I believe that this is nothing more than an arbitrary new tax imposed by a non voted bureaucracy.  NOERSD does not have the authority to tax me in Richfield as I have both well water and septic.

1. does new commercial green fields construction have to design their own retention to not contribute to run off.
2. does a home owner with simple runoff characterized differently than a storm water connection.
3. what business does the mayor own? he seem to be advocating for commercial interests which may be a conflict.
4. would a rain-barrel change my fee, or a permeable driveway?

I know nothing about Mr. Kuchta, but the untruths and ranting idiocy coming from him on this topic leave me speechless.  Me, me, me, and please let’s externalize the costs to someone else.  Thank goodness Ms. Dreyfuss-Wells is so good at responding. 

Kuchta has provided no alternative plan or any facts to support his position.

Shame on him.

1. Who pays when an acute ie flooding damage event occurs. Is this a shifting of costs from the responsible area to another group of taxpayers.

To expand on my earlier comment, as a Certified Public Accountant (retired) I can unequivocally state that businesses will consider this fee in making decisions as to where to locate.  This fee will make Northern Summit County less attractive to business which will again harm residents.  The proper authority is the Summit County engineer.

Bill Roemer, CPA (retired)

Let me get this straight, the mayor has no plan for storm water management; he would rather pay legal fee’s as opposed to doing anything that would seek to remedy this area wide problem.  I suppose we should not pay school fee’s or any other fee if we feel that the bureaucracy in question does not deserve it

I agree with Mark Carroll, what is your plan Mr. Mayor on storm water issues? I am probably out on a limb on this issue because I am a huge environmentalist. I am unemployed and I am not happy with the extra fee but I am doing something about it such as rain barrels. The city of Cleveland is issuing FREE rain barrels to their residents and mine is currently on order. The only way residents will pay attention to the seriousness of “rain water” is hitting them in the pocket book. There are many ways to eliminate water run off.

Thanks again for the program.

In response to part of Bob’s question below, if you go to NEORSD’s website, it gives you information on the potential credit you can get as a homeowner by installing things like rain barrels or rain gardens.  The problem I have is that they really set an unreasonably high bar (having 50% of your roof area diverted)for a corresponding low benefit (25% reduction in your fee).  I have installed 215 gallons worth of rain barrels and drip irrigation systems but still do not meet the 50% criteria.  I don’t believe that the NEORSD is truly interested in promoting good stewardship, they would rather just collect our money and do with it as they wish.

I have a large pond in my yard.  ALL my water drains into it, even installed driveway drains. I feel I really don’t contribute to any runoff.  Especially since my whole yard slopes to the pond and there is a ditches around the whole perimeter. I don’t have a sewer bill nor a water bill.  Am I just gonna receive a bill from NEORSD even though I’m completely off grid.  That’s like having solar and wind power and the Elec. company charging you for the up keep of there lines. I’m glad I have multiple lawyers in my family.  I will fight.

So the NEORSD says Macedonia and Summit County should be worried about the water quality downstream to Lake Erie, yet both Lakewood and Euclid, whose stormwater also drains into the lake are exempt because years ago they built their own sanitary sewer systems and are not part of NEORSD. The Mayor is right - either we all pay into a watershed, or we don’t. It can’t be decided by some 1970s era service boundry or the decision of one judge from over 40 years ago!

A lot of people live nears rivers such as Cuyahoga and the Rocky river.  In Columbia Station there is the Rocky a lot of people have there rain drains run directly into it. That’s where it naturally want to go anyway. And since there is no storm drains on certain roads you kinda have to put it there. Why should those people have to pay when they aren’t even using storm drains at all?

Don’t know how much it matters posting this.  Maybe in the future the host can let Kyle Dreyfuss know what I said.  She talks about Broadview Heights and that residents aren’t leaving because of fee’s and taxes.  Well I left because of just that.  And the rest of my family is soon to follow, which is three households.  Rita tax, water bills, sewer bill, garbage fee, higher home and car insurance, and now another fee. All those extra $5 a month add up.  That’s exactly why everyone is leaving Cuyahoga suburbs. Now I have a pond where I drain water too and drink water from and have a septic tank, no city tax, no garbage fee, and way cheaper insurance. So yes people ARE leaving because of the fee’s and taxes are starting to stack up too high. How can other communities survive without all that stuff?  They must be super communities!