Amherst News-Times, 1999-07-07

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Electric switch wanted - Page 2
Churches to unite - Page 5
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Amherst News-Time
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Wednesday, July 7, 1999
Amherst, Ohio
I
"Sewer to nowhere" may end up in Amherst
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by QLEN MLLER
News-Times reporter
Engineering information on linking the county's "sewer to nowhere"
to city sewers has been requested to
help the Lorain County Commissioners decide if it is the best and
least costly solution for providing
waste treatment
The request for additional engineering information was made by
the commissioners during a July 1
meeting with city officials and representatives of other treatment
solutions.
The information is expected to be
presented to the commisioners in
about two weeks.
Mayor John Higgins said he believes the Amherst link offers a financial solution to the city's required update of its waste water
treatment plant and resolves those
associated with the county's sewer
to nowhere as well.
Not only is il the least expensive
solution, $2.93 million, it is generally favored over a county treatment
plant and ecological treatment system by the Environmental Protection Agency, he added.
The proposed ecological treatment system would cost about $3
million and construction of a county
treatment facility at least S3 million
plus the cost of land for it. A tie-in
with Lorain's sewer system would
cost nearly $5.8 million.
The only possible roadblock to
the Amherst link is annexation. The
city won't allow the connection unless the commissioners agree to annex the Rt. 58 Amherst Township
land to be served by the unconnected sewer.
The area for which annexation is
sought is mainly located along Rt.
58 north of the turnpike.
The tap-in and user fees paid by
new economic and industrial customers that locate in the area would
help pay for a multi-million dollar
upgrade of Amherst's treatment
plant. It also would drastically reduce the fees existing Amherst customers would have to pay to finance
the EPA mandated improvements,
the mayor said.
Commissioner Michael Ross requested the Amherst engineering in-
Group concerned city
appears anti-business
by QLEN MILLER
News-Times reporter
The Amherst Downtown Business Association (ADBA) has written a letter to the city administration
expressing concern over a perceived
"hostile business atmosphere" that
has resulted from the prosecution of
Crystal Mortgage.
The letter was written last week
with the unanimous consent of association members. It does not mention the company or that it has been
accused of allegedly failing to pay
its 1997 city income taxes.
But David Fox, ADBA coordinator, said the letter was prompted by
Crystal Mortgage president David
. Moore's decision to close the firm's
first floor sales office in the Moore
Financial Center on S. Main Street
It was moved to an Elyria location near Midway Mall last week
because of what Moore previously
said he sees as a hostile business environment stemming from the city's
legal action against the firm.
The mortgage company's second
floor corporate offices will remain
on the second floor of the financial
center.
The News-Times previously reported the move was pending because Moore fell the prosecution
was unwarranted.
The ADBA's letter was not politically motivated. Fox added.
It expresses concern over the
"perceived hostile business atmosphere" that has developed as a result of the charges and calls for a
prompt resolution to the case.
"It is important to us that Amherst is perceived as a friendly host
to business, especially in the downtown area now that we plan to embark on the Main Street USA program," the letter says.
It also says the association wants
to avoid being "judgmental" because it is unaware of all the facts in
the case. Regardless, it wants the
city administration "to be aware of
our deep concern."
The letter notes the closing of the
sales office has resulted in the loss
of 17 or more employees from
downtown AmhersL This is seen as
CONTINUED on page 5
Rev. Willis Hall named
Faith Baptist minister
by QLEN MLLER
News-Times reporter
Until recently, the Rev. Willis
Hall has been a traveling man, a
mission he gladly undertook 16
years ago to help spread the word of
Ood across the country.
Now, Ihe 68-year-old minister has
come home to stay as the new pastor
of the Faith Baptist Church on
North Lake Street
Hall, of Elyria, officially took
over as pastor last month after years
of traveling and preaching to Baptist
churches between New England and
Alaska. He succeeds the Rev.
Robert Barrett, who retired after 36
years of ministering.
It was Hall's desire to establish
roots near his long-time Elyria home
and the Amherst congregation's liking of him that ended his thousands
of miles of travel.
It just so happened he wasn't
ttfwafaijtri to be on the road in January and February, so he agreed to
fill in at the pulpit for the retired
Barrett. The congregation liked
what they saw and heard, and ap-
proached him to be their new pastor.
"I'm sure there was a guiding
hand in all of this," he said. "I had
no intention of becoming a pastor
again, but I found them (the congregation) to be responsive and kind."
And he has no immediate plans to
retire despite his age and many
years of service to Ood.
"I enjoy preaching and ministering, so I really feel the Lord has
work for me to do yet," Hall
formation but also suggested the
county make another attempt at negotiating a tie-in with Lorain's
sewers.
The $3 million county sewer was
laid more than two years ago along
parts of Rt 58 and Middle Ridge
Road to help facilitate development
expected from the forthcoming turnpike interchange on Rt. 58. It was
rendered useless because of Lorain's refusal to permit it to be connected to its overloaded sewer
system.
An Ohio EPA spokesman confirmed the agency generally favors
the city link because it would provide the "easiest satisfactory solution" if the city can show its waste
water treatment plant can handle the
additional affluent and avoid pollution along the Beaver Creek.
The Amherst link also is favored
by Consolidated Investors Group,
owner of about approximately 250
acres of vacant Rt. 58 land.
Higgins said the Amherst option
would eliminate the county's need
to invest a considerable amount of
money on waste water treatment facilities and the employees to run
them.
"The city is already in the business. There's no need at all for the
county to get into it too," he added.
Higgins said the,city must upgrade its plant to meet new U.S.
EPA treatment standards set for facilities discharging into creeks or
rivers. These regulations must be
He drives Ihe 12 miles between
Ms Elyria home aad the church every day but hasn't discounted the
possibly of moving to Amherst.
It basis flying cross country or
drM^teraaiOWoori
Rev. Willis Hall
state, something he accepted as a
part of his traveling ministry. It was
a little like an old fashioned revival.
The pastors of churches usually invited him to preach at their churches
for a week or less.
He liked it, although there was
one draw back. Hall didn't get to
know the people to which he ministered as much as he wanted because
his slays usually were short
All the time he maintained his
home in Elyria while his wife. Ruth,
taught school. Now retired, she was
an English teacher at Avon High
School and also taught at the Baptist
school her husband oversaw as a
former Elyria pastor.
"It is always nice to come home,
but I enjoyed seeing the country and
preaching and Htrhiwg, to different
coogregations,M he wandaed II
was as much aa educational experience far me as it was for the people
I
on aeael
The vigilant Recycleman and his cohorts strike
a victorious pose as they set out to inform Am-
H- '•''*>'
herst about recyclina
Recycling superhero will
promote blue bag program
Don't flip out if you see a character walking around Amherst in a
green and gold super hero suit.
He's Recycleman, a mysterious
character whose sole purpose in life
is promoting the virtues of recycling
amongst a populace which tends to
throw away everything and
anything.
Lite Batman and Robin, he's also
the star of his own locally produced
TV show made by Amherst City
Cable.
His immedii-te goal, according to
cky auditor Diane Eswine, is to convince people io use the city's blue
bag recycling program. Blue trash
bags are the ones the city and
Browning Penis Industries (BFI)
enoourage people use for discarding
recyclable mat*rials like newspapers, ihimamm cans and glass.
The city provides blue bags to every household in Amherst whether
they are used or not The trouble is
so that's why Recycleman
to town.
"We fosl r s very
people use their blue bags and start
recycling if they haven't already,"
Eswine said. "He's here to tell them
why they should."
The caped crusader wears a little
green mask, a green and gold cape
and suit.
"He's bound to pop up here and
there just about any place,'* she explained. "He warns to make sure
people are recycling and, if not, tell
them why they should.'*
There's only one problem. The
suit he wears is hot because it's
made of the same kind of material
as a wet suit That can make his job
really hot at times, although Eswine
said he'll endure. After all he's on a
mission lo help rescue the Amherst
area from trash, she added.
Eswine has anumed the role of
spiAesperaoa for the recycling hero.
Recycleman made his Im super
appearance in June while taping a
segment oa recycling at BFI s recycling center near Obertin, she said.
It-Crested people can follow Ms
exploit* oa Amhent Cay Cable.
He was a* town lest Saturday,
video taping segments about recycling tires that will be aired on the
cable station in the next several
weeks.
The idea for Recycleman was
bom out the city's $125,000 recycling grant from Ihe Lorain County
Solid Waste Management Agency.
As a pan of it, the city offered to
provide education about recycling.
At the suggestion of cable TV
station manager Chariene Duncan,
Eswine said the city decided to produce and broadcast a series of educational segments about recycling
and the blue bag program.
Various people, including Eswine. have volunteered to play characters in each of the Recycleman
episodes featuring various aspects
of how materials can be recycled.
updated every five years, the mayor
said.
Another alternative would be for
the city to discharge treated affluent
into Lake Erie by laying a sewer
line from the plant to the lake.
Although the cost would exceed
$1 million, Higgins said it is a better
long-term solution because EPA
discharge standards for Lake Erie
are not as stringent or cosdy as
those for creeks and rivers.
To afford this, the city needs tte
additional revenue from more customers. The proposed tie-in along
with the annexation would make
this possible without significantly
raising rates of customers, he
explained.
City will
investigate
fencing
for ponds-
by QLEN MLLER
News-Times reporter
A plea to consider the safety of
children has prompted city officials
to reconsider an ordinance which
does not include fencing around retention ponds.
At the urging of Amhent resident
Ken KeDiher, city council decided
June 28 to send an ordinance on the
placement of protective fences around water sources back to its
buildings and grounds committee
for further consideration.
The ordinance required fences around swimming pools and not detention ponds often used in housing
subdivisions to control water.
Kelliher said he feared the lack of
fences could result in a drowning
should a small child wander into a
subdivision retention or detention
pond.
The ponds, which can be several
feet deep, must be built by subdivision developers to alleviate the risk
of basement of yard flooding from
rain water run off.
Kelliher, who lives near a detention pond, said he failed to see the
logic in not requiring fences around
the ponds, especially when small
children may find them an inviting
place to play.
He contends the sloped edges of
the ponds could prove to be hard for
an adventurous small child to climb
out of should they become slippery
or covered with weeds and slime.
Council's buildings and grounds
committee recommended elimination of fences because it and city administrators felt a 15-year-old law
was too vague and hard io enforce.
It required fences around all waief
sources, including swimming poooi,
natural ponds and creeks.
Mayor John Higgins said hp
understood KeUiher's motive but,
feared the city could be held liable
for not ensuring the upkeep of pond
fences.
Law director Alan Anderson said
the maintenance of the ponds aad
the fences would be the responsibility of the residents oa whose property they are located.
Regardless, the ntayor said the
city still would be reaponsable ktt
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