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New Franklin granting NEXUS easements



NEW FRANKLIN — The City of New Franklin is not in favor of a proposed high power pipeline to run through the community but is learning to accept that the project may become a reality and soon.
At the Dec. 6 meeting, Council approved granting an easement to NEXUS Gas Transmission LLC over certain roads in New Franklin.
The agreement made between the two parties is a profitable one for the city, said Law Director Tom Musarra.
New Franklin is giving NEXUS 12 easements, each 50 feet wide, across city roads for $60,000, he said. Originally, NEXUS had offered the city $36,000 in exchange for the easements.
“The initial offer was fair,” Musarra said.
However, the city was advised it could ask NEXUS for a “premium amount” because the easements concern public roadways, he said.
Some municipalities granted easements to NEXUS without any form of compensation, Musarra told Council.
Additionally, New Franklin is entering into a roadway use and maintenance agreement with NEXUS for the protection of the city’s roads during construction of the natural gas pipeline.
The agreement requires a $500,000 bond from NEXUS as an insurance for the roads, Musarra said.
“The concern is making sure our roads are OK,” he said.
City officials added it would be the responsibility of NEXUS to repair any stretch of roadway damaged by the project, regardless of the price tag.
The NEXUS project as a whole has been a concern for New Franklin since 2013, when word began to spread about the project in the community.
The NEXUS Gas Transmission pipeline, being developed by DTE Energy Co. and Spectra Energy Corp., is proposed to run 255 miles from Kensington through Michigan and up to Ontario, Canada.
The cities in Summit County that would be impacted by the pipeline are New Franklin and Green.
Last month, a panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals voted to halt any construction in Green. In September, the city filed an appeal in that court to revoke the awarded 401 Water Qualification Permit by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency because the pipeline would impact local wetlands.
Regardless of the fight being put up by Green, Musarra said NEXUS has settled and resolved issues with most everyone who would be impacted by the 255-mile stretch of pipeline. He said there are only six landowners in Ohio who have not entered into easement agreements with NEXUS.
“All of our residents have reached agreements,” Musarra said.
He called New Franklin’s agreement with NEXUS a “pretty good deal for the city.”
Councilman Jim Cotts (Ward 1) said he wants the community to understand the agreement does not mean the city supports the NEXUS pipeline.
“We just realize where we are at with it,” he said.
Before work was halted in Green by the court, NEXUS officials had said construction on the pipeline would begin at the close of 2017.
Also at the meeting, Council approved a resolution authorizing New Franklin to join a coalition of municipalities retaining special counsel for the purpose of initiating litigation to challenge the constitutionality of amendments to Chapter 718 of the Ohio Revised Code relating to municipal income tax.
Musarra said the initial retainer cost to New Franklin is $4,000, but the city would stand to lose a significant amount of money due to these amendments by the state.
“This could cost us $22,000 a year, maybe more by the state,” said Council Vice President Harry Gehm (at large).
Musarra explained the state would like to begin collecting local income tax on behalf of municipalities, keeping a portion of it for performing the service.
The following resolutions also were approved at the meeting:
• to require New Franklin Council, the mayor, directors and full-time, nonunion employees to pay a monthly premium contribution for health care insurance;
• authorizing the city to enter into a contract with the City of Barberton to provide prosecutorial services for the city;
• authorizing the city to enter into a one-year agreement with the Summit County Public Defenders Commission; and
• authorizing the transfer of $120,000 from the Street, Construction, Maintenance and Repair Fund to the Street Capital Improvements Fund for the city’s recent purchase of snowplow trucks.
In other matters, Councilman Gust Kalapodis (Ward 4) again was absent from the meeting. Council members expressed concern for his health after his recent fall.
During his report, Mayor Al Bollas announced the city is receiving a grant from the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS) for the resurfacing of South Main Street from Nimisila Road south to the Stark County line.
The grant is funding $700,000 for the project, with New Franklin and Green each to contribute $150,000 for the work, he said.
The city likely would receive a second grant from AMATS to address the north end of the roadway, too, Bollas said.
The mayor also said the city is studying the speed limit on Manchester Road from Vanderhoof Road south to Kertesz Avenue. He said the section has been 45 mph.
Bollas said drivers are going 55 to 60 mph on Manchester at this time, so the speed limit may be brought down to 35 to 40 mph.
“We could go down to 25 mph,” Musarra said.
“I have heard many times our police department gives speeding tickets just to make money,” Bollas added. “We generate about $250 per month from tickets going to Barberton Municipal Court. If you get a speeding ticket in New Franklin, it’s not because we’re trying to make a buck. It’s because you’re speeding.”
Briefly, Bollas mentioned the ending of his tenure as mayor, as he did not run for re-election in November.
He said he has attended about 600 Council meetings since becoming mayor in 2006.
Paul Adamson, a former Ward 4 member of New Franklin Council, ran unopposed for mayor last month.
Bollas said Adamson will be only the second mayor to serve since New Franklin became a city in 2006.
The next regular Council meeting will take place Dec. 20 beginning at 6 p.m. with committee meetings, followed immediately afterward with the regular meeting, at City Hall, located at 5611 Manchester Road.
Refreshments will be served at the meeting to recognize those ending their service to the city and those taking office in 2018.