November 22, 2002

Mayor Donald Robart
City of Cuyahoga Falls
2310 Second Street
Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221

RE : Hardy Road Landfill

Dear Mayor Robart:

As you are aware, the City of Akron and Waste Management of Ohio/Akron Regional Landfill, Inc. (ARLI) have been attempting to get a permit for the Hardy Road Landfill. Cuyahoga Falls has recently opposed this application.

In an attempt to resolve this contentious, community-wide issue, the Mayor decided to ask ARLI to forego its contractual rights to apply for a new permit for Hardy Road Landfill. ARLI expressed a willingness to consider this proposal; however, ARLI immediately indicated that there would be a significant adverse financial impact for them and that they would expect to be made whole.

The Mayor asked ARLI to calculate the actual adverse financial impact. Enclosed is ARLI’s detailed breakdown of total costs incurred or to be incurred under the 1998 Agreement. The total is $9,280,000.

Because residents and businesses from throughout Summit County have generated waste that has been dumped at the Hardy Road Landfill, it is reasonable to accept the concept of shared closing costs that the City of Cuyahoga Falls proposed in December last year. The Mayor thinks that thirty years is too long and to charge all communities for the total unrecovered costs is unfair.

Also, the Mayor is of the opinion that if we accept or believe CORE’s arguments that residents of Cuyahoga Falls will be so negatively impacted if the landfill is sited at the proposed location, or conversely residents of Cuyahoga Falls will be so positively affected if a landfill is not sited there, then Cuyahoga Falls should share in the cost of this proposed solution which is as follows:

This represents a fair and equitable allocation of responsibility in this matter.

Initially, the entire County has benefited from and helped create the need for the Hardy Road Landfill over the years and therefore should share up to one half (1/2) of the cost.

Secondly, the City of Cuyahoga Falls benefits significantly because the Landfill will not be sited at the disputed location.

It is important to note that even though the above formula indicates that the City of Akron and City of Cuyahoga Falls will share equally the difference after the County surcharge, Akron’s actual cost in this matter is much greater. First, the City will pay a substantial portion of the County surcharge since the City generates the largest share of waste in the County. Second, the City stands to lose over $50 million in additional costs/revenue as a result of the Agreement with ARLI not going forward:

$17,000,000 in royalties to be paid to Akron

$ 8,500,000 to be paid to Akron by ARLI upon permitting of landfill

$25,000,000 in transfer station fees to be paid by Akron

It is imperative that Cuyahoga Falls understands that Akron is contractually obligated "to use reasonable good faith efforts to cooperate with ARLI" in any filings with the Ohio EPA. As such, the Mayor of Akron cannot prevent ARLI from going forward with any actions they choose unless they are made whole. They are ready to proceed immediately and therefore time is of the essence.

The Mayor believes this to be a fair response to Cuyahoga Falls’ proposal. If as CORE has said repeatedly, "this should not be about the money" and considering that Akron has sacrificed more than $50 million, consider this Akron’s last best offer.

Sincerely,
Richard Merolla
Buckingham Consulting Services, LLC