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Do IT this week: Layering
for meth lab cleanup
By Gina Mace and Katie Byard
Beacon Journal writers
POSTED: 11:40 a.m. EDT, Jun 18, 2008
Property owners would be held responsible for the cost of seizure and cleanup of a methamphetamine lab found on their premises under an ordinance being considered by Falls City Council.
Cuyahoga Falls is not alone in taking a tougher stance on property owners whose residences have been home to a meth lab.
Neighboring Stow recently passed an ordinance that requires the owners of homes where meth labs are found to disclose that fact to potential buyers. The Falls ordinance has a similar stipulation.
In Green, city council members are expected to approve disclosure legislation June 24.
Green's ordinance also would require hotel or motel operators to tell guests about the meth lab history of rooms.
Green law director Steve Pruneski said motel rooms are attractive to those setting up meth labs because ''they can pay cash for them and if somebody discovers it, they just bail.''
There also is an effort to address disclosure countywide. A new Summit County Methamphetamine Property Awareness Task Force is looking at ways to make home buyers and renters better informed about meth labs.
In the Falls, landlords voiced their displeasure over the city's proposal when the Falls council met Monday.
Most of the six or so meth labs a year seized in Cuyahoga Falls are in rental units.
Assistant Law Director Hope Jones said the city might charge property owners the cost of the police department's time, lab fees to test the drugs, the building department's cost for vacating the property, and the cost of decontamination.
The average cost of cleanup by a professionally trained company is between $3,000 and $5,000, Jones said.
Dennis Bates, who is president of the Falls landlord council, said landlords are taking a proactive role by trying to learn all they can about the production of methamphetamine. The group recently hosted a member of the Summit County Drug Task Force to speak on the subject.
''As landlords, we try to monitor things,'' Bates said. ''We're trying to pick the best tenants we can.''
Bates said Cuyahoga Falls is both anti-landlord and anti-tenant.
Council-at-large Kathy Hummel — who owns rental property — said, ''One thing we need to keep in mind is no one wants drugs in the neighborhood.''
She said methamphetamine production ''destroys your property. There are many victims in this, including the neighbors and the landlords.''
Jones, the law director, said she doesn't expect the ordinance to pass as written. Council members will likely make amendments, she said.
''This is just a beginning,'' she said.
''Our primary concern is making sure houses are cleaned up, people are safe,'' said Sgt. Perry Tabak, who is in charge of the Falls police department's narcotics division.
Property owners would be held responsible for the cost of seizure and cleanup of a methamphetamine lab found on their premises under an ordinance being considered by Falls City Council.
Cuyahoga Falls is not alone in taking a tougher stance on property owners whose residences have been home to a meth lab.
Neighboring Stow recently passed an ordinance that requires the owners of homes where meth labs are found to disclose that fact to potential buyers. The Falls ordinance has a similar stipulation.
In Green, city council members are expected to approve disclosure legislation June 24.
Green's ordinance also would require hotel or motel operators to tell guests about the meth lab history of rooms.
Green law director Steve Pruneski said motel rooms are attractive to those setting up meth labs because ''they can pay cash for them and if somebody discovers it, they just bail.''
There also is an effort to address disclosure countywide. A new Summit County Methamphetamine Property Awareness Task Force is looking at ways to make home buyers and renters better informed about meth labs.
In the Falls, landlords voiced their displeasure over the city's proposal when the Falls council met Monday.
Most of the six or so meth labs a year seized in Cuyahoga Falls are in rental units.
Assistant Law Director Hope Jones said the city might charge property owners the cost of the police department's time, lab fees to test the drugs, the building department's cost for vacating the property, and the cost of decontamination.
The average cost of cleanup by a professionally trained company is between $3,000 and $5,000, Jones said.
Dennis Bates, who is president of the Falls landlord council, said landlords are taking a proactive role by trying to learn all they can about the production of methamphetamine. The group recently hosted a member of the Summit County Drug Task Force to speak on the subject.
''As landlords, we try to monitor things,'' Bates said. ''We're trying to pick the best tenants we can.''
Bates said Cuyahoga Falls is both anti-landlord and anti-tenant.
Council-at-large Kathy Hummel — who owns rental property — said, ''One thing we need to keep in mind is no one wants drugs in the neighborhood.''
She said methamphetamine production ''destroys your property. There are many victims in this, including the neighbors and the landlords.''
Jones, the law director, said she doesn't expect the ordinance to pass as written. Council members will likely make amendments, she said.
''This is just a beginning,'' she said.
''Our primary concern is making sure houses are cleaned up, people are safe,'' said Sgt. Perry Tabak, who is in charge of the Falls police department's narcotics division.
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