A new maintenance facility and salt dome in Fairview Park could be on hold after complaints from residents on Mastick Road.
Using American Rescue Plan Act money approved by Cuyahoga County Council, Mayor Bill Schneider proposed to Fairview Park City Council to purchase a property on Mastick Road with the intention to build a maintenance facility and salt dome. That process moved in a matter of weeks, with very little notice to residents.
鈥淚 admit, I probably could have done a better job at getting the word out to at least the residents that were directly impacted,鈥� Schneider said. 鈥淏ecause we have a time constraint with purchasing the property and keeping the price that we negotiated, we had to move forward with one.鈥�
Schneider met with several neighbors ahead of Monday鈥檚 city council meeting, where even more people expressed concerns about the proposed maintenance facility on Mastick Road, including declining property values, building in a residential area, becoming an eyesore to the neighborhood and noise and air quality 鈥� on top of being left out of previous planning discussions.
鈥淭his is a small town and I should have taken more care, so that鈥檚 on me,鈥� Schneider said. 鈥淚 have seen our city fall to pieces and I have it in my head that I want to fix everything as soon as possible, and that鈥檚 both a quality and a detriment.鈥�
Schneider proposed three options at the council meeting:
- The original plan to put the facility on Mastick Road.
- Build a facility where the city鈥檚 current senior center sits and build a new senior center.
- Find space in a neighboring city for service purposes, which would require paying an income tax to that city.
Several people at Monday鈥檚 meeting were looking for more options. Some suggested creating a committee of elected officials and residents to find a solution.
鈥淚t's moving so fast that they really don't have the information to answer the questions properly,鈥� said John Lorek, a Mastick Road resident of 28 years. 鈥淚 feel like the statement that the mayor made was a step in the right direction. It's a step that should have been considered before.鈥�
Schneider prefers his proposal but said he鈥檚 open to other options. City council has a committee meeting next week to discuss the proposal and options.
鈥淎ll the neighbors I've talked to, we鈥檙e all in agreement that the service department is in disrepair and needs to be totally revamped,鈥� Lorek said. 鈥淏ut at the same time, the locations that they're looking at, I think they need to explore more.鈥�
