The new agreement on sewers recently reached between Barberton and Norton — a welcome advance in regional cooperation — has run into a costly and potentially fatal obstacle. Resistance, in the form of a petition drive to repeal the deal, has surfaced in Norton, where a misguided minority on the City Council supports a referendum in November 2017.
Even for Norton, where politics can resemble a blood sport, the petition drive is a new low in a long-running battle over the need to expand sewer service.
Whether the petitions have enough valid signatures remains to be seen. As it is, the uncertainty they have created already has caused problems for Nash Heights, a Norton neighborhood where failing septic systems have brought public health problems and put the city under orders from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to install sewer lines, starting late next month.
A key part of the agreement with Barberton calls for Norton to transfer ownership of its sewer lines to the larger city, whose sewer plant has ample capacity. Because ownership of new sewer lines in Nash Heights now is uncertain, the state EPA said Norton is not eligible for a $3.1 million low-interest loan this month, an important part of financing the $6.9 million project.
The next chance for funding comes in December, which would push the start date for Nash Heights into next year. Besides the loss of the low-interest loan, state EPA fines also could add to the cost of the project.
Although the agency gave the cities time to renegotiate a sewer agreement after a previous version lapsed, Norton and Barberton officials do not expect further leniency on the stalled Nash Heights project. Under the agreement, Barberton would have taken over the sewer project for Nash Heights. With the agreement in limbo, Norton remains under state EPA orders to proceed.
If the petition drive collects enough signatures, the referendum supported by council members Rick Rodgers, Dennis Pierson and Paul Tousley, in the minority in a 4-3 vote to approve the sewer agreement, could end up erasing years of tedious negotiations to bring the two cities together.
Beyond dealing with the acute problems in Nash Heights, the sewer agreement sets the stage for needed growth and new tax revenue in Norton and more customers for the Barberton sewer system, which already serves parts of Norton. The deal is as close to a win-win situation as can be imagined for local governments.
Besides new growth, Norton also would benefit from Barberton taking over if other neighborhoods with septic systems fall under state orders, a distinct possibility. Barberton, meanwhile, needs new customers to maintain its aging sewer system.
The petition drive in Norton surely will dampen enthusiasm for similar projects between Barberton and Norton. That’s bad enough. Worse, if the sewer agreement ends up being repealed by voters, it would send a discouraging signal to other communities considering cooperating — and saving money — on the services they provide.