Health & Fitness
Residents Prevail
After residents once again overfilled the council chamber, Highland Heights Council redeemed itself by abandoning its plan to allow frac gas wells to be drilled in the Community Park.
I will write more shortly, but I wanted to report that after listening to another packed crowd of residents, Council unanimously abandoned its new drilling plan.
Resolution 6-2012 was defeated 7-0 on Tuesday night.
What now?
The city can either proceed to arbitration, as ordered by Common Pleas Judge Eileen Gallagher, or attempt to reach a financial settlement with Bass Energy.
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According to resident Stan Walczak, who presented his financial analysis to Council on Tuesday, due to the plummeting wholesale cost of natural gas, the drilling deal does not represent a very favorable return on investment for Bass. That financial reality should have a big impact, should the parties decide to sit down across a bargaining table from each other.
Of course residents won't really be out of the woods until the Bass Energy matter is resolved.
Find out what's happening in Mayfield-Hillcrestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Hopefully, however, the message they strongly and forcefully communicated – about keeping gas wells out our Community Park – was (finally) received and embraced by Mayor Scott Coleman and Council.