6/28/2012 - West Side Leader
     

City of Cuyahoga Falls officials believe the vacation of two roadways would be costly for numerous reasons.

At the June 25 meeting, Falls Council introduced a resolution urging Summit County Council to reject pending legislation to vacate Wetmore and Oak Hill roads in Boston Township.

According to city officials, Wetmore and Oak Hill are school transportation routes and used by the Falls Fire Department to access portions of the city through Boston Township and as routes for mutual aid response.

The National Park Service (NPS), which owns almost all the property abutting Wetmore and Oak Hill, also opposes the vacation of the roadways, city officials said. The NPS has indicated it would be unable to maintain the road for general public use and would be forced to close the road to general traffic, except park facility access needs, if the vacation is approved by County Council, the proposed legislation states.

The closing of Wetmore Road would require the fire department to redirect response routes to other roads, which could increase emergency response times to portions of the Falls, according to city officials. Because the city would continue to maintain its portion of Wetmore, there would need to be a turn-around constructed for plows and maintenance vehicles near the closure point.

The portion of Oak Hill Road within the Falls is populated with numerous homes that would be cut off from the fire department’s most direct access route, if the road closed, city officials report.

Boston Township trustees at the June 13 trustees meeting made a formal request for the Summit County Engineer’s Office to close a portion of Oak Hill Road for safety reasons and to establish a detour.

A landslide has eroded a portion of the road, making it unsafe for two-way traffic. The lane affected by the landslide has been blocked off, trustees said.

The Summit County Engineer’s Office recommends the Falls annex portions of Wetmore and Oak Hill to allow the city to keep the roads open and provide the maintenance and improvements to keep the roads open and in good repair, at its own expense, according to the proposed resolution. The Engineer’s Office has estimated the cost to provide repairs and improvements to the Boston Township portion of the roads is $560,000 for Wetmore and $1.3 million for Oak Hill, city officials said.

The proposed legislation urges County Council to reject its proposed resolution to vacate the roads until all parties, including the Falls, Boston Township, the NPS and Metro Parks, Serving Summit County have exhausted all avenues of cooperation that might lead to a plan.

Also during the meeting, Council voted 10-1, with Councilwoman Carol Klinger (R-at large) voting “no,” to modify the city’s contract with Portage Crossing LCC. Portage Crossing LCC is part of Stark Enterprises, the developer of the planned Portage Crossing shopping center at the site of the former State Road Shopping Center. Klinger has said in the past she was not in favor of some of the arrangements made with Stark Enterprises. She has said the city’s investment in the project has been too costly.

City officials said the contract needed to be amended to reflect changes made to the project during the past two years, including an increase in the amount of retail space from 279,000 square feet to 392,000 square feet. According to the approved legislation, Portage Crossing now will be developed in one phase instead of two and has a value of $58 million, opposed to the original estimated amount of about $40 million. City officials said the contract amendment also shows an increase in the tax increment financing, from about $171,000 to about $348,000, to be received by the Cuyahoga Falls City School District.

Also during the meeting, Council approved the construction of public improvements along State Road between Graham Road and Schiller Avenue; Portage Trail between Norma Street and 25th Street; and on Lillis Drive. The improvements will include the construction of roadways, curbs, sidewalks, sanitary and storm sewers, water mains, traffic-control devices, street lighting and landscaping, according to the ordinance.

Council also approved legislation expressing Council’s support for the Summit County Food Charter, a local organization dedicated to improving healthy food access to all county residents, according to city officials.

Additionally during the regular meeting, Council approved a site plan related to the construction of a 45,725-square-foot building at 70 Marc Drive for the reconstruction of Technicote Inc., an adhesives manufacturer. A fire Dec. 16 destroyed the bulk of Technicote’s current plant. The new structure will be larger than the former building and have more employees, according to city officials.

Council also approved the rescheduling of the regular and committee meetings in July. Council will not meet July 2. Council now will hold committee meetings July 9 and 23 and regular meetings July 16 and July 30, all at 6:30 p.m. at the Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium, 2345 Fourth St.

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