ATHENS, Ohio – At an April 10 Athens City Council committee meeting, Mayor Steve Patterson defended the city’s efforts toward joining a council of governments for solid waste and said that public perception of his administration’s slowness on the issue were “attacks.”
Council met last Wednesday to further discuss joining a developing council of governments to prevent the likely closure of Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers, following an initial discussion at the council’s April 1 meeting.
Patterson said the city is still exploring how to “make a COG work in a way that is going to be most responsible for the city of Athens.” He said the administration has been consulting with external sources for advice and further information on the matter, including Athens-Hocking Solid Waste District Director Jane Forrest Redfern.
Patterson described the COG as “uncharted territory” because COGs are not typically centered around services.
“If we’re going to do it, we’ve got to get it right,” Patterson said.
At the meeting, Forrest Redfern acknowledged that a solid waste COG is a new idea for Ohio, but that the objective of forming the COG is to move southeast Ohio forward.
Patterson also expressed his frustration with public comments about the city “doing nothing” for this issue, describing them as “attacks” and assuring residents that the city has been working on this issue.
City Council President Sam Crowl, said affirmed it is neither quick nor easy to form a COG.
Patterson said one of his concerns about the COG is that all members would have equal voices no matter how many customers they represented. Athens would have significantly more customers than COG members but no greater voice, Patterson said, which he said was “rather lopsided.”
Patterson said the city has requested that Athens either have more seats at the COG table or that voting in the COG be weighted based on the number accounts served by the municipality or the government.
However, according to Patterson, one COG member — a county commissioner — has consistently rejected these ideas, calling differentially weighted votes within the COG a “dealbreaker.” The Independent’s request for records related to this discussion has not yet been fulfilled.
Forrest Redfern said she has an idea about how to address Patterson’s concerns about voting, but that she could not disclose it at the meeting.
Council member Micah McCarey, At-Large, asked Patterson and Athens Service-Safety Director Andy Stone if they saw any benefits that could come from joining the COG.
Stone said that although solid waste management is the primary issue, coordination among cities to handle sewage sludge disposal could be a more long-term benefit of the COG.
Sewage sludge, the solids separated during the treatment of municipal wastewater, is a potential health and environmental hazard.
Forrest Redfern said the benefits of joining the COG include access to composting for residents and businesses, which would not be available if AHRC shut down; no other composting facility in the area could take all of the material generated by Athens.
“I know it’s been frustrating for the administration and all of [City Council] to hear from people,” Forrest Redfern said. “But recycling means a lot to people, and I meet them every day.”
Council member Jeff Risner, 2nd Ward, pointed out that the council has received many emails saying that the city of Athens had until April 15 to join the COG, nullify the Rumpke contract and receive AHRC services. Risner asked if that was feasible.
Stone explained that it would take several weeks to execute the various procedures necessary to activate the COG, so the suggested deadline — which has since passed — was not feasible (A COG becomes active 30 days after its members file their bylaws with the state).
Several speakers during the public comment period said working with AHRC was preferable to working with Rumpke, questioning the company’s commitment to the local area and its workers.
“Rumpke’s annual revenue in 2023 was $500 million,” said resident Susan McNish. “They clearly don’t need us, but they want to add us to the company’s multi-state fiefdom.”
Athens resident Warren Hayden said he does not dislike Rumpke but that it was sad to see the city opt for a for-profit organization in place of AHRC, a nonprofit where the workers are unionized.
“Unions are important for work,” Hayden said. “But they’re also important for everybody — for the city, for the county.”
Hayden added that he is also upset that his money will not be staying in Athens and will instead be going to stockholders and corporate executives elsewhere.
Amesville resident Shelley Stark said the council’s decision to contract with Rumpke is not rational nor sustainable. Stark said “local” is an essential ethic in Athens.
“There are banners on the streets around us inviting [people] to love Athens by spending money locally,” Stark said. “As you know, Rumpke is anything but local.”
Stark also said that Rumpke methodically buys and closes down its competition. “It is curious and incongruent that Athens would contract with such a monopolistic company,” Stark said.
Multiple Rumpke representatives spoke at the meeting.
Rumpke Regional Vice President Bill Youck said Rumpke is proud to be a part of the Athens community and that a lot of misinformation about Rumpke has circulated over the last several months, especially at the last council meeting.
“We’re committed to promoting sustainability,” Youck said. “We continue to want to work as a partner with Athens, and we share a mission to increase our recycling and landfill diversion.”
Rumpke Route Manager Shawn O’Nail argued that Rumpke has contributed to the local economy since 1988 and that employs over 60 people in its Athens hauling operation, at the Athens-Hocking landfill outside Nelsonville and at its welding shop in Logan.
Rumpke Director of Recycling Jeff Snyder said that the company is opening a new facility in Columbus this summer that will be able to process around 60 tons of recyclables per hour using machinery, technology and artificial intelligence. He said that Rumpke does not burn recyclables and that all recyclable material is returned to the state of Ohio.
Athens City Council’s next regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, May 6, in Athens City Hall, Council Chambers, third floor, 8 E. Washington St. Meetings are also available online. Regular sessions are on the first and third Mondays of the month; committee meetings are on the second and fourth Mondays.
