AVON LAKE, Ohio — Shortly before sunrise Wednesday, an expected implosion in Avon Lake was done on portions of the city's historic power plant around 5:40 a.m.
It came after the city issued an alert at 5:08 a.m. that the planned implosion "will occur within the next 30 minutes."
The implosion was captured live during the GO! morning show -- and you can watch the moment in the video at the top of this story.
"Please avoid the area and remain indoors with the windows closed," according to the alert from the city before the implosion. "Roads adjacent to the power plant property will be closed for the safety of motorists, find an alternate route if necessary. Air quality monitoring is underway, and notification will occur once the area has been deemed safe. If you hear the implosions, there is no need to contact emergency services as they will be on site."
The city then issued an updated alert at 6:44 a.m. that said the area around the power plant "has been determined to be safe and clear" with normal activities able to resume.
You can see what the site looked like after the implosion in the video below after our drone captured daylight footage:
HOW WE GOT HERE
During a special meeting of Avon Lake City Council on Monday evening, several councilmembers and plenty of residents asked for the demolition to be postponed amid health and safety concerns.
The meeting was attended by more than 100 residents, who were demanding answers about everything from chemicals resulting from the ensuing dust cloud, to possible dangers to wildlife, and potential lake contamination.
Avon Lake officials announced last week that they were informed by the Avon Lake Environmental Redevelopment Group (ALERG), the owners of the plant, that two boilers and a precipitator will be imploded using "controlled explosives" as the demolition of the 98-year-old facility continues.
Initially, the city said the work would be done by "mid-August," but announced on Sunday that the implosion would be taking place "sometime this week." They added that implosion on the precipitator would be delayed "due to concerns that the blast could damage a nearby smokestack."
In order to minimize crowds, Avon Lake Mayor Mark Spaetzel said an alert would be sent out through the city's emergency notification system approximately 30 minutes prior to the implosion.
The city says ALERG’s demolition experts have set a 1,200-foot exclusion zone, with an expanded area "cordoned off for additional safety."
According to city officials, ALERG is collaborating with local authorities, including the Avon Lake Police and Fire Departments, Avon Lake Regional Water, Columbia Gas, FirstEnergy, and the Coast Guard, to ensure "a coordinated and safe event." Avon Lake city leaders say they will be working to monitor air quality "before, during, and after the event." The city also says it will assist with the closure of Lake Road and the surrounding area during the implosion.
"The blast will take a second or two, and then the building will collapse," Spaetzel explained during Monday's meeting. "We believe this is going to be a safe process. You're not going to have debris falling everywhere, but what you will have is dust, which I know is of concern."
In a Tuesday release, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced that Lake Road (U.S. Route 6) would be closed between Miller Road and Moore Road between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. Wednesday due to "demolition of structures at the old Avon Lake Power Plant. This is approximately a two-hour closure." The detour route will be Lake Road (U.S. 6) east to Miller Road south to Walker Road east to Moore Road north and back to Lake Road (U.S. 6), and reverse.
ADDRESSING CONCERNS
Several residents spoke directly to council and to the ALERG representative who was on hand during Monday's meeting.
Some were concerned about what will happen when dust and debris are released into the air after the implosion. Others were upset about a perceived lack of transparency during the project.
"We need to call it off, as far as I'm concerned," one Avon Lake resident told council.
ALERG representative Scott Reschly told the council that all asbestos from the power plant site has been removed, along with all of the coal and other contaminants.
"We do recognize that there's going to be dust and it is going to be around for a couple of minutes," Reschly said. "We have done an extensive amount of risk assessment on this."
Reschly had a contentious exchange with Avon Lake Councilman Rob Shahmir during the meeting, the latter claiming that ALERG had not properly informed the council of its implosion plan ahead of time.
"We have a responsibility on this side of the table to ensure our residents are safe," Shahmir said emotionally. "Be clear. If you've done it, we'll take a look at it and say, 'Bravo, thanks for doing it.'"
Reschly explained that the Ohio EPA had reviewed ALERG's plan and approved it, causing Shahmir and other council members to roar.
"This is where we live," Shahmir roared.
"Did you not consider us?" Councilwoman Amy Gentry added.
Avon Lake City Council President Martin O'Donnell suggested to Reschly that the "brakes be put on" the implosion at the end of the meeting.
"We need documentation that we can show residents that they would understand for their protection and quell some of the fears and issues that they have brought up," O'Donnell said.
PRE-IMPLOSION STATEMENTS FROM STAKEHOLDERS
On Tuesday, ALERG sent the following letter to Spaetzel in preparation for Wednesday's implosion, confirming ODOT's traffic report.
"ALERG wants to assure everyone that we have taken great measures and conducted significant risk assessment pre-planning to:
1. Identify all potential receptors that are in the vicinity of the former power plant,
2. Assess the potential exposure pathways from the short duration-controlled implosion plan,
3. Put plans, resources, and measures in place and to be prepared to implement protective mitigation from the implosion event, as needed.
These measures go above and beyond the past two-years of work ALERG has done to prepare the site for the safest of conditions possible leading up to implosion. This work included but was not limited to dust removal, asbestos abatement, hazardous substance and petroleum removal, fly ash removal, and boiler washdowns."
You can read the entire letter below:
Spaetzel also provided a statement heading into the implosion:
“We appreciate the community’s valuable feedback and concerns regarding the upcoming implosion and want to provide an important update. The Avon Lake Environmental Redevelopment Group (ALERG) announced that ALERG’s long-planned implosion of the boiler building #9 and #10 will take place on July 31, 2024 between 5:00 AM and 8:00 AM EST. This planned implosion is the next step toward the demolition and redevelopment of the former Avon Lake Power Plant. In preparation for this milestone, ALERG has performed comprehensive dust abatement, asbestos abatement and removal of other hazardous materials at the facility for over the past year. Ohio EPA representatives have toured the plant site and reviewed ALERG’s site preparation activities. On July 30, 2024, City representatives confirmed the Ohio EPA’s Air Division is both aware of the planned implosion and will be present to monitor demolition activities themselves.
"The City consulted with both the Law Director and outside counsel regarding whether the City has a strong legal basis to delay the implosion. Based on these discussions, the City concluded that ALERG has the legal right to proceed with its long-planned activity.
"In addition, the City has retained Verdantas, a nationally recognized environmental consultant, to represent the City during the demolition process. Verdantas has assembled a team of experts from across the United States, with deep experience in monitoring similar activities, especially dust monitoring. Therefore, the City believes it has taken prudent and proactive steps to monitor this demolition, in collaboration with Ohio EPA’s regulatory oversight, in a manner protective of City residents.”
3News' Kaitor Kay spoke with Shahmir on Tuesday after he found out that the implosion will be taking place.
"I feel strongly that we shouldn't move forward," the councilman said. "All we are asking for is that those plans – the hazardous waste plan, the air mitigation plan, the cleanup plan — that information is brought into the city, the city reviews it, and understands that there is an actual program in place to safeguard the community. Until then, I'm totally against it."
Kay asked Shahmir if he believes residents are in danger.
“I don't know, unless you do the risk assessment," he said. "You want to ensure that every mitigation measure is in place before you implement. You don't want to find out, 'oh by the way.' It's a matter of ensuring that there will be no harm if this is implemented and it should be based on data not based on conjecture.”
Shahmir said if ALERG has done the risk assessment, they have not been transparent about it.
He does ultimately support the project though.
"The future, if it's done properly, Avon Lake and that property could become the jewel of Lake Erie," he said. "It could bring in hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in investment and revenue into the community. But it should not be at the risk of the health of the community.”
RECORDS SEARCH
In ALERG's most recent report to the city of Avon Lake, it was revealed that more than a dozen hazardous substances were found on the site of the power plant and removed. The substances include asbestos, lead-contaminated dust, ammonia, and arsenic-impacted soil.
In addition, over 184,000 gallons of transformer oil and used oil were removed, along with an additional 19,000 gallons of petroleum.
Records also show that the city of Avon Lake contracted a a private environmental consultant company, Verdantas, approving up to $20,000 for reports. None of the reports have been published online.
A LOOK AHEAD
Wednesday's scheduled implosion will not be the last one that will be done as part of the demolition of the Avon Lake power plant.
In its report to the city last month, ALERG stated that implosions of two stacks and two boilers could take place as soon as this November. Planners have targeted June 30, 2025 as the date for "plant site remediation" to be complete, followed by a "site restoration complete" date of Aug. 31, 2025.
According to Cleveland Historical, the Avon Lake power plant was opened by Cleveland Electric Illuminating (CEI) in 1926 at the cost of $30 million. The plant closed in 2021, but community leaders are hoping to redevelop and revitalize the 40-acre site.
In 2022, ALERG hosted a public meeting showcasing their vision for the future of the property. Renderings done in tandem with commercial real estate firm Avison Young and architecture design firm Gensler showed plans to keep the plant's iconic stacks, while taking advantage of open space along the lakefront.
