Public Hearing, April 30^th, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.

A Public Hearing in respect to rezoning of 230 acres from Residential to Waste Management was held. Chairman Mills called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Those present were Mr. Mills, Mr. Pruden, Mr. Russell, Fiscal Officer Long and Zoning Inspector Cerjan.

Mr. Evan Jahn of Waste Management presented an overview of the area included in the rezoning indicating the outside borders.50% of it would be used for solid waste, the old landfill would be reclaimed, which is approximately 23 acres of land. They would relocate the old waste into new liner system, height would match the present height at it’s highest point within the landfill. He also covered the building of a walking trail around the landfill in the buffer zone between the residential properties and the landfill.

Cory Hudson of 4501 Jamison Lane spoke in favor and support of the landfill and the fact that he uses it quite often. He also felt that increasing the life would be a benefit to the area.

Carolyn Riley of 2916 Sexton Rd. presented her opposition to the landfill. Again stating areas such as toxic releases. What would be the effect on the Community if the proposed expansion is approved, it continued to indicate that Ohio and the US EPA cannot be trusted and asked the Trustees to reconsider the proposal.

Next was Gean Moeller of 2001 Tuttle Rd. Gean presented a series of documents to be entered into the record which are attached. He also indicated that the complaints that have been forwarded to the Trustees and a number of agencies throughout the State have gone on deaf ears and nothing has been done.

Jan Moeller of 2001 Tuttle Rd. presented the fact that the expansion will quell any new housing development in the area. She also asked how many times the Trustees have met with the people. Mr. Russell indicated that he had met at their house. Mr. Mills pointed out that he has received numerous calls from Ms Moeller on numerous occasions and she will never leave a telephone number where he can return her calls.

It was also indicated that numerous meetings have been held with Mr. Ray Saperito of the Health Dept. and the landfill itself. Both Gean and Jan Moeller are obviously against the rezoning. Ms Moeller indicated that there is not any common sense being applied. That it is not about the people and protecting water, air, etc. and was extremely critical of the Health Dept. and a number of other agencies who over see the landfill. She also indicated that we were not looking at the future of the area.

Next was Jeff Fornash of 8150 Depot Rd. located in Saybrook Township. He simply inquired about water testing within the area in respect to the quality of water and if there was some appropriate setup within the County. It was indicated that we get an annual report from the Health Dept. and on occasion the Health Dept. has tested numerous wells within the area.

Sherry Whitmire of 4850 S. Ridge E. seemed to indicate that the Trustees are only considering the financial gain from having the landfill in the area rather than the people with serious complaints. It was pointed out that the financial aspect is not the main consideration of the Trustees, however it has contributed to the progress within the Township in respect to paving of roads etc. It was also indicated that the Trustees must consider all of the residents within the Township, not only those located near the landfill.

Mr. Pruden then explained the Referandum procedure if a number of people were against whatever the final outcome would be.

Denise Woodworth of 2721 Sexton Rd. was opposed to the expansion, she has indicated she has invited the Zoning Board to her home and couldn’t understand why no one has accepted their invitation.

Tom Riley of 2916 Sexton Rd. indicated that information from Waste Management indicated it was to close in 6 years and planned to be a Ski Resort, which has not taken place. He also indicated that weight limits on Tuttle Rd. were being ignored by trucks that are overloaded.

Herb Kerhwan of 2146 Wheeler Creek Rd., a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals indicated he has a number of meetings at the landfill, has visited the landfill many many times and has not found it to be as indicated by those who oppose the landfill.

Dick Thomas of 2471 W. Main in Geneva indicated he acted as the agent for Waste Management with approximately 7 rental properties that were owned by Waste Management within the area. He indicated those tenants in those properties lasted longer and never had a problem with the landfill. Those tenants always indicated that the operation was good and that none had any problem. He also indicated we have benefited from the landfill including the people who have lived near it.

Steven Colgan of 4444 S. Ridge E. indicated that the expansion would have an economic impact and questioned who is going to buy his house with the landfill in his backyard. He indicated that the landfill should compensate him to move, he also indicated their property values would start to go down.

Kathryn Colgen, Mr. Colgen’s wife indicated that we should protect their property and that Geneva Township is for sale. She also indicated that the Conditional Use Permit issued by the Township is useless and indicated that the additional requirements of the Conditional Use Permit have not been enforced. The Colgens indicated that they had spent $70,000 recently to upgrade their home and are extremely concerned about the value of their property if the expansion should take place.

Carolyn Riley of 2916 Sexton Rd. indicated that it was her feeling that the previous expansion was approved based upon information provided by Waste Management that said it would close in 6 years and there would be no further expansion. It was the opinion of the Trustees that that did not have an effect on the decision that was made.

It was pointed out that someone from Waste Management went door to door delivering that message, it was pointed out by Evan Jahn of Waste Management that someone had put together fliers and had distributed them to the neighbor indicating a number of erroneous statements in respect to the operation of the landfill. This flier was apparently prepared and distributed by someone within the neighborhood.

Mr. Pruden presented a letter from Bill Stern, a member of the Zoning Board and a copy of that letter is attached to these minutes. Evan Jahn was asked what would happen to the landfill if the Zoning Proposed was not approved, he indicated in all probability the landfill would close and it must be monitored for 30 years. The question was asked if it could become a transfer station, he indicated it would where trucks would come into the present Waste Management facility, unload and the trash would be loaded onto larger trucks, transported to another landfill somewhere out of the County. This indicated that there would be a traffic increase in all likelihood. The other question was what would happen to the land around the transfer station, it would still be owned by Waste Management.

The question was also posed to Waste Management in respect to the estimated 740 tons a day that is anticipated in respect to that increasing, the indication was that the probability would be with the increase of waste being produced by the residents in the County that it would increase over a period of time and again would reduce the life of the landfill from the estimated 75 years.

A question was also asked in respect to how do we address the out-of-state waste, the question of what was next after rezoning, the process would be to file for a Conditional Use Permit and proceed in that direction.

Mr. Russell also asked the question as to how many trucks per day, it was estimated 80 to 100 trucks per day presently go to the landfill. He also asked the question of how often does the Health Dept. visit the landfill, Mr. Jahns indicated they usually will come with the EPA sometimes once a week or in some cases more, in some cases multiple times within a day. It was estimated that they probably visit the landfill somewhere between 40 and 50 times per year. It was also indicated the landfill is licensed annually by the Health Dept. Ohio EPA makes periodic visits without notification as does the Division of Air, Division of Solid Waste. They have taken samples and continued to monitor the landfill.

Mr. Russell asked how long it would take to relocate the old landfill, it was estimated at least 3 to 4 months, it would predominately be done during the winter months.

The question of the Residents Committee was brought up again, it was indicated by a number of residents that they would only be interested if there were representatives attending who could answer the questions that they had. The question of vacating Tuttle Rd. was brought up, Mr. Jahns indicated that he had checked with the County Engineer, Tim Martin and that there is a process to vacate the road.

On a motion by Mr. Pruden, seconded by Mr. Russell, it was decided to continue the Public Hearing on May 14^th, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. prior to the normally scheduled Trustee’s Meeting.

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