5/3/2012 - South Side Leader
     

DOWNTOWN AKRON — Summit County Council voted in favor of a resolution that asks state lawmakers to regulate high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and allow communities to have some authority over the process.

Council voted 8-3 during the April 30 meeting in favor of the resolution. Council members Tim Crawford (D-District 7), Bill Roemer (R-at large) and Gloria Rodgers (R-District 3) were opposed.

The resolution urges the state to enact “reasonable regulations” on fracking and also asks that the state enact laws that return “some regulatory authority to county and local jurisdictions.”

There was no discussion on the resolution, which was discussed during the previous week’s Public Works Committee meeting.

During that meeting, Rodgers and Roemer said they didn’t think the resolution is necessary because of Senate Bill 315, which is Gov. John Kasich’s energy bill.

In a follow-up interview, Crawford said he is concerned about fracking’s impact on the environment, but he doesn’t think giving communities the chance to make their own rules on the process would be productive. He noted a situation that happened with drilling when he served as mayor of Norton.

“We were in a situation out here where people on the other side of Medina Line Road were drilling and our people were not,” he said. “The same nightmare could happen now.”

He said in his district, which includes New Franklin, Norton, Barberton and Clinton, the close proximity to Stark and Wayne counties means they could be affected if those counties were to have more lax regulations on fracking.

“I think the only way to resolve this is across borders,” Crawford said.

County Executive Russ Pry and Council members Sandra Kurt (D-at large), Ilene Shapiro (D-at large) and Paula Prentice (D-District 8) sponsored the resolution.

Also Monday, Council adopted a resolution allowing Pry’s office to enter into an agreement for acquisition of right-of-way easements at a cost of $1,000 for installation of a traffic signal and improvements to the intersection of Canton Road and Springfield Lake Drive in the communities of Lakemore and Springfield.

In addition, Council adopted a resolution awarding a contract to P.S. Construction Fabrics for the crack-sealing program for 2012, which will see work in Springfield and Akron.

Council also adopted a resolution for a two-year contract with Waste Management for trash collection at most county facilities for $84,987. The contract does not include service to facilities operated by the Engineer’s Office, Children Services and the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, which contract for their own trash removal, according to county officials.

Also, Council adopted on first reading a resolution authorizing a collective bargaining agreement with the service and maintenance workers in the Engineer’s Office from April 1 of this year through March 31, 2015.

Summit County Council will meet for committee meetings May 7 at 4:30 p.m. in Council Chambers on the seventh floor of the Ohio Building, 175 S. Main St.

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