News
Proposed parcel fee to purchase local recycling center fails to pass
By: Lucy Schaefer
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A proposed parcel fee aimed at buying the Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers has failed to pass, leaving its fate still uncertain.
The proposed $24 per year fee on improved parcels in Athens and Hocking counties needed support from a majority of the six-member Athens-Hocking Solid Waste District board.
The three members from Hocking County voted unanimously against the plan Thursday morning.
“We feel that we shouldn’t be making this decision on behalf of individuals,” Hocking County commissioner and board member Michael Linton said.
The recycling center is dealing with financial issues after losing its garbage contract with the city of Athens, its largest customer.
The proposed parcel fee would have raised enough money to cover the cost of buying the recycling center. The proposal was met with mixed feelings by residents of both counties during a series of public hearings. Athens residents seemed split on the plan while Hocking residents were largely opposed to it.
Now that the Solid Waste District cannot buy the center, the next step would be for a recently created council of governments to lease the facility from AHRC. The council, known as SORT, was created in an effort to save the recycling center by providing garbage service and using the revenue to lease the facility.
AHRC Executive Director Crissa Cummings said the recycling center’s financial picture is not as dire as it was just a few months ago. Recent fundraising efforts have brought in enough money to buy the center some time to pursue other sources of funding.
Cummings said the center is “close enough to a balanced budget that I feel encouraged that SORT will to be able to continue to provide compost, recycling services and decent employment in Athens County for years to come.”