MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Middletown City Council members discussed a series of possible solutions to the multi-story tall rubble pile left by the demolition of the Paperboard industrial site in 2024, with multiple city leaders expressing concern that dust from the pile could be a health issue to those living nearby.
The problem was first brought to light in early May when Marva Gaston came before the council for the first time.
I watched that meeting and then Gaston's return to the council two weeks later and sought her out.
Gaston told the council at Tuesday's meeting that the reports have helped get her story amplified.
"WCPO knocked on my door and asked me to do an interview. I agreed, and boy am I glad I did," she said.
That reporting didn't go unnoticed by council members.
WATCH: Middletown debates solutions to debris mountain
As Vice Mayor Steve West called for more to be done to ensure the site along Verity Parkway is secured to protect kids from entering the property and climbing the pile, he referenced his initial surprise at seeing a picture of the pile Gaston brought before council.
"I was very shocked when I first saw that picture. It looked like Colorado, or, I forgot whatever I said. WCPO picked it up," West said.
Councilman Paul Lolli stressed that the city was looking into options for what to do with the concrete aggregate that could be used in industrial or city projects.
He said it takes time to mediate a property like the Paperboard site safely.
"I fully understand your concerns and your frustrations; however, what I'm asking is we have to be a little more patient," he said.
Councilwoman Jennifer Carter, on the other hand, demanded a more immediate solution to the issue.
She suggested moving all of the concrete aggregate out of the neighborhood to another city-owned property until it could be used or sold.
"How long would we let something like that sit in any other neighborhood in Middletown other than where it's sitting right now? So, move it," Carter said.
We asked Gaston what it meant to hear Carter publicly calling for the same solution she told WCPO a day earlier.
"Hopefully that I'm gaining some traction," she said.
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Mayor Elizabeth Slamka said she and the council were in talks with City Manager Ashley Combs to establish a list of options for the aggregate and a timeline for answering neighbors' concerns.
"For me, personally, I think it's very important as a priority. I know, as you all probably know as well, that any kind of particulates that you breathe into your lungs has an effect," Slamka said.
At the end of Tuesday's meeting, Slamka directed Combs to bring a timeline for solving debris-related dust problems before council by the next meeting June 17.
