Bedford Council Locks In 25 Year EPA Wastewater Deal, Advances Hikma Expansion And New High School

Bedford City Council returned from its summer schedule with a full agenda on September 8, tackling a long term agreement with the Ohio EPA, a major contract for the city's wastewater treatment plant, continued progress on Hikma Pharmaceuticals' local expansion, and approvals for a new high school and a rebuilt auto dealership downtown. Council also signed off on a new cost sharing agreement for the school resource officer, a stack of smaller contracts, and heard several residents raise concerns during public comment. Mayor Stanley Koci presided over the meeting. Council Member Sandy Spinks, who represents Ward 1, was excused. All other members, Cory Berry (Ward 5), Tony Longino (Ward 6), Steve Salvi (Ward 2), Frank Spiker (Ward 3) and Frank Smith Jr. (Ward 4), were present and voting alongside the mayor. Council Approves 25 Year Wastewater Agreement With Ohio EPA The biggest item of the night was an ordinance authorizing the city to enter into final findings and orders with the Ohio EPA covering mandatory upgrades at Bedford's wastewater treatment plant. City Manager Michael Mallis told council the agreement caps nearly three years of negotiation that began when the city launched a no feasible alternative study with the state. Mallis said the plant experiences roughly 15 overflow occurrences a year during heavy rain, and the aging facility needed a long term improvement plan. Rather than face a consent decree, the city negotiated what Mallis called a blueprint spanning 25 years, split into a first phase of 10 years and a second phase of 15 years. He said the agreement includes two built in adaptive management reviews, described as a three year pause after the first 10 years of improvements that allows the city to evaluate results and renegotiate future projects. Mallis said the city's outside legal counsel, who has handled similar agreements for other Northeast Ohio communities, had never previously secured that kind of review clause. The financial stakes are significant. Mallis said Ohio EPA originally wanted the city to spend more than 200 million dollars in the first 10 years alone, based on an initial 40 year proposal. The final agreement instead calls for less than 90 million dollars in that same window. Mallis said rate increases will be needed to fund the work and pay down related debt, but he maintained that Bedford water and sewer rates a decade from now will still be lower than what neighboring communities charge today. Twenty Million Dollar Headworks Contract Awarded Tied directly to the EPA agreement, council authorized a contract with Great Lakes Construction Company for the headworks improvement project at the wastewater plant, the first major upgrade identified under the state agreement. The city solicited public bids and received two: Cold Harbor Building Company at roughly 24.5 million dollars and Great Lakes Construction at roughly 20.66 million dollars. The city's engineers reviewed both and recommended Great Lakes. Mallis said the project carries an engineer's estimate of about 20 million dollars, and the city secured a 4 million dollar grant to offset the cost. He said the city intends to keep pursuing every available grant dollar as the broader 25 year improvement plan moves forward. Hikma Pharmaceuticals Expansion Moves Ahead With Tax Incentives Council approved three related ordinances tied to Hikma Pharmaceuticals' expansion of its Northfield Road facility. One declared certain parcels tax exempt for public purpose reasons, one set up a non school tax increment financing arrangement, and one formally authorized the city's incentive agreement with Hikma. Mallis explained that the tax increment financing piece takes effect only after the 15 year tax abatement expires, at which point the city, not the schools, would collect a share of the company's property taxes for future infrastructure work in that area. He emphasized the schools are held harmless under the arrangement. The incentive agreement itself grants Hikma a 100 percent property tax exemption for 15 years to support construction of a new facility on Northfield Road. Hikma's Bedford expansion, announced earlier this year, represents a 51 million dollar investment and is expected to create up to 300 jobs, part of a larger 267 million dollar commitment the company made across its Bedford and Columbus operations. Council Member Steve Salvi told residents during his ward report that Hikma is not closing, despite visible demolition work at the site, and that the activity is preparation for the new construction, not a shutdown. New High School And Auto Dealership Projects Get Green Light Council formally approved two Planning Commission decisions tied to significant construction projects already underway or planned in the city. The first authorizes GPD Group, represented by project manager Russell Gayheart, to proceed with a new Bedford High School at 475 Northfield Road. The district held a groundbreaking ceremony in August, and Su