Lucas County staff described progress on a county material recovery facility (MRF) and presented a proposal to increase the Lucas County Solid Waste Management District’s fixed parcel fee to fund construction and operations.

Sanitary engineer staff said the planned MRF would be located at Coleman Drive and South Avenue on a remediated portion of an old landfill and would cut long-haul shipments to facilities outside the county; staff said the county currently sends roughly four trucks a day about 90 miles to a facility in Oberlin. “We’re up to $12,000,000 in grant funds to date,” staff said, noting the grants have helped offset rising capital costs.

Staff explained Lucas County’s solid-waste funding streams: a $5.20-per-ton landfill disposal fee on waste generated in the county, and a separate fixed-fee assessment on all improved parcels that was adopted in 2013. For long-term financing of the MRF, staff recommended increasing the fixed fee assessed on each improved parcel from $5 per year to $25 per year; staff said there would be no change to the $5.20-per-ton disposal fee in the proposal. The presentation said the increased fixed fee would first appear on the January 2026 tax duplicate if the commissioners proceed and notify the auditor for certification.

Staff also described the solid waste management plan, a state-mandated planning document updated and submitted every five years, and emphasized recycling education and proper sorting as part of improving MRF yields. Commissioners asked whether senior or veteran discounts exist for the solid-waste assessment; staff replied that the county’s code does not currently allow a senior discount for the fixed fee and that changing that policy would require a code revision. No formal action was taken at the hearing; staff said the matter will return for further consideration after the public hearing process.