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Residents tell Green council raw sewage from 4419 Massillon Road is entering neighborhood and storm system
Summary
Residents of Hawthorne Court told the Green City Council that raw sewage has been flowing from 4419 Massillon Road onto nearby yards and into a retention pond; Summit County Public Health issued corrective orders and set a replacement/tie-in deadline the county now says must be met by the end of September or be escalated.
Ron Stout, a Hawthorne Court resident, told the Green City Council on Aug. 13 that his neighborhood has been dealing for months with what he called intentional discharges of raw sewage from the property at 4419 Massillon Road, owned in the remarks by Maria and Frances Carson. "There was a trench that was late in April rather full of raw sewage," Stout said, and he described an exposed pipe diverting waste toward a stormwater drain that ultimately reaches the neighborhood retention pond.
His account was followed by other neighbors who described persistent sewer gas odors inside garages and yards, and by medical and scientific concerns. "Our current situation, E. coli at 210,000 times the maximum allowable limit, is a health hazard by definition," said Dr. William Barnett, who identified himself as a retired veterinary surgeon involved in human medical research. Residents said Summit County Public Health took samples and issued a notice on May 3 directing the property owner to abate the condition and either replace or tie into the county sanitary sewer along Massillon Road.
City administration and the health department told council members that the county initially set a 90-day compliance window that expired Aug. 1 and subsequently extended the administrative enforcement timeline: the health department now expects the septic system to be replaced or tied into sewer by the end of September, after which the county will escalate to the next administrative step (and potentially the legal process) if compliance remains unmet. City staff said they had provided the health department with a lower-cost quote from a local developer to replace or tie in the system and asked the county to review that option.
Residents asked the council to pursue immediate measures to stop the ongoing flow and to consider city code enforcement as an additional tool. Jane Weaver pointed the council to sections of the city property-maintenance provisions (153.096 and 153.097) as possible mechanisms to serve papers or pursue nuisance remedies at the city level. Council members and the law director said they would review whether local code provides an immediate enforcement path while the county’s public-health process continues.
Administration emphasized the county’s role and the need to preserve due process in the health department’s investigation but said it would continue to press the county for prompt action and keep residents informed. The council did not take a formal vote on a local enforcement action during the meeting; staff requested the law director to research municipal code options and keep residents apprised.
What happens next: Summit County Public Health expects replacement or tie-in by the end of September; the city said it would continue coordination and legal review of potential municipal code remedies. Residents said they will submit petitions to both the city and the health department for the record.
