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South Side News & Notes

7/12/2012 - South Side Leader
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By Staff Writer

Green to host electronic waste recycle, document shredding events

GREEN — City of Green officials will host the city’s second annual electronic waste drop-off tomorrow, July 14, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Central Administration Building (CAB), 1755 Town Park Blvd.

Items accepted at the event will include: computers, printers, cable boxes, TVs up to 40 inches, telephones, keyboards, fax machines, switches, batteries and more. For a complete list of accepted items, visit www.cityofgreen.org.

The recycling event is for residents of Green only, and a driver’s license and current utility bill will be required as proof of residency.

Also, on Aug. 11, city officials and the Summit-Akron Solid Waste Management Authority will present a Document Shredding Day, also at the CAB, from 9 a.m. to noon. A maximum of 10 file boxes or bags will be accepted from each person or business.

Both events are free of charge. For more information, visit the city’s website.

Akron approves amendment to Coventry JEDD

AKRON — After a public hearing July 9, Akron City Council approved amending the North Turkeyfoot Redevelopment Area Plan involving a Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) agreement between Akron and Coventry.

According to the legislation, the amendment is a result of research based on reports that certain conditions in the area have retarded and impeded its growth. City officials added that the amendment will add a 19-acre triangular parcel on North Turkeyfoot Road, west of South Main Street, and would result in possible infrastructure improvements, as well as the creation of jobs.

Council also approved the following items:

• an ordinance to execute oil and/or gas lease agreements for the mineral rights of 24 acres on the north side of Exeter Road and east side of South Arlington Street in South Akron. Council member Jeff Fusco (at large) said the city would earn $500 an acre and receive royalty payments of 15 percent in the gross revenue; and

• the recommendations of the Tax Incentive Review Council regarding the continuation of tax increment financing agreements involving several area schools, including Springfield Local Schools.

The next regular Council meeting is set for July 16 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers, located on the third floor of the Akron Municipal Building, 166 S. High St.

Court brings backlicense amnesty program

BARBERTON — Barberton Municipal Court Clerk Diana Stevenson has announced the court once again will offer the License Forfeiture Amnesty Program.

The program allows citizens whose driver’s licenses have been forfeited for not paying court fines and costs to pay half of the amount owed and receive their license back.

Those who participate also will be required to participate in a monthly payment plan for the remainder of the amount they owe, court officials said. Defendants are subject to future license forfeitures if they do not make timely monthly payments, the officials added.

The program is available through Aug. 31. Payments can be made online at www.cityofbarberton.com/clerkof courts. Payments also may be made in person Mondays through Fridays between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and Saturdays between 8 and 11:30 a.m. The clerk’s office accepts checks, money orders, cash, Visa and MasterCard. Payments may be mailed to 576 W. Park Ave., Barberton, OH 44203.

The court serves the communities of Copley, Norton, Barberton, Coventry, Clinton, Green and New Franklin. For more information, call 330-861-7191.

Real estate tax relief available for storm damage

SUMMIT COUNTY — Summit County officials are reminding residents that real estate tax relief is available for those whose properties sustained damages in recent storms.

Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise’s office reported that anyone with property damage from this month’s storms should file an Application for Valuation Deduction for Destroyed or Damaged Real Property. The forms are available through the Fiscal Office by calling 330-643-2710, emailing the office at summittreas@summitohio.net or by going to the website fiscaloffice.summitoh.net to download the application DTE 26. Completed forms should be returned to the Fiscal Office at 175 S. Main St., Room 304, Akron, OH 44308.

The filing deadline for storm damage is Dec. 31. Fiscal Office officials said any deduction from value would affect the tax bills mailed in January.

They added the amount of the deduction equals a percentage of the reduction in value caused by storm damage. That percentage is determined by the calendar quarter in which the damage occurred. The reduction would be 50 percent in value of the destroyed portion.

Real estate taxes are billed one year in arrears, so the reduction would be for tax year 2012 and collection year 2013.

Once the application is filed, the office’s Appraisal Department will conduct inspections to determine the amount of damage. Damage to trees, landscaping and fencing, as well as personal items, is excluded on residential properties. The Fiscal Office tracks the repairs based on the applications received and building permits that have been filed from all the townships and cities affected by the storm, officials said.

E-Check adds new sites, options for drivers

Ohio’s E-Check program now includes two new options — free-standing self-service kiosks, shown above, and RapidScreen remote sensing vans, shown below.
Photos courtesy of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
COLUMBUS — Car owners needing to test their vehicles for emissions will have more options for Ohio’s E-Check program, state officials announced July 10.

The Ohio Legislature approved changes to the E-Check program in the last budget bill, Ohio EPA officials said. The result is that motorists in Northeast Ohio will have more locations and choices for having their vehicles tested.

Designed to provide greater convenience to motorists in the seven Northeast Ohio counties with E-Check requirements, the Ohio E-Check ChoicePlus™ program adds 53 new testing stations to the current 23 Ohio testing stations, bringing the total locations for emissions testing to 76. The new stations include 37 Lube Stop stations — including 591 Canton Road and 500 E. Waterloo Road — as well as 16 independent neighborhood stations. A full list of station locations can be found online at ohioecheck.org.

In addition, for gasoline vehicles that are 1996 or newer and diesel vehicles 1997 or newer, the new program includes self-service diagnostic testing kiosks at 16 locations, including the Akron West E-Check station at 1818 Copley Road.

The free-standing self-service kiosks will be added during the next few weeks. At these locations, drivers may perform their own OBDII emissions test any time of the day or night, seven days a week, using the kiosks’ touchscreen displays. E-Check officials said the task takes less than 10 minutes. Upon completion of the self-test, the kiosk prints a vehicle inspection certificate that can be used for vehicle registration or plate transfer.

Also new this year are the RapidScreen remote sensing vans, which will enable some motorists to drive their vehicle past a sensing van. Using infrared and ultraviolet beams of light, RapidScreen’s roadside testing equipment can analyze a vehicle’s plume of exhaust. If a vehicle has passed RapidScreen’s emissions standards, the motorist will receive notification in the mail. For the few vehicles that pass this test, Ohio EPA officials said those motorists would not be required to go to an emissions testing facility. Two vans will be positioned at highway on-ramps at different times and locations throughout Northeast Ohio beginning this summer, they added. The website includes a schedule for the location of the RapidScreen vans.

“Ohio EPA is focused on making emissions testing more convenient for motorists,” said Ohio EPA Director Scott Nally. “E-Check has been shown to improve the air quality in our communities, and now it is easier for drivers to get to an emissions testing station location and help clean the air we all breathe.”

EPA officials added that the website also allows motorists to check a vehicle’s E-Check history using the Vehicle Identification Number.

For additional information, call 800-CAR-TEST.

— Kathleen Folkerth and Maria Lindsay contributed to these reports.

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