Summit County Council voted unanimously to accept Peninsula into the Summit County Metropolitan Sewer District Monday night. The vote is the next step in the county's plan to move the village from septic systems to a centralized wastewater management system.
Peninsula's aging septic systems are leaking E. coli into the Cuyahoga River, according to testing done by Summit County Public Health in 2018 and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in 2019. However, the move to sewer has been contentious in the village, with residents packing two council meetings in December to express their disappointment in the plan.
Not all Peninsula residents are in opposition. Business owners in Peninsula are especially on board with the plan, Mayor Dan Schneider said.
“It also will open up the fact that we can open a few more," he said at a Public Works Committee meeting on Jan. 22. "We have vacant buildings that can’t be rented because of the lack of water and sewer, and our next goal is of course to see if we can find a way to bring water with that.”
Summit County is also working to find Peninsula a water source, according to officials. District 2 Councilmember John Schmidt asked why the county is only helping Peninsula with this problem.
“I mean this is a big deal," he said. "This is a lot of money to spend on one community.”
Summit County Director of Sanitary Sewer Systems Michael Vinay said pushback is due to worries about Peninsula becoming over developed.
"I believe a lot of that's based on their concerns regarding a potential change in character in the village due to sanitary sewer coming," Vinay said, "but obviously they have control over that through their own zoning and through their own avenues.
Peninsula residents have said the village and the county have not given them enough information to justify a centralized sewer system. Others complained the village left them out of the decision making process.
The sewer project is already up for bid, according to officials.
The Public Works Committee recommended the passage of the resolution at its Jan. 22 meeting.
