Lakewood Refuse and Recycling Facility to Get $611,000 Makeover

Doors that don’t open, aging windows and a roof that leaks “like no tomorrow” are just a few of the problems with Lakewood’s on Berea Road.

But the facility is about to get quite a makeover — complete with include solar panels, a new roof and energy-efficient lights.

The $611,000 project is possible thanks to an energy-efficiency grant from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council.

Joe Beno, the city’s director of public works, called the project “part energy efficiency and part facility improvement.”

The best part?

“When you don’t have to pay out of your own pocket, that helps,” he said. “These are needed repairs and we were able to get them done with this grant.”

Work on the five-month project is set to begin at the beginning of summer and wrap up in the fall. Also included in the project are new windows and special paint aimed at reducing energy consumption.

Discussions of improving the building were brought up several years ago, but were put on the back burner because of the high cost, Beno said.

The grant comes from a partnership between NOPEC and FirstEnergy through the Powering Our Communities program. According to a FirstEnergy news release, the level of funding is based on the number of customers in each community that participate in the program.

At a recent city council meeting, Councilman Tom Bullock said he is “glad to hear about the green aspects of the project." 

Beno agreed, but noted he’s just happy to fix the building.

“I don’t know if it’s the most exciting project,” he said. “It’s an old building that needs some help.”