LOGAN — Thursday morning, in response to significant public opposition at last week’s public hearing, the Hocking County Commissioners unanimously voted down the Athens-Hocking Solid Waste District’s (AHSWD) $24 annual improved parcel fee.
After the vote, the Athens County Commissioners held their own meeting in Athens and voted to table the matter. According to President Lenny Elliason, the vote was rendered mute as both member counties had to agree in order to pass the fee.
The upshot is that landowners will not have to pay an equivalent of $2 monthly on each parcel owned to supplement the district’s efforts in recycling and trash clean-up; beyond that, it puts the district in an uncertain financial position moving forward, and may lead to increased trash rates for consumers, due to increased hauler fees at landfills.
It also puts an end to the feasibility of the solid waste district’s hopes of purchasing the remaining debt on the Athens-Hocking Recycling Center (AHRC) building, placing its future ownership in doubt. There are no other material recovery facilities (MRFs) across the two member counties, and its potential closure would mean a longer route for recyclable materials to travel. The next closest MRF is in Columbus.
Commissioner Sandra Ogle opened the meeting Thursday by acknowledging that she “made a mistake,” in stating that the AHSWD had “helped supplement” the Athens-Hocking Recycling Center. The misperception that the AHRC was “government subsidized” led to some choice words by angry residents at last week’s parcel fee public hearing.
Jane Forrest Redfern, executive director of the AHSWD, made a last plea to see the parcel fee passed at the county commissioner’s meeting. She tracked the steps that led to its preliminary passage by the district’s policy committee, a board made up equally of Athens and Hocking County officials and residents.
“This 24 dollars, or any amount, was not taken lightly… The policy committee over the last 22 months was informed by the best and brightest in the solid waste field,” Redfern said.
Included on that board, which passed the parcel fee unanimously, was county commissioner Michael Linton, who this week voted down the measure, along with commissioners Ogle and Jason D’Onofrio.
“We should not be making the decision (to add a parcel fee) on behalf of individuals,” he explained after the vote.
Redfern was emotional during her brief presentation, particularly at allegations raised during the public hearing, and apparently online, that she had “misappropriated” the district’s funds.
The director was not part of the previous 15-year plan for the solid waste district, adopted in 2020. Approved by the Ohio EPA, that plan mandated that the solid waste district spend down its significant surplus from its split with AHRC around 2013, prior to any increase in generation and tiered fees — part of why landfills have continued to operate with some of the lowest rates in the state of Ohio.
The spending down of debt, Redfern explained, helped supplement the district’s nearly-free used tire disposal, its trash clean up efforts across Athens and Hocking, and other programs that go beyond its baseline mandate to recycle 25% of solid waste in the district.
On a separate note, Redfern drafted her 15-year plan without the aid of a consultant, also saving the district a significant chunk of money.
Jurisdictions across the two counties will now take a look at increasing generation and tiered fees at landfills, priced according to tonnage. If that fails to pass, the Ohio EPA will step in and mandate how the district funds itself to meet recycling requirements.
Email at rmorris@logandaily.com
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