22      going to do everything we can to control this

 

         23      odor.  Thank you.

 

         24                       MR. STRAD:  Nos. 113 through

 

         25      115, please come up.  Did we just do those?

 

 

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          1      Okay.  That's my first mistake of the day,

 

          2      folks.  Okay.  116 through 118, please.

 

          3                       TODD HAMILTON:  My name is Todd

 

          4      Hamilton.  I work at Countywide Recycling &

 

          5      Disposal at 3619 Gracemont Street in East

 

          6      Sparta.  I live in Dover.  I moved my family

 

          7      here from Michigan three years ago, if that

 

          8      tells you anything about my commitment to the

 

          9      area and the quality of life here.

 

         10                       I am going to border on

 

         11      lecturing you tonight, but I think it's

 

         12      important to sort out what you might be hearing

 

         13      tonight as feelings and what I hope to present

 

         14      and others are facts.  I think that it's

 

         15      important to say on the record that I support

 

         16      the agreement with the township, between the

 

         17      township and Republic, because I think it

 

         18      provides for safety provided by the ramp and

 

         19      other issues that are included in the

 

         20      agreement.

 

         21                       I bring to the podium tonight

 

         22      perspective that other vendors in the industry,

 

         23      other professionals also bring.  I have worked

 

         24      at over thirty landfills in six states.  There

 

         25      was a gentleman here tonight that said two

 

 

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          1      hundred landfills.  I haven't been in that

 

          2      many, but I've been in landfills for months at

 

          3      a time, and this is one of the best that I've

 

          4      ever been in.

 

          5                       Countywide is committed to

 

          6      safety, and that commitment is unsurpassed in

 

          7      any of the previous employers that I have had.

 

          8      And I've worked for other landfill companies

 

          9      and I have worked in the consulting industry

 

         10      serving landfills.  They are very proactive on

 

         11      safety and compliance and aesthetics from the

 

         12      operational side more so than is required by

 

         13      regulation.  We seed, we pick up paper, we are

 

         14      dealing with odors.  None of those things are

 

         15      black and white in the regs., and you have to

 

         16      work to keep your neighbors and the inspectors

 

         17      happy.

 

         18                       We are sincere about being good

 

         19      neighbors.  I know that's hard to believe, but

 

         20      I have seen other companies who say show me in

 

         21      the regs. where I have to pay for that and then

 

         22      I'll do it.  Until that point I'm going to

 

         23      operate the way I've been operating, and that

 

         24      does not happen at Countywide Landfill.

 

         25                       No. 4 -- or no. 5, this company

 

 

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          1      works at the highest ethical standards that I

 

          2      have seen in the industry.  I don't want to

 

          3      disparage the other operators, but you're

 

          4      dealing with a first rate company here.  I have

 

          5      made my home in the area.  I think that tells

 

          6      you something about whether or not I'm just

 

          7      parachuting in to make my living here then

 

          8      disappearing.

 

          9                       And we have spent money on

 

         10      planting construction, including capping and

 

         11      gas collection, that is not required by the

 

         12      regulations.  We have done that specifically to

 

         13      address odors.  We have spent over a million

 

         14      dollars on odor and gas control since 2004, and

 

         15      that arguably is not something that the

 

         16      regulations require.  We want to be good

 

         17      neighbors.

 

         18                       There's been some comments

 

         19      about the landfill growing out of control.  It

 

         20      proceeds with neat, orderly approved segments

 

         21      of anywhere from eight to twelve acres, and

 

         22      then we close the work behind us, and that's

 

         23      important for the board to understand.  We also

 

         24      fix problems before they occur and -- thank you

 

         25      for your time.

 

 

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          1                       MARK SHIPPS:  Good evening, my

 

          2      name is Mark Shipps.  I'm the President of the

 

          3      American Environmental Group, Richfield, Ohio.

 

          4      Our address is 3600 Brecksville Road.  I'm a

 

          5      resident of Summit County which is within the

 

          6      service area of both the landfill and Republic.

 

          7      I'm here on behalf of all of our employees,

 

          8      subcontractors and suppliers to support

 

          9      Countywide RDF, the proposed Route 77 ramp, and

 

         10      the agreement between Countywide and Pike

 

         11      Township.

 

         12                       American Environmental Group is

 

         13      a specialty environmental services contractor.

 

         14      We install and operate landfill gas control and

 

         15      collection systems and we provide

 

         16      geosynthetics, or liner, installation and

 

         17      repair services throughout the United States.

 

         18      Last year we worked on over two hundred fifty

 

         19      landfills nationwide, and our company also

 

         20      provides these services to Countywide.  We are

 

         21      presently assisting the landfill with

 

         22      improvements to the landfill gas collection

 

         23      system and control system.

 

         24                       Many of our employees live and

 

         25      work in Northeast Ohio.  We hire local

 

 

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          1      subcontractors and purchase supplies and

 

          2      materials from local firms.  We eat at local

 

          3      restaurants, and some of our employees stay in

 

          4      local hotels.  The economic impact of our work

 

          5      related to the landfill in this area is

 

          6      significant.

 

          7                       Since we travel throughout the

 

          8      US and work on many landfills, I believe we are

 

          9      qualified to make several observations about

 

         10      the Countywide Landfill and the fine people who

 

         11      work there every day.  Countywide is a

 

         12      state-of-the-art landfill, one of the few in

 

         13      Ohio and in the Midwest constructed from its

 

         14      inception according to the most stringent

 

         15      engineering and environmental controls.

 

         16                       In comparison to some other

 

         17      larger landfills where we work on a daily

 

         18      basis, this one is well-run, neatly maintained,

 

         19      and is in tune with the needs and concerns of

 

         20      the township and the entire twenty-six county

 

         21      service area.  It is unique in that it does not

 

         22      accept out-of-state or even out of region

 

         23      trash.  Most importantly, in my opinion, the

 

         24      landfill staff is competent and professional.

 

         25      They take their job seriously.  They take the

 

 

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          1      odor problem seriously, especially as they work

 

          2      to properly install, maintain and upgrade their

 

          3      environmental controls, a process that is

 

          4      underway today.

 

          5                       They have a sincere commitment

 

          6      to being good neighbors, a trait that is

 

          7      sometimes lacking in other landfills where we

 

          8      have worked.  Finally, the landfill staff is

 

          9      innovative.  A recent example of this is their

 

         10      ongoing work and planning for the reuse and

 

         11      recovery of the landfill gas at the landfill.

 

         12      Not only will they continue to aggressively

 

         13      collect and control landfill gas generated

 

         14      within the waste, but by doing so they will

 

         15      play an even more important role in reducing

 

         16      greenhouse gas emissions while they provide a

 

         17      much needed renewable energy source --

 

         18                       MR. STRAD:  Thank you.

 

         19                       JAMES WALKER:  Thank you.

 

         20      119120 my name is Jim walker, and I'm a

 

         21      Registered Professional Engineer in the State

 

         22      of Ohio, and I'm a designer of the landfill

 

         23      expansion for Countywide.  I'm here to give my

 

         24      support to the Countywide for the zoning

 

         25      agreement and the ramp.

 

 

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          1                       I have approximately thirty

 

          2      years experience in engineering, of which

 

          3      twenty years as full-time in landfill design

 

          4      construction.  I have worked on fifty different

 

          5      projects -- fifty different landfills, that is,

 

          6      and have designed twelve approved landfills.

 

          7      I've been involved with Countywide since 1992

 

          8      and have certified construction there as well

 

          9      as prepared the construction plans for the last

 

         10      six cells.

 

         11                       Countywide has been designed in

 

         12      accordance with all the Ohio rules and

 

         13      regulations which are very extensive and

 

         14      require considerable investigation and design

 

         15      effort.  These include meeting various siting

 

         16      criteria involving groundwater protection,

 

         17      horizontal isolation from things such as flood

 

         18      plains, wells, residual streams, natural areas,

 

         19      unstable areas, et cetera.

 

         20                       Countywide is designed with a

 

         21      very protective three-foot thick composite

 

         22      liner and a highly efficient leachate

 

         23      collection system that exceeds the standards

 

         24      required by the state.  This leachate

 

         25      collection system is designed to capture any

 

 

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          1      percolating liquid down to the top of the

 

          2      liner, collect it, and have it pumped out in

 

          3      order to manage it safely.

 

          4                       The landfill itself is designed

 

          5      with the perimeter drainage channel around the

 

          6      entire facility to control storm water.  The

 

          7      storm water is collected and then is directed

 

          8      to one of five sedimentation basins.  There is

 

          9      a gas control system for the entire facility as

 

         10      well as a groundwater monitoring system, and

 

         11      today there has been no exceedances observed at

 

         12      Countywide.

 

         13                       Countywide is also designed

 

         14      with a final cap and has a closure, post

 

         15      closure plan and requires through the years

 

         16      monitoring once the facility is closed.  The

 

         17      permit for Countywide requires a -- has an

 

         18      extensive construction quality assurance plan

 

         19      which requires all the construction to be done

 

         20      and monitored under a Certified Professional

 

         21      Engineer.

 

         22                       From my experience, Countywide

 

         23      is designed, constructed and operated in a

 

         24      sound manner that will continue to be

 

         25      protective of the environment.  Thank you for

 

 

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          1      your time.

 

          2                       MARK RUMBLE:  Good evening.

 

          3      Mark Rumble, 3094 Ravenna Avenue.  I live over

 

          4      in Nimishillen Township, and I'm one of the

 

          5      residents on the other side of the county

 

          6      that's also menaced by the other landfill on

 

          7      the other side of the county, so I definitely

 

          8      understand how the residents in this township

 

          9      believe or what they're going through with

 

         10      this.

 

         11                       I'd like to declare tonight

 

         12      that I'm for sanity.  You know, it's no wonder

 

         13      that the mayors in these other cities -- I just

 

         14      wanted to talk about a few things.  The board

 

         15      here has got important things, decisions to

 

         16      make, and I wanted to give you a few facts.

 

         17                       You know, it's no wonder that

 

         18      the mayors in these other cities come and tour

 

         19      this landfill and think it's great.  Of course

 

         20      they can avoid their responsibilities if they

 

         21      can ship it down here.  So, you know, that's

 

         22      one of the things I care about.

 

         23                       And what's the other thing I

 

         24      care about?  I care about all these people and

 

         25      their lives jeopardized by all these trucks on

 

 

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          1      this road there that really shouldn't be here.

 

          2      What else do I care about?  I care about that

 

          3      farm there where those people, maybe they don't

 

          4      want to give up their farm for a ramp.

 

          5                       So there's a lot of things I

 

          6      care about.  What I wanted to bring to the

 

          7      board's attention, since we are talking about

 

          8      agreements, I was reading a host agreement of a

 

          9      different landfill, and their host agreement to

 

         10      their community, they pay just about three

 

         11      dollars a ton to the community.  It's split

 

         12      between two communities.  It's two dollars for

 

         13      one ton and a dollar a ton to the other

 

         14      community.

 

         15                       The host agreement and the

 

         16      landfill is not quite the intake size of this

 

         17      one.  The host agreement generates so much

 

         18      money for the residents because of the nuisance

 

         19      created by this landfill.  They do not even pay

 

         20      property taxes, so that's another reason that I

 

         21      feel that the community here and over in the

 

         22      other areas of the county are also being taken

 

         23      advantage of.

 

         24                       So I just wanted to bring that,

 

         25      you know.  You guys have important decisions

 

 

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          1      here, and you're here to represent the best

 

          2      interests of the community, and it's a very

 

          3      difficult decision.  I've been going down to

 

          4      Solid Waste District for years.  I'm concerned

 

          5      about this, and I know the genuine concern of

 

          6      Club 3000, and I can hear their testimony down

 

          7      there when they speak; and I know that we are

 

          8      all concerned about the air, the water, the

 

          9      roads, and everything else.

 

         10                       And, of course, they are

 

         11      concerned about the residents and the trucks,

 

         12      and it's my family, my children that are

 

         13      jeopardized every morning.  We don't -- we

 

         14      can't even wait by the road over on 44, you

 

         15      can't even wait by the road for the school bus

 

         16      for fear that one of those trucks -- and yes,

 

         17      I'm not questioning those drivers.  Yes,

 

         18      they're safe drivers, but accidents happen.

 

         19                       And what I'm for is sanity, and

 

         20      this is insanity what we have in this county.

 

         21      So I just wanted to come here and talk a little

 

         22      bit about that tonight.  Thank you.

 

         23                       MARK FUNKHOUSER:  My name is

 

         24      Mark Funkhouser.  I live in Victor Township,

 

         25      Clinton County, Michigan.  I'm employed by

 

 

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          1      Golder Associates, and Golder Associates is

 

          2      under contract to Countywide to provide

 

          3      professional engineering services, including

 

          4      construction, quality assurance certification

 

          5      during construction.

 

          6                       I have personally been there as

 

          7      a representative of Golder Associates for the

 

          8      last three years.  My education experience

 

          9      includes a Master's Degree and a Bachelor's

 

         10      Degree in Civil and Geotechnical Engineering,

 

         11      have twenty years of experience in the

 

         12      geotechnical field, including landfill design,

 

         13      construction and certification.

 

         14                       I personally signed, sealed,

 

         15      certified the construction of thirty landfill

 

         16      cells at twenty different facilities in eight

 

         17      different states.  I'm licensed in the State of

 

         18      Ohio, amongst others.

 

         19                       During the time that I've been

 

         20      here, I've observed the construction activity

 

         21      and the operations at the facility to be in

 

         22      compliance with site permit and the state law.

 

         23       Further, based on my observations, the facility

 

         24      is run in a very organized and safe systematic

 

         25      fashion.  The facilities operate officially.

 

 

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          1      The cells are laid out and organized in

 

          2      sequential fashion, where the filling is done

 

          3      in an organized and safe manner.

 

          4                       Based on everything I've seen

 

          5      elsewhere and here, the facility is one of the

 

          6      best facilities that I've seen in all

 

          7      engineering aspects.  Obviously, the ramp, from

 

          8      a traffic safety standpoint the ramp would

 

          9      enhance the safety of the immediate vicinity

 

         10      around the site and at a site.  Thank you.

 

         11                       DAVE LIST:  Hi, my name is Dave

 

         12      List.  I live at DeWitt Township, Clinton

 

         13      County, Michigan.  Good evening.  I work for

 

         14      Golder Associates, the same as Mark, the firm

 

         15      that has performed the construction quality

 

         16      assurance on several of the cells at

 

         17      Countywide.  I'm a Registered Professional

 

         18      Engineer in the State of Ohio and have worked

 

         19      in the solid waste industry for about twenty

 

         20      years.

 

         21                       I strongly support both the

 

         22      landfill and the ramp.  Although I live in

 

         23      Lansing, Michigan, I recognize the design,

 

         24      construction and operational care invested in

 

         25      this facility by Republic.  To give a little

 

 

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          1      more background, I live and raise two kids in

 

          2      Lansing about a mile from a landfill that's

 

          3      designed and constructed in very much the same

 

          4      manner and operated with the same care as I see

 

          5      down here.

 

          6                       I know that the Lansing

 

          7      technology used both there and here protect my

 

          8      family and the environment -- with regard to

 

          9      the environmental issues with regard to waste

 

         10      disposal, so again I strongly support the

 

         11      landfill and the ramp.  Thank you.

 

         12                       ROBERT RUBIN:  Good evening.

 

         13      My name is Bob Rubin, 1735 Vassar Avenue, NW,

 

         14      Canton, Ohio.  I'm here to oppose the consent

 

         15      agreement.  I'm an attorney.  I have done

 

         16       some work for Club 3000.  I have represented

 

         17      Fred Charton.  We oppose this very, very

 

         18      strongly.

 

         19                       A basic premise in my view of

 

         20      all of our legal system is that public

 

         21      officials cannot, should not and cannot enter

 

         22      into an agreement which permits a party to

 

         23      violate or break or not comply with the legal

 

         24      requirements of the jurisdiction that is your

 

         25      jurisdiction.  In this case Countywide Landfill

 

 

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          1      has had since 1989 a one-hundred-acre

 

          2      Conditional Use Permit which apparently they

 

          3      have filled, and apparently they've reached the

 

          4      point that it's time to close it and save this

 

          5      township the problems that arise from

 

          6      expansion.

 

          7                       The only way that they can

 

          8      expand this landfill beyond the hundred acres

 

          9      that they have a Conditional Use Permit for in

 

         10      the context of what we are doing here is if you

 

         11      consent to it.  If you don't consent to it it's

 

         12      not going to happen.  You have the power to do

 

         13      what's best for the long-term interest of Pike

 

         14      Township.  You have the power to stop the

 

         15      trucks coming in.  You have the power to reduce

 

         16      the smell.  You have the power to stop the

 

         17      dust.

 

         18                       You have the power to -- we

 

         19      don't need a ramp.  There is no place that I

 

         20      know of that would voluntarily agree to build a

 

         21      ramp or encourage or applaud the building of a

 

         22      ramp that has as its sole dedicated purpose the

 

         23      import of waste materials, not hazardous --

 

         24      this is not hazardous, industrial waste,

 

         25      domestic waste, liquid waste, cleanups of other

 

 

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          1      areas coming into Pike Township.  We are

 

          2      talking this is about four hundred feet of

 

          3      depth of waste going into the ground of Pike

 

          4      Township over an area which is going to be

 

          5      expanded, if you permit this, to two hundred

 

          6      fifty-eight acres.

 

          7                       It's time to close it.  They

 

          8      got what they came here for.  They got what

 

          9      they were permitted to have, which was a

 

         10      landfill which they have completed.  They made

 

         11      representations initially as to what the life

 

         12      expectancy was and how much volume, how long it

 

         13      would be here.  They are past that.  They are

 

         14      now building beyond the hundred acres.  You

 

         15      shouldn't permit that.

 

         16                       I believe this hearing is

 

         17      somewhat tainted by the fact that previously --

 

         18                       MR. STRAD:  Thank you, Bob.

 

         19                       MR. RUBIN:  I respect that.  I

 

         20      don't think that that's a fair procedure.

 

         21                       LARRY ELLIOTT:  My name is

 

         22      Larry Elliott.  I'm Operating Assistant

 

         23      Manager for Countywide Landfill.  I was the

 

         24      first person hired at Countywide.  When I first

 

         25      went to Countywide, it was nothing but an

 

 

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          1      eyesore.  It was open pits, spoiled, ponded

 

          2      water everywhere.

 

          3                       We have built the first cell.

 

          4      We reclaimed the whole area, seeded it, built

 

          5      ponds.  For sediment we built ponds, stocked

 

          6      them with fish.  We built a recreational area.

 

          7      Now it's a beautiful site.  One thing that kind

 

          8      of bothers me, we only work ten and a half

 

          9      hours a day instead of fourteen.  We do have a

 

         10      little dust.  We run a water truck in the

 

         11      spring, summer, fall.  Farmers have dust.

 

         12                       We do have a little odor, but

 

         13      we are a landfill.  You go to a farm, you smell

 

         14      cow manure, horse manure, pig stuff.  You go to

 

         15      Nickles Bakery or by Nickles Bakery, you smell

 

         16      rolls.  You go past the steel mill over at

 

         17      Timken, you smell the hot metal.  It's just

 

         18      like anything else, it's the environment that

 

         19      we're in.

 

         20                       But one thing I'd like to say

 

         21      is you've got three major landfills in the

 

         22      surrounding community.  We are the only

 

         23      landfill that's a BAT site that looks to me

 

         24      like if somebody wanted to oppose a landfill,

 

         25      it certainly wouldn't be Countywide.  It would

 

 

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          1      be the ones to the north of us or one to the

 

          2      south of us because we are one hundred percent

 

          3      BAT.

 

          4                       We have excellent operators, we

 

          5      have excellent equipment.  Our office staff is

 

          6      excellent.  We do nothing wrong.  Everything

 

          7      that we do is documented.  There is nothing

 

          8      held back, nothing shoved under the rug.

 

          9      Everything is upright.  If we do have a

 

         10      mistake, we call the necessary people.

 

         11                       But another thing that kind of

 

         12      bothers me, everyone is kind of against our

 

         13      landfill, but for the last seventeen years I've

 

         14      driven to that landfill, and there is a

 

         15      farmhouse on the corner of Sherman Church and

 

         16      Gracemont that's got countless junk vehicles

 

         17      setting around, old trucks, old cars, trees

 

         18      growing out of buildings, a building ready to

 

         19      collapse.  All this stuff setting around, it

 

         20      drips oil, gasoline; when it rains, runs into

 

         21      your water supply.

 

         22                       Nobody has complained about

 

         23      that.  What is that?  Why is that?  Like I say,

 

         24      I have been employed by Countywide for the last

 

         25      seventeen years --

 

 

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          1                       MR. STRAD:  Thank you.

 

          2                       LARRY ELLIOTT:  I'm happy to be

 

          3      a part of it.

 

          4                       JENNIFER SACHS:  My name is

 

          5      Jennifer Sachs.  I live at 541 Poplar Street in

 

          6      Bolivar, Ohio.  All this is not about safety,

 

          7      this is about right and wrong.  I also want to

 

          8      say that not all facts that are stated by

 

          9      Countywide have been true tonight.  The Bolivar

 

         10      Baseball Association is not and do not

 

         11      associate or affiliate or use their fields.

 

         12                       I want to know by a show of

 

         13      hands how many people here tonight live in Pike

 

         14      Township or Wilkshire Hills, Bolivar area.

 

         15      Just raise your hand if you live in this area.

 

         16      Very nice.  Thank you.  How many people by show

 

         17      of applause is Countywide employees here

 

         18      tonight?  Can you applaud for me if you're a

 

         19      Countywide employee?

 

         20                       Okay.  My argument is not that

 

         21      these people are bad people.  I know some of

 

         22      these people in this audience, and they are

 

         23      good people, okay?  I'm not arguing that the

 

         24      Countywide Landfill people are bad.  You know,

 

         25      I have kids, and I care about my kids.  I care

 

 

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          1      about my water, and I care about my odor that I

 

          2      have to smell every day.  It's not impressive

 

          3      to see the mound of garbage on 77.  It used to

 

          4      be so beautiful to drive down there.  You guys,

 

          5      it's not pretty anymore.  It's not pretty to

 

          6      smell that anymore.  It makes me sad when my

 

          7      kids look at me and say "What is that smell?"

 

          8                       Okay.  You've heard from a lot

 

          9      of impressive people from Countywide today, big

 

         10      wig people, okay.  They are here to impress you

 

         11      to get you to change your mind.  I'm nobody.

 

         12      I'm somebody that's lived in Bolivar all my

 

         13      life.  I'm nobody.  I'm here because I care

 

         14      about my kids and my family and my community,

 

         15      that's it.

 

         16                       I'm not going to get any money

 

         17      from anybody, and I'm not going to gain

 

         18      anything, but to know I can sleep tonight

 

         19      because I came to say please, please take into

 

         20      consideration what you all are doing, okay?

 

         21      Care about the people, don't care about the

 

         22      money.

 

         23                       You guys, it's not if you're

 

         24      good or bad, okay?  You all need jobs, and I

 

         25      know that, okay.  It's not if you're a good

 

 

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          1      person or a bad person.  It's about water,

 

          2      true, what is right, the law, okay.

 

          3                       Make sure each one of you can

 

          4      go home tonight and lay your head on your

 

          5      pillow knowing that you upheld the law and that

 

          6      you did what you knew was right for us that

 

          7      live near this landfill.  Okay?  Thank you.

 

          8                       BOB JACKSON:  Good evening.

 

          9      I'm Bob Jackson.  I'm President of the

 

         10      Teamsters Local 92, 1127 9th Street, Canton,

 

         11      Ohio.  I'm here as a representative of a

 

         12      hundred seventy-five drivers and mechanics at

 

         13      Republic Waste.

 

         14                       I have had the opportunity to

 

         15      visit that landfill on several occasions and

 

         16      tour it and check it out because of the safety

 

         17      of my people that I represent, and I found it's

 

         18      state-of-the-art for a landfill.  I understand

 

         19      landfills ain't popular things to talk about,

 

         20      but as human beings we create waste, and we

 

         21      have to have a place to dispose that waste.

 

         22      And this landfill is a state-of-the-art.  They

 

         23      take it very seriously.

 

         24                       Also, I found as a

 

         25      representative of these employees this company

 

 

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          1      takes safety regulations very seriously.  I'm

 

          2      speaking on that because I deal with that

 

          3      representing the employees.  When things are

 

          4      violated, they aggressively get to the point.

 

          5      We are constantly setting up committees to find

 

          6      safer ways of doing things and making things

 

          7      work.

 

          8                       I'm in support of the exit

 

          9      ramp.  That's going to take a lot of heavy

 

         10      truck traffic off the streets of the neighbors

 

         11      and stuff.  It creates a lot more safe exit

 

         12      into and out of the landfill and the expansion

 

         13      of the landfill.  Thank you very much.

 

         14                       LES TIPPING:  Hello.  My name

 

         15      is Les Tipping, North Ridgeville, Ohio.  I'd

 

         16      just like to say a few words here.  I'm here in

 

         17      support of the landfill expansion and the ramp.

 

         18      I'd just like to say a few things.

 

         19                       I work for the Acme Company

 

         20      from Youngstown, Ohio.  We are a small trucking

 

         21      and material supply company.  All together our

 

         22      company employs around a hundred people.  We

 

         23      offer employment to workers from many, many

 

         24      communities, including the Canton, Bolivar

 

         25      area.

 

 

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          1                       In a brief couple minutes I

 

          2      will try to convey some thoughts about our

 

          3      company about this current situation.  Having a

 

          4      sanitary landfill in your community is not

 

          5      always the easiest situation.  That being said,

 

          6      Republic/Countywide is one of the most

 

          7      professionally managed and maintained

 

          8      facilities our company deals with.

 

          9                       Our sales market is Cleveland,

 

         10      Akron, Canton, Pittsburgh, to name a few of the

 

         11      major cities.  We deal with over fifteen

 

         12      sanitary landfills in our market area,

 

         13      Republic/Countywide being one of the largest.

 

         14      Their attention to details such as road speeds,

 

         15      routing to and from the facility, tire washes

 

         16      and safety in general are second to none.

 

         17                       Our drivers maintain that

 

         18      Countywide is one of the most efficient and

 

         19      safety-conscious landfills that we deal with.

 

         20      In addition to that, traffic, though it

 

         21      sometimes might be hard to deal with, does

 

         22      directly impact the local economy.  Our company

 

         23      also does do business with JD Mining, Gulliver

 

         24      Travel Center, National Sand, Ziegler Tire, to

 

         25      name a few.  We interact with all these

 

 

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          1      companies because we are logistically here

 

          2      because of the landfill.

 

          3                       In consequence with the proper

 

          4      zoning and expansion, this will impact our

 

          5      relationships with these companies.  For me, as

 

          6      a result of these companies -- as a result of

 

          7      our company's association with Countywide

 

          8      Landfill, we, myself, our drivers, we do impact

 

          9      the local economy.

 

         10                       In closing, I'd like to thank

 

         11      this room for the opportunity to speak.  As I

 

         12      said in my opening remarks, having a landfill

 

         13      in the community is a hard situation, but if

 

         14      properly managed, which Countywide is

 

         15      absolutely run professionally, the community

 

         16      can grow and economically thrive.  Thank you.

 

         17                       JAMES SELDENRIGHT:  My name is

 

         18      Jim Seldenright.  I live at 2179 Kevin Court in

 

         19      New Philadelphia, Ohio.  I'm also a Tuscarawas

 

         20      County Commissioner.  I'm here representing the

 

         21      majority of the people in the northern part of

 

         22      Tuscarawas County.

 

         23                       I'm not questioning the

 

         24      integrity of Countywide's employees or their

 

         25      operation, I'm just here to speak on the issue

 

 

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          1      of zoning.  People in Pike Township and

 

          2      Lawrence Township have endured the odor the

 

          3      noise and the dust and traffic for over

 

          4      seventeen years.  I don't think there is any

 

          5      argument to that.  Zoning is a very complex

 

          6      issue, and it's a very controversial issue.

 

          7      Only three townships in Tuscarawas County are

 

          8      zoned.  I'm not sure about Stark, but zoning

 

          9      isn't an easy thing to get passed, and the

 

         10      people that pass zoning entrust boards such as

 

         11      yourselves to enforce it once it has been

 

         12      passed.

 

         13                       The people in Lawrence Township

 

         14      don't have a Board of Zoning Appeals to go to

 

         15      on this issue.  They are relying on you to

 

         16      support the people in Pike Township that

 

         17      approve the zoning and uphold the zoning laws

 

         18      and rules that you have in place.  The people

 

         19      of Pike Township and Lawrence Township are

 

         20      looking towards you to make this place a safer

 

         21      place to live.

 

         22                       If zoning rules are enforced,

 

         23      the safety of the residents will come long

 

         24      before the day the ramp will be finished.  The

 

         25      landfill will be at capacity, and the other

 

 

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          1      items -- the odor, the noise and the dust will

 

          2      go away, just like the traffic will go away

 

          3      with a ramp.

 

          4                       You're only solving one of the

 

          5      problems, and that's the traffic.  Let's get

 

          6      rid of all the problems.  Uphold your zoning

 

          7      and let's put the laws to the test.  Thank you.

 

          8                       MARYANN FEARON:  Maryann Fearon

 

          9      from Bolivar, Ohio.  I have been a resident of

 

         10      Bolivar, Ohio for over thirty years.  I am

 

         11      concerned because we live in an area that is

 

         12      historic.  We have Fort Lawrence, we have Zoar,

 

         13      we have the City of Bolivar.  You have Beaver

 

         14      Canal.  You have Bolivar trying to come back

 

         15      with the Renaissance.

 

         16                       You have the Ohio Erie Canal

 

         17      Coalition that is having a towpath from

 

         18      Cleveland to New Philadelphia, Newcomerstown,so

 

         19      that the people from Cleveland and Summit

 

         20      County who send their trash to us can come down

 

         21      and walk right past it on the towpath.  They

 

         22      can then smell that which they have sent to us.

 

         23                       Now I understand that it's safe

 

         24      and it's state-of-the-art, and we said we'll

 

         25      give you your eighty acres.  Then we said we'll

 

 

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          1      give you your hundred, but how long are we

 

          2      going to allow you to keep taking advantage of

 

          3      us?  If other people have trash, then they

 

          4      should have their own places to send it.

 

          5      Summit County didn't want it.  They got

 

          6      together and they said guess what, there is a

 

          7      trash place down there on 77.  We'll be glad to

 

          8      send our trash down there.

 

          9                       You have zoning laws.  We are

 

         10      asking you please uphold those zoning laws.

 

         11      The Ohio Erie Canal Coalition has come forth

 

         12      with a memorandum asking you not to allow the

 

         13      expansion because it affects the beauty of our

 

         14      Tuscarawas County, and you have a lot of

 

         15      history and a lot of people, and soon what you

 

         16      will have is a big mound, a big mountain, and

 

         17      the people can come to look at that because

 

         18      there won't be a whole lot of people around.

 

         19       Thank you.

 

         20                       RONALD STALLMAN:  Good evening.

 

         21      My name is Ronald Stallman.  I live at 1818

 

         22      Haut Street, and all I hear tonight is about

 

         23      the state-of-the-arts of this dump, but I can't

 

         24      understand of all the state-of-the-arts why I

 

         25      have to smell that dump all the time.  I could

 

 

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          1      smell it as far away as Fohl Village and up to

 

          2      Gulliver's, when I go to eat at Wendy's.  And

 

          3      this isn't more than once, but a lot of times

 

          4      at my house it's there.

 

          5                       And there is this one fellow

 

          6      that says about how it stinks at farms and so

 

          7      forth.  Garbage has a smell that you don't want

 

          8      to smell.  It's awful, sour, awful smell, and I

 

          9      don't see why the residents of Pike Township

 

         10      has to smell that.  It's not right, it's not

 

         11      fair.  They are making all the money, and we

 

         12      have to put up with it.

 

         13                       It's not fair, again, and I

 

         14      think you people need to really look at this

 

         15      situation before you decide what you're going

 

         16      to do.  Thank you.

 

         17                       MS. SNYDER:  Mr. chairman?

 

         18                       MR. STRAD:  Yes.

 

         19                       MS. SNYDER:  That was a pike

 

         20      resident, so they might, since we have added

 

         21      people to the list, maybe make sure that we

 

         22      know which ones are Pike residents and non.

 

         23                       MR. STRAD:  Thank you.

 

         24                       Go ahead, sir.

 

         25                       MIKE GLOSS:  My name is Mike

 

 

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          1      Gloss at 1402 Old Drum in Bolivar, and I get

 

          2      the pleasure of looking out my window and

 

          3      seeing the mounds here, and I really empathize

 

          4      with you people today.  You have a really hard

 

          5      job because I came here with a pretty open mind

 

          6      saying, well, I wonder what's going to go on

 

          7      here.

 

          8                       And I'm convinced the dump, or

 

          9      I'm sorry, whatever they call it, landfill, is

 

         10      probably the best in the nation.  I mean I'm

 

         11      sold on it.  I think they do a fine job, and I

 

         12      think these people that work here do a good

 

         13      job, and I think they're safe drivers.  I don't

 

         14      know, I don't smell as much as my wife does,

 

         15      but you know what, that smells like money to

 

         16      me.

 

         17                       These guys all think it's

 

         18      money, don't you?  It smells like money to you,

 

         19      and that's good, but we set a time when we

 

         20      wanted to do this, and I always say everything

 

         21      is good.  Get all the experts to come up here

 

         22      and say how good everything is.  I think 3 Mile

 

         23      Island they did that too and Chernobyl.  I'm

 

         24      worried about my water.  I don't care about the

 

         25      smell, I'm worried about the water.  One little

 

 

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          1      leak goes into the big (inaudible).  Hundreds

 

          2      of thousands of people no longer have water to

 

          3      drink.  You know what that does to my property

 

          4      value?  I'm thinking about me.  Do they have

 

          5      insurance to come in and buy out all of our

 

          6      properties because we can't live there anymore?

 

          7      Fifteen feet, boy, that's pretty good between

 

          8      there and our aquifer.

 

          9                       You're involved in this.  If

 

         10      your water is gone, everything is gone.  Now

 

         11      these people all need jobs, and guess what?

 

         12      Countywide is a pretty good company.  I'm

 

         13      convinced of it.  They brought their lawyers

 

         14      and everything here to help them out.  They'll

 

         15      go somewhere else.  These people will get to

 

         16      move and go someplace else.  If they're lucky

 

         17      they'll go south where it's warm, but they will

 

         18      have a job.

 

         19                       They are not going to put these

 

         20      guys out of work because somebody will take

 

         21      them.  Somebody wants the money coming in, but

 

         22      we've gone as far I think as we need to go.

 

         23      It's a no-brainer.  Do you need it to expand?

 

         24      Absolutely, you got to get them to do it.  Get

 

         25      them to do it right away though.  Don't let

 

 

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          1      them wait because we want it as safe as we can,

 

          2      but I'm really against it because I'm afraid

 

          3      they are going to poison our water.  Thank you.

 

          4                       LETTICIA WRIGHT:  My name is

 

          5      Letticia Wright.  I live at 209 West Jefferson

 

          6      Street in Stone Creek, Ohio.  I'm an employee

 

          7      of Countywide Landfill.  Seven years ago I

 

          8      applied for a job through Flex Team, not

 

          9      knowing where I was going to be working.  They

 

         10      told me to go to Countywide Landfill and to be

 

         11      interviewed.

 

         12                       I was interviewed, and on my

 

         13      way home all I kept thinking about is man, I do

 

         14      not want to work at a landfill.  The more I

 

         15      thought about it, I decided, okay, I would take

 

         16      a job.  I was in college.  I needed money to

 

         17      work -- or for school and stuff.  I gave the

 

         18      lady an answer, and I told her that I would be

 

         19      there approximately one year until I was done

 

         20      with school.  As I said, seven years later I'm

 

         21      still there, not because I have to be, because

 

         22      I want to be.

 

         23                       For the lady that said that

 

         24      somebody up here was lying because of Bolivar

 

         25      not using our baseball field, Bolivar is not

 

 

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          1      the only baseball association in this area.

 

          2       We have two people that have contracts with us

 

          3      to play on the fields this year.  To the lady

 

          4      that said something about the towpath not

 

          5      wanting to come past Countywide because

 

          6      Countywide stunk, up in Akron K & B Compost

 

          7      facility, they take in residential sludge, our

 

          8      waste, and mix it with mulch and stuff like

 

          9      that and make compost out of it.

 

         10                       The towpath, the bike path,

 

         11      everything goes right past that facility.  In

 

         12      the summertime that place reeks.  Nobody wants

 

         13      to be on that, but you know what, they put it

 

         14      there, and they're going to build it right

 

         15      beside Countywide Landfill, and it's going to

 

         16      be fine.  Everybody is going to go by it.

 

         17      Everybody is going to go by it, and there is

 

         18      not going to be a problem.

 

         19                       I'm proud to stand up here and

 

         20      say that I work with the special waste at

 

         21      Countywide, and I wouldn't want to work

 

         22      anywhere else.  Customers call me.  I have

 

         23      customers that go to other landfills, and they

 

         24      call because we are the best landfill in the

 

         25      area.  We do everything possible.

 

 

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          1                       The Pike Township, your

 

          2      trustees had told us before we had to change

 

          3      this, we had to change that.  We've been

 

          4      working on it.  Things don't happen overnight.

 

          5      The ramp, six years ago they were fighting over

 

          6      this ramp when I was beginning work there, and

 

          7      still to this day they're still fighting trying

 

          8      to get this ramp in.  They will say it will be

 

          9      2011.  If we were to work on it six years ago,

 

         10      it would have been two years before the ramp

 

         11      would be put in, and if it was up to Countywide

 

         12      we would put the ramp in tomorrow if possible.

 

         13                       If we could go out there and

 

         14      build the ramp and get the trucks off the road

 

         15      for the safety of the people that live there,

 

         16      we would do it because that's all we are

 

         17      concerned about is the people and the safety.

 

         18       Thank you.

 

         19                       MR. STRAD:  This one is a Pike

 

         20      Township resident.

 

         21                       RON KATT:  My name is Ron Katt,

 

         22      and I live on Battlesburg Road here in Pike

 

         23      Township.  Sounds to me like Countywide is a

 

         24      great, wonderful company to work for.  I hear

 

         25      everybody talk about it.  All their drivers are

 

 

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          1      great people, and they run a high-tech

 

          2      operation over there and so forth.

 

          3                       I think everybody is in favor

 

          4      of a ramp to get the trucks off the county

 

          5      roads, but my concern is if Countywide cannot

 

          6      fix their washing system for their trailers,

 

          7      they can't keep the dust off the roads and they

 

          8      can't eliminate the odor, then why should we

 

          9      give them an expansion permit so that they can

 

         10      continue to pollute the air for the next

 

         11      twenty-five thirty years?  Thank you.

 

         12                       JULI SMITH:  Hi, my name is

 

         13      Juli, and I have been at Republic Waste for

 

         14      five years.  And my first question is do all of

 

         15      you know where your trash actually goes to?  Do

 

         16      you know what landfill it goes to?  I mean can

 

         17      you all actually tell me where it goes to?

 

         18      Have you ever experienced going to a landfill?

 

         19                       I've never in the five years

 

         20      that I have ever been there said that I never

 

         21      liked going to the landfill.  I've been there

 

         22      several times.  I have been to other landfills.

 

         23      This is the only one that I would ever fully

 

         24      say it's fun to be there.  It's great to be

 

         25      there.  There's different things to do there.

 

 

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          1                       Have you ever been there on the

 

          2      ballfield to watch a ballgame?  You guys can

 

          3      sit here and laugh.  Go there.  I understand

 

          4      your pros and cons to it.  I live in Stark

 

          5      County.  I've worked in Massillon and worked

 

          6      right across the street from the waste water

 

          7      treatment plant.  The water treatment plant

 

          8      smells worse than that landfill.  I worked

 

          9      there for five years.

 

         10                       They have spent millions of

 

         11      dollars on that plant across the street that I

 

         12      have lived there all twenty-eight years of my

 

         13      life.  I'm still fine, and I understand your

 

         14      pros and cons to it, but you have to understand

 

         15      where we are coming from too.  Thanks.

 

         16                       TAMARA SANDS:  My name is

 

         17      Tamara Sands.  I am the Environmental

 

         18      Specialist at Countywide Landfill.  I have been

 

         19      there for over five years.  I'd just like you

 

         20      to know that it is my job to keep this facility

 

         21      in compliance with all of its permits, all

 

         22      applicable regulations, and I take great pride

 

         23      in maintaining that status.  My faith, my

 

         24      ethics do not allow me to do anything

 

         25      otherwise.

 

 

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          1                       I realize all of you have a

 

          2      personal investment purely out of proximity and

 

          3      out of your longevity in the area.  Let me

 

          4      assure you that we are making every effort to

 

          5      maintain the status quo and making it better.

 

          6      We are undertaking several projects to improve

 

          7      and enhance our existing systems and will

 

          8      continue do so.

 

          9                       I understand, and I'm sure

 

         10      you're all familiar with the acronym NIMBY.

 

         11      The problem with NIMBY is NIMBY wants to point

 

         12      a finger.  NIMBY does not have a solution.

 

         13      When we all hear every single one of us, for

 

         14      and against, state without any doubt that we

 

         15      recycle one hundred percent of our waste, that

 

         16      is when you will not need a landfill again in

 

         17      your lifetime.  Our society is a throw-away

 

         18      society.  Until each one of us takes

 

         19      responsibility for what we generate, you'll

 

         20      never ever get away from the need for a

 

         21      landfill.

 

         22                       I'm very aware of where our

 

         23      waste comes from.  I'm very proud to say we do

 

         24      not take any out-of-state waste.  We have set

 

         25      capacities.  We ensure that the twenty-six --

 

 

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          1      or thirty-nine counties within our districts

 

          2      has affordable and reasonable disposal capacity

 

          3      so that the residents in the area are never

 

          4      without.

 

          5                       There are several other

 

          6      communities within this state that can't say

 

          7      that, and they have to ship their waste out to

 

          8      a great expense for their residents.  Let me

 

          9      assure you that is not what we want.  We are

 

         10      striving to be the best, maintain the best, and

 

         11      we'll continue to do so.  Thank you.

 

         12                       FRANK BAIR:  My name is Frank

 

         13      Bair.  I'm with Bair Goodin & Associates at 153

 

         14      North Broadway, New Philadelphia, and we've

 

         15      been with Countywide since they started mining

 

         16      and constructing in 1990, and we still are.

 

         17                       When Countywide took over the

 

         18      site in 1990 and started construction, there's

 

         19      been several mining companies in there prior to

 

         20      their existence, and they left mining bits with

 

         21      acid water, they left high walls, spoil piles.

 

         22      Probably a majority of the property was mined

 

         23      at that time and just left for whatever, the

 

         24      state to come in and reclaim it.

 

         25                       When Countywide took over and

 

 

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          1      started constructing the first cell, they

 

          2      immediately also started the reclamation

 

          3      process, and during construction and

 

          4      reclamation, they reclaimed over four hundred

 

          5      acres that somebody else had disturbed  and

 

          6      mined and without -- at their own costs,

 

          7      without costing the taxpayers any money.

 

          8                       Countywide was also

 

          9      instrumental in getting reclaimed approximately

 

         10      eighty acres of the Muskingum Watershed land at

 

         11      no cost to the taxpayers which is east of the

 

         12      Countywide property.  It was mined by a

 

         13      previous owner and not reclaimed, and

 

         14      Countywide was instrumental in that being

 

         15      reclaimed.  Countywide has done a lot of

 

         16      reclamation on the site, backfilled all the

 

         17      other high walls that was previously mined.

 

         18                       They have had and have four

 

         19      mining, they have have four mining permits on

 

         20      the site, and they have an excellent mining

 

         21      inspection rating with the State of Ohio which

 

         22      is regulated under the Department of Natural

 

         23      Resources, and they still have one mining

 

         24      permit on the property.  They have an excellent

 

         25      rapport with the ODNR at this time.

 

 

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          1                       So that's all I got to say.

 

          2                       MATT DAVIES:  Good evening.  My

 

          3      name is Matt Davies.  I'm the Senior Vice

 

          4      President for Environmental Engineering and

 

          5      Compliance for Republic Services.  I am from

 

          6      Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  I've been in the

 

          7      waste business for twenty-five years, and I

 

          8      understand the emotional issues.  I've been

 

          9      involved in probably a hundred fifty landfills

 

         10      across the country.

 

         11                       This is, you know, our

 

         12      employees here, I'm very proud of them.  They

 

         13      provide a service that doesn't get a lot of

 

         14      respect in today's world, but yet everyone here

 

         15      takes their garbage to the curb once or twice a

 

         16      week every week.  And we provide that service

 

         17      in not only collecting it, but safely

 

         18      transporting it and safely disposing of it in

 

         19      our facilities at Republic Services.

 

         20                       You know, we've talked about

 

         21      many, many issues tonight.  I appreciate those

 

         22      issues.  They are of a concern to us.  We work

 

         23      on it constantly.  Our employees here work on

 

         24      it constantly.  We provide the funding for

 

         25      them.  I sign the checks, so I know, okay?  I

 

 

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          1      know the work effort that they put in.  We'll

 

          2      continue to provide that effort.

 

          3                       I heard a number of things this

 

          4      evening that we'll work on starting tomorrow

 

          5      morning starting with our people out there.  We

 

          6      are not perfect.  We are human beings, just

 

          7      like you all here in the audience, but the one

 

          8      thing I can tell you is that it's my

 

          9      responsibility, part of my responsibility is to

 

         10      protect the environment.  I take that very

 

         11      seriously, and I'm a professional.

 

         12                       And I also want to thank all

 

         13      the professionals that came here tonight.  We

 

         14      employ those people.  We touch hundreds of

 

         15      thousands of lives every day just here in

 

         16      Northeast Ohio, okay?  And when you think about

 

         17      me, you might not care what I have to say

 

         18      because I'm from out-of-state, Florida, but I

 

         19      actually grew up here, so I do care about what

 

         20      I do, and we do provide some of the best

 

         21      professional services in the industry today.

 

         22                       So thank you very much.

 

         23                       MR. STRAD:  All right.  That is

 

         24      the end of the comment period here of people

 

         25      that have signed up to speak to us.  At this

 

 

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          1      time I have had a number of letters from people

 

          2      that would like to submit comments to this

 

          3      board, and at this moment I'm going to turn

 

          4      them over to our Court Reporter to enter them

 

          5      into the transcript of tonight's proceedings.

 

          6                       So as of right now, this is the

 

          7      end of the public comment period here.  I am

 

          8      going to make a motion here that we enter into

 

          9      an executive session to confer with our

 

         10      attorney to discuss pending litigation.  The

 

         11      time right now is 7:12 PM.

 

         12                       Do I have a second to that

 

         13      motion?

 

         14                       MR. ANSTINE:  I'll second it.

 

         15                       MR. STRAD:  Bob, you'll second

 

         16      it.  Roll call:  Bob?

 

         17                       MR. ANSTINE:  Yes.

 

         18                       MR. STRAD:  Doug?

 

         19                       MR. BAUM:  Yes.

 

         20                       MR. STRAD:  And Lee, yes.  We

 

         21      will come back here with the possibility of

 

         22      some action being taken.  We don't know how

 

         23      long we're going to be, so we are going into

 

         24      executive session.  Thank you.

 

         25                       (Recess was had and meeting was

 

 

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          1      resumed at 8:15 PM.)

 

          2                       MR. STRAD:  Do I have a motion

 

          3      to adjourn executive session?

 

          4                       MR. ANSTINE:  So moved.

 

          5                       MS. PERRINE:  Second.

 

          6                       MR. STRAD:  The time is 8:15.

 

          7      The vote will be Bob?

 

          8                       MR. ANSTINE:  Yes.

 

          9                       MR. STRAD:  Doug?

 

         10                       MR. BAUM:  Yes.

 

         11                       MR. STRAD:  And Lee, yes.

 

         12      Okay.  We as a board try to -- the trustees

 

         13      tried very hard to do what we think is best.

 

         14      Doug, would you like to read a prepared

 

         15      statement here?

 

         16                       MR. BAUM:  First I have my

 

         17      personal comments.  I've been a trustee a

 

         18      little over four years.  I have learned a lot

 

         19      about what we can and cannot restrict as a

 

         20      township.  You cannot restrict truck traffic in

 

         21      and around Countywide Landfill.  They have had

 

         22      an agreement with the Solid Waste District

 

         23      since October 6th of 1990.

 

         24                       We also cannot demand that the

 

         25      Waste District pay for the funding of the ramp,

 

 

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          1      which I personally feel should have been taken

 

          2      care of long ago, but I have no control over

 

          3      the decisions made by the Solid Waste District.

 

          4      This could be the only chance we have to get

 

          5      full funding for the ramp, and I'll give my

 

          6      full support to this agreement, take the burden

 

          7      off -- to take the burden of truck traffic off

 

          8      the local roads and give the residents of the

 

          9      existing haul route a sense of normalcy.

 

         10                       As far as the odor, we have

 

         11      learned that the township has little control,

 

         12      and I also wonder how much control anyone has,

 

         13      but I can assure Countywide that I will

 

         14      continue to work and assist residents in trying

 

         15      to control the odor through the Health

 

         16      Department and other means available.

 

         17                       And then I have a proposed

 

         18      resolution.  The board has considered the

 

         19      comments and other information available,

 

         20      including but not limited to the following:

 

         21      Ohio EPA, who are the technical experts in the

 

         22      area of landfill siting, have approved

 

         23      Republic's expansion plan; the history of

 

         24      Countywide Landfill operations; the Pike

 

         25      Township residents' concerns regarding truck

 

 

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          1      traffic on township and county roads, the

 

          2      desire by Pike Township to retain some control

 

          3      over Countywide's operations, especially hours

 

          4      of operation; the potential risks to the

 

          5      township in litigating the original and amended

 

          6      complaint as advised by counsel; the fact that

 

          7      we, the public, will fund entirely, if

 

          8      necessary, the cost of the ramp mentioned in

 

          9      the proposed settlement agreement.  The board

 

         10      has duly elected -- as duly elected

 

         11      representatives, charged with the duty to act

 

         12      for their constituents, has determined that the

 

         13      best interests for Pike Township would be

 

         14      served by approving the proposed settlement

 

         15      agreement by submitting it to Judge Sinclair

 

         16      and asking him to find it fair and reasonable.

 

         17      That's in the form of a resolution.

 

         18                       MR. STRAD:  Do I have a second

 

         19      to that motion?

 

         20                       MR. ANSTINE:  I second it.

 

         21                       MR. STRAD:  Seconded by Bob

 

         22      Anstine.  Roll call vote:  Bob?

 

         23                       MR. ANSTINE:  Yes.

 

         24                       MR. STRAD:  Doug?

 

         25                       MR. BAUM:  Yes.

 

 

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          1                       MR. STRAD:  And Lee Strad, yes.

 

          2      This concludes tonight's meeting of the Pike

 

          3      Township Board of Trustees.  We thank you for

 

          4      coming.  Do I have a motion to adjourn?

 

          5                       MR. ANSTINE:  So moved.

 

          6                       MR. STRAD:  Do I have a second?

 

          7                       MR. BAUM:  Second, yes.

 

          8                       MR. STRAD:  The time is 8:19

 

          9      PM.  Thank you.

 

         10                       MR. BURKHART:  I have a motion

 

         11      to adjourn -- I make a motion we adjourn.

 

         12      Second?

 

         13                       MR. GROOMS:  Second.

 

         14                       MS. SNYDER:  Second.

 

         15                       MR. BURKHART:  Nancy?

 

         16                       MS. SNYDER:  Yes.

 

         17                       MR. BURKHART:  Audrey?

 

         18                       MS. MALAVITE:  Yes.

 

         19                       MR. BURKHART:  Jerry?

 

         20                       MR. EIBEL:  Yes.

 

         21                       MR. BURKHART:  Lou?

 

         22                       MR. GROOMS:  Yes.

 

         23                       MR. BURKHART:  Bob?

 

         24                       MR. MILLER:  Yes.

 

         25                      - - - - - - -

 

 

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          1                  C E R T I F I C A T E

 

          2   STATE OF OHIO   )

                              )

          3   STARK COUNTY    )

 

          4      I, Lisa L. Elliott, a Registered Professional

 

          5   Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of

 

          6   Ohio, duly commissioned and qualified, do hereby

 

          7   certify that the meeting taken was by me, reduced

 

          8   to stenotypy, afterwards transcribed upon a

 

          9   computer, and that the foregoing hearing is a true

 

         10   and correct transcription of the testimony so given

 

         11   as aforesaid.

 

         12      I do further certify that this meeting was

 

         13   taken at the time and place in the foregoing

 

         14   caption specified.

 

         15      I do further certify that I am not a relative,

 

         16   Counsel or attorney of either party, nor otherwise

 

         17   interested in the event of this action.

 

         18      IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand

 

         19   and affixed my seal of office at Canton, Ohio on

 

         20   this 29th day of March, 2006.

 

         21               _____________________________

                          Lisa L. Elliott, RPR & Notary

         22               My commission expires 5/22/06

 

         23

 

         24

 

         25

 

 

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