Fairview Park City Council turned down a controversial proposal from the mayor Monday due to concerns from residents and questions about costs.
Using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money approved by Cuyahoga County Council, Fairview Park Mayor Bill Schneider proposed to city council earlier this year plans to purchase 22100 Mastick Road with the intention to build a maintenance facility and salt dome.
That process moved quickly with little notice to residents. After hearing complaints from neighbors to the property, Schneider shelved the proposal to allow for more research, resulting in city council voting 5-2 against the plan at Monday鈥檚 council meeting.
Several residents near the Mastick Road site raised concerns of declining property values, and noise and air pollution. Some came together to sue the mayor last month in an attempt to halt the project.
The proposed site is in Ward 5, represented by Councilmember Rick Raley, who voted against the proposal and said he heard too many different estimates on what the construction would ultimately cost.
鈥淲e also didn't have a concrete idea of the building plans. We didn鈥檛 have concrete ideas of the budget,鈥� Raley said. 鈥淚 think we need to get all of those ducks in a row before we start talking about specific properties to purchase.鈥�
He also said he was concerned about whether or not the construction would require state or federal approval because part of the property is wetland.
Schneider has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Raley said Ward 5 residents' concerns over the last few months played a big role in the decision.
鈥淲hen citizens stand up and use their voices, it's really beneficial for community,鈥� Raley said. 鈥淚 hope we can work together to find a good, viable solution."
In previous meetings, Schneider said the city has limited options for locations to build a new maintenance garage. One option he suggested was utilizing a space in a neighboring city, which would require paying an income tax to that city.
Raley said he wants the city to bring in a consultant to help find a maintenance garage solution.
鈥淪omeone who has expertise in finding good properties for a use like this, which, it's not really industrial, but it certainly is something that's different than a regular commercial building,鈥� Raley said.
Council on Monday briefly discussed the need to find alternatives for the $1 million in ARPA funding intended for the maintenance garage with Councilmember Kim Mann suggesting street repaving.
