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Council OKs funding for Fire Station 3



Green further considering fire station in Ward 3, too

GREEN — The process is moving forward to construct a third fire station in the City of Green — this one at Mayfair and Raber roads in Ward 1 — and Green officials are considering adding a fire station in Ward 3 using some of the money in the NEXUS Pipeline Settlement Fund.
“Any other use of that money is irresponsible,” said Ward 3 resident and former Green Fire Division assistant chief Kevin Groen, who recently drew Council’s attention to the need for better response times in his ward, the southwest quadrant of the community, which now houses the most NEXUS gas transmission pipeline in the city.
“We expect this to happen while we have the funds,” he said.
After an hour-and-a-half discussion on the matter during the March 12 Finance Committee meeting, Council — at the regular meeting, which immediately followed the committee meetings — approved allocating $300,000 of the NEXUS settlement funds for the construction of Fire Station No. 3 in Ward 1 only at this time.
While the legislation approved does not set aside another $300,000 of NEXUS settlement funds for the creation of Fire Station No. 4 in Ward 3, which was proposed last month, Mayor Gerard Neugebauer confirmed a separate resolution to do so would be forthcoming.
“I will write legislation and will present it to Council again and they can stew on it,” he said.
Councilwoman Barbara Babbitt (Ward 1) recommended Council vote separately on the $300,000 of settlement funds for Station 3 and have a new piece of legislation brought forward to allocate the $300,000 for Station 4.
Babbitt said she supports using settlement funds for both stations, as the funds were designated to be used to address safety in the city.
A year ago, Council voted 4-3 to grant a city-owned easement of 2.5 acres for the pipeline in exchange for a $7.5 million settlement from the NEXUS pipeline project developers.
“We have a chance to seriously address a need, not a want or a wish or an ornamental desire, but a basic, fundamental need. This would be a permanent community improvement,” said Councilman Rocco Yeargin (Ward 3) in support of setting settlement money aside for the construction of a fire station specifically in the southwest quadrant of the city.
At the committee meeting, Council heard from Ward 3 residents who stepped forward to share accounts concerning the times they needed the Green Fire Division to respond to emergency situations at their homes and how it felt to wait 10 minutes or longer for first responders to arrive.
“We know first-hand how long it can seem when 6 minutes turn into 12 minutes. It actually seems like an hour,” said resident Terry Reynolds, who spoke on behalf of himself and his wife, Betty.
The goal is to have first responders on the scene of an incident in 4 minutes or less 90 percent of the time, Fire Chief Jeff Funai said, but it takes his department 10 minutes and 30 seconds 90 percent of the time to get to a call for service placed in the southwest portion of the city due to its distance from the two existing fire stations.
Green’s Fire Station No. 1 is located on the corner of Massillon and Steese roads and Station No. 2 is located on East Turkeyfoot Lake Road near Cottage Grove Road.
Even with the addition of a third fire station, Funai said response times likely would not improve in the southwest quadrant of the city because the closest stations still would be Station No. 1 and Station No. 2.
“This is your opportunity to improve the quality of life for your residents,” said Ward 3 resident David Weimer.
When Weimer’s wife, Tonya, stopped breathing due to an allergic reaction to an antibiotic she took for an infection, he said he thought she might die waiting for first responders.
He was able to give her mouth-to-mouth until first responders arrived. It took 15 minutes.
Weimer said he is thankful the Green Fire Division still was able to save his wife’s life. His wife added, however, that waiting that long was terrifying.
Kevin Hoyt, district executive of the Akron Area YMCA, also encouraged the city to establish a fire station in Ward 3, as it would improve safety services to YMCA’s Camp Y-Noah, which often has more than 100 children present at a time during the summer for day and overnight camps.
In addition to Camp Y-Noah, recreation takes place in Ward 3 around Comet Lake and the Nimisila Reservoir, residents noted.
“It is vital to have it,” Groen said of Station No. 4.
He has said a study done in the city in 1998 showed the need and laid out plans for the third and fourth fire stations, with Station No. 3 to be constructed first and then Station No. 4.
Funai said the goal for each satellite station of the Green Fire Division is to have one fire truck, an ambulance and a “chase vehicle” and to always be staffed with a lieutenant and two firemedics.
Groen said even though it would cost $800,000 a year or more to operate a satellite station in the city, he believes the city has a large enough operating budget and rainy day fund to support the third and fourth stations in the community.
Regardless of the price tag, the Ward 3 residents at the meeting agreed it was hard to put a price tag on safety.
Yeargin said the idea to use settlement funds for Station No. 4 is the direct result of community input.
“This legislation is not my legislation. It came from the people along the pipeline, the people in this room, the people most affected by what they have been through the last year. It is your idea. It is a good one and I want to congratulate you on it,” Yeargin said to the Ward 3 residents in attendance.
He said NEXUS invaded the community’s sense of safety.
“We can’t do anything about the pipeline, but we can address your safety concerns. We can get you to the hospital faster, and if we have the opportunity, there is no reason we should not do it,” said Yeargin.
Councilman Justin Speight (at large) said he wanted to get a “good pulse” on how the entire community wanted to see the remainder of the NEXUS settlement funds used before committing to a fourth fire station, adding he recognizes the need for Station No. 4 in Ward 3.
He recommended a committee form to come up with the best use of the rest of the settlement funds, and Councilman Stephen Dyer (at large) agreed.
Speight said the committee likely will put Station No. 4 at the “top of the list.”
“It is warranted, and you demonstrated that we need it,” he said to the Ward 3 residents in attendance.
Speight said he would feel better spending money on a fire station knowing it is supported by “the majority of the community.”
Neugebauer said even if Council does move forward with setting aside $300,000 of the settlement money for Station No. 4, about $150,000 still would exist in the settlement fund to address other concerns regarding the NEXUS pipeline, including parks and recreation needs and wants.
In other business, Council:
• heard from FirstEnergy Area Manager Laura Tubo concerning the tools available to the city during wind events and other storms and the power restoration process following an outage incident, as well as the company’s utility resources available for residents and vegetation management program;
• began discussing a proposed lease agreement for the purchase of miscellaneous equipment, totaling about $300,000, for use at the Raintree Golf and Event Center, with Billy Casper Golf to make the lease payments — $60,000 annually — out of operations funds, which come off the city’s net profits for a year;
• authorized the selection of EnviroScience Inc. as the firm to provide design-build services to the city for the design and construction of the city’s Boettler Park stream restoration and stabilization project, which is primarily grant funded;
• held over legislation declaring a portion of improvements to a certain parcel of real property owned by Arlington Ridge Townhomes LP to be a public purpose, exempting 100 percent of the value of the improvements from real property taxation for 30 years to address questions brought up by Green Local Schools;
• approved legislation to replat one lot of the Heritage Crossings of Green development to prepare for the construction of a new Chipotle Mexican Grill location on Massillon Road;
• heard second reading of an ordinance to amend rules of the Civil Service Commission, which last were updated in 2013;
• heard second reading of legislation awarding a contract to Northstar Asphalt Inc. for the 2019 resurfacing project, which would total about $1.7 million; and
• heard second reading of legislation to establish public notification requirements prior to Council action authorizing city funds or authorizing the application for grants or other funding methods to be used for the design or construction of the Master Trail Plan or similar long-range, city-developed planning. Councilman Matt Shaughnessy (Ward 4) and Dyer co-sponsored the legislation, which Shaughnessy said would provide residents whose parcels would be impacted with notification of a proposed project before it moves forward or grant funding is sought out so the people’s wishes could be heard. Council members took a great deal of time to debate the necessity of the legislation, as well as talk about changes that could be made to it to make the city even more transparent.
In other community news, Neugebauer announced the city is accepting applications for the Student Municipal Rep Program, for 10th- through 12th-graders. The application deadline is April 1, he said. For more information, visit the city’s website at www.cityof green.org or contact Sarah Haring at (330) 896-6614. [Details also are available in a related news item on Page 7.]
Additionally, the mayor announced the city is accepting applications from local not-for-profits for the 2019 Living Green Community Grant. The deadline to apply is April 26 at 3 p.m. For more information, visit the city’s web site or contact Haring, he said.
Also in community news, Neugebauer said the city’s Engineering Department will be recognized at the 16th annual American Society of Highway Engineers Cuyahoga Valley Section Outstanding Highway Project Awards for Green’s state Route 619/Pickle Road roundabout.
The next regular Council meeting will take place March 26 beginning with committee meetings at 5 p.m., followed by the regular meeting at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers of the Central Administration Building, 1755 Town Park Blvd.