Published: December 03, 2008 09:06 am      

Berea considers buying Parker Seal building

BEREA — Berea City Council members reviewed a contract proposal Tuesday night that would give the city ownership of the old Parker Seal building. The 70,000-square-foot facility on nine acres of land is located near the intersection of Oak and Lewis streets.

The city has been in negotiation with the Parker Hannifin company for the past four years, and has negotiated a purchasing price of $150,000, according to City Administrator Randy Stone.

Initial plans for the facility include as a satellite police station, a small business incubator and a small sports facility, Stone said.

“That would be an area that with a little work we could operate some winter programs — basketball and volleyball,” Stone said. Equipment from the now-defunct Boys and Girls Club of Madison County, such as pool and foosball tables are now city property and also could be used at the facility.

One facet of the purchase agreement raised concern among council members — which party would assume responsibility if the site is contaminated by industrial activities.

Under the terms of the contract, Parker Hannifin, a company that manufactures motion control products, would be responsible for any known environmental problems at the site. Under the proposed terms, Parker Hannifin would be responsible for any clean-up or remediation of environmental problems even after the city of Berea has taken possession of the property.

According to a 200-page report, oil is the only known pollutant at the site, according to Stone, who noted the oil had been regularly pumped out up until approximately two years ago. Stone added that the recent environmental study conducted by consultants Third Rock has initially concluded that the air quality is at acceptable levels.

“They found no problems,” Stone said. “Based on the environmental study we’ve had, we feel comfortable having this facility used by the city.”

But the sticking point for some council members was that Parker Hannifin would not be responsible for currently “unknown” environmental issues that may arise.

“I’m uncomfortable saying we’ll take responsibility in the future for something that is unknown,” said Glenn Jennings. “Would I personally sign this agreement tonight if I was buying it? I would not. Would I buy it for the city tonight? I would not.”

Chester Powell added that if the city builds on the property, it may disturb the oil leachate in the ground, which could create a new environmental problem for which the city would be responsible. Powell wondered whether that could potentially cause problems for the city.

Denise Hagan expressed concern about why the property is on sale at a bargain price, suggesting that it may in fact be because the cost of cleaning it up would be prohibitive.

Mayor Steve Connelly suggested that the city take two steps before the council considers the purchase further. First, the city will notify Parker Hannifin that it wants the purchase agreement changed so that the company will assume all liability and responsibility for environmental issues — both present and future — that were directly caused by manufacturing activities at Parker Seal.

Secondly, the city will invite environmental consulting firms to brief city council members on the findings they reached in their report.

In other business, the city council:

• Unanimously adopted an ordinance that would keep the tax rate steady at 10 cents per $100 of property value. Under the current rate, the city will actually lose $9,525 in revenue compared with last year because property assessments have gone down. The city is projected to collect $628,353 in revenue from the property tax.

• Adopted an ordinance annexing 60 acres on O’Possum Kingdom Road with an A-1 agricultural zone designation. The property is owned by H. Gabbard and is located across from the Tremont Subdivision. When the item came up for discussion, Hagan suggested the property will eventually be zoned residential, which would further strain the city’s infrastructure and resources. “If the city doesn’t have enough water for the people we already have in the city limits, how are we going to have enough for these people?” Hagan asked. “I’m not against growth, but I think it has to be measured. We really have to think of some of these issues for the long term.” Other council members disagreed, saying the council only could consider the issue immediately before it — whether the property should be annexed as agricultural. When the vote was cast, Virgil Burnside, Howard Baker, Vi Farmer, Glenn Jennings, Truman Fields and Greg Lakes voted to annex the property into the city. Chester Powell and Denise Hagan voted no.

• Berea Municipal Utilities Director Donald Blackburn urged city residents to resume their efforts to consume water. Blackburn said water use has increased in October and November, reversing a nine-month trend when residents were cutting back on water use.

• Voted unanimously to join Local Governments for Sustainability, a group that advises municipalities on how to reduce greenhouse gases and energy use.