City Council Crushes Plans for Recycling Center

At its May 20 meeting, Euclid, Ohio, City Council voted 5-4 to reject a $485,000 offer from John Calabrese, who wanted to buy 7.85 acres of municipally-owned land at 27700 S. Lakeland Blvd. to relocate A&J Cement from Eastlake, Ohio. The proposal called for a cement crusher to be placed on the property’s back two acres.

Ward 4 Councilman Christopher Gruber, Ward 1 Councilwoman Kirsten Holzheimer-Gail, Council President Ed Gudenas, Councilwoman at-large Fay Miller and Ward 3 Councilman Jerald Sustarsic voted against selling the land to Calabrese.

According to The News-Herald, Calabrese and his Wickliffe, Ohio, lawyer, Richard D. DiCicco, exited council chambers after the vote with DiCicco saying no comment would be made about the decision.

Birch Drive resident Sally Hufnagle presented council with a petition bearing signatures from 156 residents opposing the cement recycling plant. Ten residents also expressed opposition to the proposal prior to City Council’s rejection.

In a telephone interview Councilman Gruber said his decision to vote against the recycling center was influenced by the residents. “The people just didn’t want it. I think it’s a question of perception, not reality,” he said.

Gruber said he thought the council president was going to vote in favor of the concrete recycler, as the proceeds from the sale were going to be used to finance a new YMCA. He added, “But the people made a very strong point. When you get that much output from a community, it’s hard to ignore,” Gruber said.