Akron will require contractors in its sewer project to hire a certain percentage of city residents, a threshold that will be ramped up as the $800 million-plus project progresses, Mayor Don Plusquellic said Monday.
Akron plans to model its program after one in San Francisco in which contractors initially were required to hire 20 percent of their workers from within the city. This amount increased to 50 percent over seven years.
Plusquellic wasn’t willing to say what percentage Akron’s program will start at Monday, except to say that it would be higher than San Francisco’s initial 20 percent and would be under its ultimate goal of 50 percent. The decision on Akron’s initial hiring requirement will be made before the $10.5 million Rack 15 project is bid in early August, with the percentage included in the bid specifications. That percentage will be boosted incrementally over the next seven to 10 years.
“We cannot have 50 percent out of the box,” Plusquellic said. “We have to have a spot we start at and inch the bar up.”
Akron City Council passed resolutions Monday supporting the establishment of a local hiring program for the sewer project and a contractor qualification evaluation program that goes beyond the sewer overhaul. The evaluation program includes requirements that contractors and subcontractors hire Akron residents and pay city income taxes.
“We are sending a message that, if you come to Akron, you will be held to a higher standard,” said Council President Garry Moneypenny, comparing this to how people slow down to avoid getting a ticket in Cuyahoga Falls. “You are going to employ our residents.”
Council also voted to start a commercial driver’s license (CDL) training program for Akron residents to prepare them for the trucking jobs that will accompany the sewer project. The city will contribute $25,000 as seed money for the program, with the hopes that other agencies also will provide funding. The program will be run by the Akron Urban League.
Plusquellic said other cities, including Cleveland, with massive sewer projects are operating 600 trucks a day to haul away all of the dirt for the giant tunnels and basins that are being dug. He said there are not currently enough Akron residents with CDLs to meet this demand.
Akron is in the midst of a federal environmental lawsuit to decrease the amount of sewage that overflows into local waterways during heavy rains. The city has proposed a plan to remedy this problem that is pending with federal Judge John Adams. The estimated price tag for the project is more than $800 million, with this coming from higher sewer fees paid by sewer customers.
Rack 15 is the next big project and involves the construction of a large-scale storage bin near the Little Cuyahoga River and East North Street.
Council’s actions on Monday on the hiring issue come as several other groups have been working on similar proposals aimed at encouraging local hiring for the sewer project and making sure that out-of-town contractors pay city income taxes.
George Johnson, president of the Akron chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), has been coordinating with local minority contractors, trade unions, clergy and community activists on this issue. He said the city needs to make sure that whatever requirements it adopts have some teeth and the oversight needed to enforce them. He is suggesting the formation of a citizen review panel that would help oversee the hiring program.
Councilman Mike Williams said the city would benefit from the collaboration of outside groups with this project.
“We need people who actually see what’s going on and have the opportunity to participate in the process,” he said.
Councilman Bruce Kilby said he thinks the city needs to find another way to fund the sewer project, other than raising sewer rates. He said it’s unacceptable that Akron’s sewer rates could climb to as much as $300 a month.
“That’s an impossibility,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Rick Merolla said other cities like Akron that have been ordered to overhaul their sewers also have been forced to rely on their customers to foot the bill.
In other business, council approved the sale of city-owned land and a development agreement for a new grocery store in Highland Square. The complex deal involves Akron selling city-owned land at the corner of North Portage Path and West Market Street where the nearly 24,000-square-foot grocery store will be built and the Chipotle building to the east to Highland Square Economic Development LLC, which the city set up to be the developer for the project.
Mustard Seed Grocers, which operates two other grocery stores, will lease the property with the option to buy it in the future. Mustard Seed will manage the Chipotle building, with the rent from the building helping to cover the debt service on a $3.8 million federal loan the city received for the project.
Phillip Nabors, who co-owns Mustard Seed with his wife and who lives in Highland Square, is hoping to break ground in August, with construction expected to take 12 to 18 months. He said many people have been asking when he’ll start hiring for the new store and he said he’ll have a better idea when it officially starts.
Several people spoke during the public comment period of Monday’s council meeting, urging the city to adopt fair hiring practices that make it easier for felons to be hired, especially in light of the impending sewer project. They included several felons who talked about their own difficulties in finding work.
Moneypenny told them Plusquellic sent a letter to the Civil Service Commission last week asking that the commission review the city’s hiring practices in relation to felons.
“I believe you’re going to get what you want,” he told the audience, drawing applause and cheers from the crowd.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmith. Read the Beacon Journal’s political blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/ohio-politics.