Akron administration unveils Waste Management agreement promising Fountain Street closure, $1M community fund

City officials on Tuesday presented a development, community-benefits and 25-year service agreement with Waste Management of Ohio Inc. that would build a new waste and recycling transfer station on East Archwood Avenue and permanently close the Fountain Street transfer station in Middlebury.

Sustainability Director Casey Chevlin said the agreement “is a major milestone in the long awaited effort to permanently close the Fountain Street waste transfer station in Middlebury and build in its place a modern facility on East Archwood Avenue.” Chevlin said the administration negotiated a package of community commitments informed by two years of outreach, consultant work and a settlement of earlier litigation.

The administration told the Public Service Committee that the agreement requires Waste Management to close Fountain Street “within 90 days of Archwood opening,” remove on-site leachate tanks, repair fencing, maintain pest baiting and security measures while the company holds the property, and accept a deed restriction limiting future waste operations at the Fountain Street site. The agreement also establishes operating controls at Archwood, defined truck routes with required coordination when routes are disrupted, a collaborative complaint process and an annual public report on the company’s mitigation and compliance efforts.

Service Director Chris Lettle outlined the rate and contract terms that would accompany the development agreement, saying, “the rate, starting in 2027 will be $50.86 a ton” for city tonnage under a 25-year term and describing an index and a negotiated $2 reduction in year 12 as a mid-contract adjustment. Lettle framed the contract as necessary to keep local transfer capability and avoid hauling waste out of Akron on short notice.

The administration also described community benefits the committee said were negotiated with neighborhood groups: a $1,000,000 contribution over 10 years to an Akron Community Foundation (ACF)–hosted fund overseen by a resident advisory board, an existing $40,000-per-year settlement payment for Joy Park-area programs, daily litter pickup within a half-mile radius of the Archwood facility, shared dumpster access, and workforce and small-business outreach and prioritization for local hires and contractors.

Pastor Mark Tibbs, representing the Fax Group, praised the staff’s outreach but called the money “not enough,” saying the community has borne the burden of the Fountain Street facility for decades and asking for a longer or larger commitment. Tibbs also urged independent air-quality monitoring and more concrete commitments on youth programming. Other pastors and neighborhood representatives expressed similar gratitude for outreach while urging stronger safeguards and longer-term investment.

City staff said some measures will go beyond Ohio EPA requirements for decommissioning and that the settlement and development agreement contain additional decommissioning and long-term controls. Planning Director Susie Graham Moore said the city pursued a TIF (tax increment financing) strategy as an additional potential resource and that the city will return to council with TIF legislation and with the ordinance needed to file a TIF application when the project is complete.

Committee members questioned the size and timing of community investments, the complaint-handling mechanism and whether TIF or other public resources would meaningfully benefit the immediately affected neighborhoods. The administration acknowledged some details remain to be finalized with ACF and the consultant-supported resident advisory board, and staff said they will continue community engagement as the project advances.

The committee did not vote to approve the development agreement; members moved for additional time to collect and answer follow-up questions from council and the public. The administration said it would provide requested documents and links to decommissioning requirements and proposed complaint procedures.

Next steps: the administration will return with additional details, the agreement will appear on committee and council agendas for formal consideration and, if approved, the city will coordinate the Fountain Street decommissioning and the Archwood facility’s opening sequence.