Akron and Mogadore announced a new water agreement Friday that will lower rates for village customers and allow a growing company to expand.
Under terms of the deal, Mogadore has agreed to buy water exclusively from Akron for the next 99 years.
In turn, the city will lower the billing surcharge paid by village customers from 45 percent to 22.5 percent — saving the average residential customer about $10 to $15 a month, officials said.
“Our residents are getting a better deal with this agreement,” Mogadore Mayor Mike Rick said.
Akron also has agreed to provide water service to Omega Laboratories, a drug-testing company that primarily tests hair samples. The village will provide 33.3 percent of the income tax collected from the company to Akron.
Rick estimated that share at $15,000 to $20,000 a year.
Omega will pay for the water line, the mayor said.
The company is planning a $4 million expansion and renovation that will double its headquarters to about 40,000 square feet. Omega has well water and a septic system now, and needed water service for the expansion.
The hair drug-testing industry is taking off, especially overseas, Chief Executive Officer Bill Corl said, and the current facility isn’t large enough. The expansion will provide additional lab and office space.
Omega has been courted by other countries and states to relocate but has chosen to remain in the village.
“Mogadore has been very supportive of Omega and we enjoy running our business here,” Corl said.
The water deal was approved this week by the Mogadore council and is expected to be discussed Monday by the Akron council.
Mogadore has received Akron water since 1929. A short-term deal was signed in 1993, which included several short-term extensions.
“We have been servicing Mogadore with water for quite some time now, and it is good to finally have a long-term agreement,” Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic said in a prepared statement.
The agreement also calls for the creation of a Joint Economic Development Zone. And it says the village would pay 50 percent of the income tax collected from nonresidential property if the city annexes land and the city supplies the water.
That same income tax deal would apply if the village merges with another political subdivision or enters into a Joint Economic Development District agreement.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.