Mold Remediation in Cuyahoga Falls, OH

A group of Cuyahoga Falls residents is suing the city over the mandatory installation of a new generation of electric and water smart meters.

The lawsuit, filed in Summit County Common Pleas Court, alleges health risks and privacy concerns involving the meters and the radio frequency electromagnetic field radiation (RF-EMF) they emit.

The residents are asking Judge Jennifer D. Towell for a declaratory judgment confirming the mandate violates the Ohio Constitution and barring the city from cutting off water or electric service for refusing to install the new meters.

No opt-out option for residents

Jensen Silvis, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a recent interview that he's not sure why the city didn't allow an opt-out provision.

"Many states have an opt-out process," he said.

Renee Hedges, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the new meter would be a threat to her battle with a rare cancer.

She said doctors have advised her to limit her exposure to the type of radiation produced by the new water and electric meters.

"I want an opt-out, that's all," Hedges said. "I want the option to not have that flow through my house. I'm trying to minimize my exposure."

'Overall health will be improved'

Hedges and Silvis said plaintiffs' concerns extend beyond health and include privacy issues with the meters.

Hedges said she's been unable to acquire detailed information about the new meters, but found in her research that some smart meters can transmit as much as 190,000 times a day.

The city, however, on its website, says the meters have a very limited transmission time. The city has about 25,000 electric customers and provides water to about 55,000 people.

"Total transmission time is typically less than 5 seconds per day," the city states on a question and answer page about the meters. "In fact, overall health will be improved, and privacy enhanced by replacing vehicles and manual meter reading visits to homes and businesses with environmentally clean radio and cellular communication."

Hedges, though, is skeptical about the frequency of RF-EMF pulses — which she said she can feel — and the amount and type of data the meters can acquire.

"It is unknown what the new meter could pick up acoustically, but any person with access to the collected data could probably decipher if a person were home over the period of just a few transmissions," the lawsuit states. "Further, depending on the meter installed, a consumer's water or electricity could be shut off remotely without due process."

Hedges said she was unable to get detailed information from the city on the extent of information the meters can acquire, where that information is stored and what parties can access it.

"I don't even know where our data goes," she said.

'We didn't know what else we could do'

Silvis said he's also concerned about other safety aspects of some smart meters. He said he's seen news stories that the meters could cause power surges to other homes.

City Law Director Janet M. Ciotola said in a email that the city has had smart meters for city-owned electric and water since 2008.

"The existing meters have become outdated, and these meters are coming to the end of their useful life," Ciotola said in the email. "The current software will no longer be supported. These meters must be replaced in order to maintain effective and efficient service for our resident-customers and to help keep costs low."

Hedges said the new smart water meters have AMI (advanced meter infrastructure) technology, which means they have two-way communication capabilities. Older AMR (automated meter reading) meters used one-way communication for data collection.

Silvis said the city's response to the lawsuit is due in early May. In the meantime, the city has agreed not to install smart meters at the plaintiffs' homes or cut off service, he said.

Hedges said she contacted Silvis after she felt she had no other option. He is currently involved in a similar case in Streetsboro that's scheduled to go to trial next month.

"We contacted Mr. Silvis because we didn't know what else we could do," she said.

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj or Facebook at www.facebook.com/alan.newsman.

The boardwalk along the Cuyahoga River is a favorite for many families in the spring and summer.

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — Soon you will start to see some big changes along the river in Cuyahoga Falls. The city is spending millions on its Riverloop Project, rebuilding its boardwalk and the walking trail above it.

The boardwalk along the Cuyahoga River is a favorite for many families in the spring and summer. Built in the 1980s into bedrock and water, the structure is in disrepair in some spots and completely shut down in others.

"So, as you can imagine a lot of rot and things like that, it's time to replace it totally," said Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters.

Ground is now starting to break to add new electric lines underground that will light up the trail above the boardwalk. The plan is to widen the walkway by 10 feet and make it ADA-compliant.

New additions include family swings overlooking the river, a small wedding venue and "love lock" fence, an area to access the river and pan for gold, a bald eagle lookout, and a new stage.

The Portage Trail bridge will be illuminated, and the city's name will be displayed for drivers traveling on Route 8. At Broad Boulevard, more lighting will be added, as well as an underpass to prevent pedestrians from crossing the busy street.

"I'm a lifetime resident. I've been down here running around since I was a little kid. Now, to see it be very vibrant, people enjoying it besides me, I've always loved it but now lots of people do, even out of towners come here to enjoy it. It's very rewarding, I'm proud of Cuyahoga Falls," said Walters.

The Riverloop project will also include beautification and landscaping efforts from Oakwood to Broad Boulevard.

"7.1 million dollars we're actually paying cash. We have a lot of money in the bank right now, so we don't have to take a loan or bonds on this. We're paying cash because we had it in the coffers," said Walters.

Sitting above all this new hustle and bustle is Front Street, a hub of local eateries and businesses. Metropolis Popcorn is one of the longer-standing favorites, serving up 50 flavors of corn for 17 years.

Owner Brent Van Fossen has watched the area around his shop change.

"People were still coming here, maybe in smaller numbers, but they would always ask, what do you do down here? And there weren't a whole lot of great answers to that," he said.

When the city opened Front Street to traffic years ago, businesses boomed. But Metropolis said it could use a new boost.

"If you have to choose between eggs and a bag of caramel corn, eggs are probably going to win out. So, the last couple of years have been a bit of a roller coaster for us," said Van Fossen.

Van Fossen hopes that more momentum at the river will keep his team bagging popcorn for years to come.

"The whole framework is there, this just makes it more inviting is what I'm hoping. Anything that brings people down here is great for us," said Van Fossen.

Walters said the city is getting a head start on all this because of another project underway down the river. The Edison Dam at the Gorge is planned to be brought down.

When completed, the Cuyahoga River is expected to gain even more miles of white water for kayaking and canoeing. The hope is that more folks will come out and enjoy the river when it all opens up.

Walters said construction will not shut down anything during the summer months. The entire Riverloop Project should be completed by Labor Day 2026.

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