Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy deserves a great deal of credit for meeting with an official June 28 from the company that’s redeveloping the former power plant in Avon Lake and getting assurance that it will honor its original commitment to use local labor on the site.
Charah Solutions Inc. purchased the former NRG Energy Facility with plans to redevelop the lakefront property.
By the way, the city of Avon Lake received $300,000 from a state grant to help with the clean-up of the plant.
In talks with Avon Lake city officials, the company had promised it would use 75 percent Ohio labor on the project as well as conduct public meetings to provide updates on the project.
But on June 10, members of Laborers’ Local Union No. 758 protested in front of the plant on East Lake Road after learning that Avon Lake Environmental Redevelopment Group LLC (ALERG), a subsidiary of the Louisville, Ky.-based Charah, was using an ARC Abatement out of Waco, Texas, to remove the asbestos in the plant.
Union members insisted that ARC failed to pay fair wages; was using unsafe practices in the removal of the asbestos that could create public health risks; and not using a workforce of at least 75 percent Ohio workers.
After news broke that non Ohio labor was being used in the removal of asbestos at the plant, Avon Lake Mayor Greg Zilka told The Morning Journal that Charah later backtracked and said it meant it would use 75 percent Ohio labor after the remediation of the plant was complete.
That didn’t sit well with Lundy and prompted him to send letters to Charah Vice President Scott Reschly requesting a meeting.
Lundy also wrote to Gov. Mike DeWine asking for his help to ensure Charah was living up to its promises.
In the strategically crafted letter to Reschly, he stated Charah made a commitment to Avon Lake citizens when it told city leaders that 75 percent of the work would be conducted by local labor.
Lundy also pointed out that Charah officials had promised to hold listening sessions to identify how the residents would like to see the site developed.
To date, Lundy told the company it had not honored the commitments to Avon Lake.
To build trust and a credible working relationship, he continued, it is important that the company honors the commitment it made.
We agree with Lundy that Ohio boasts a strong and skilled workforce and workers from here — and not out-of-town labor — should earn decent wages working on the plant’s remediation.
Lundy wanted to meet with Reschly to help clear the air.
The commissioner wanted to put all the cards on the table and to have candid conversations about using local workers on the project.
Lundy encouraged the company to meet its commitments to the community.
Reschly told Lundy that his company solicited bids from Ohio businesses to do the asbestos removal, but they weren’t as competitive as ARC Abatement.
Charah was compelled to go with the more competitive bid.
The asbestos removal should be completed by the end of 2022 and ALERG will hire Ohio workers for the demolition phase, which is expected to start at the beginning of 2023.
Brad Mercer, a spokesman for ALERG, forwarded an email June 28 to The Morning Journal, that the discussion between Lundy and Reschly was very productive.
The email went on that ALERG continues to be focused on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore the lakefront by providing maximum benefits to all members of the community, providing increased economic activity and jobs while sustainably remediating the site for the betterment of the environment now and in the future.
It continued that ALERG remains committed to employee and public safety as well as environmental compliance throughout this process.
What ALERG is saying sounds like good news, and if all goes as planned, the community will benefit.
We hope the company follows through.
If not, we’re sure Lundy will speak up and speak out.
We commend Lundy for his leadership on this issue.
Lundy pointed out that the heavy lifting of the project would be in the remediation of of the plant, not in the construction of whatever is redeveloped on the site.
He has shown he is serious about his responsibility to make sure the voices of the residents are heard.
Lundy deserves credit for his efforts to see that local residents will get a piece of the pie.