ECA Director Seth Kirshenberg offers
condolences and memories of Mayor Church:
Mayor Church was more than a leader at ECA. He was a founding member that led the organization through transition and helped it grow from an idea into an organization that works for and assists municipalities around DOE sites. He always said that he never wanted to get involved in DOE matters, but after the closure of the Mound site, he (as the newly elected Mayor of Miamisburg) became a leading voice for municipalities on
environmental cleanup, the workers at the sites, and reuse of former federal facilities. He worked on legislation that helped transition workers to new jobs, permitted land to be conveyed to municipalities at no cost and with a clear indemnification that if the municipality (or the local community reuse organization) was ever held liable for the DOE contamination, that DOE would indemnify the community.
For over 15 years, Mayor Church visited Washington every six weeks to lobby for the clean-up of his community’s site and others across
the nation.
On working with DOE, he was quoted in
Forbes saying, “And I have to tell you that over all of those years there were bumps in the road…We got along and everything was going our way.
And then all of a sudden, they would make a decision that would just upset the apple cart. And we started over.”
One DOE assistant secretary was reported to say “Whatever you do, keep that damned mayor out of my office.”
Mayor Church was fond of saying that a key component of Miamisburg's success has been a "strength in numbers" approach. Not only did Mayor Church and Ohio's political leadership rally together against DOE, but the City of Miamisburg also formed ECA.
"At that time the DOE was starting to downsize all sites. So, we got together as a community of communities," according to Mayor Church.
Mayor Church, along with community leaders in Miamisburg, also
created the community reuse organization - Miamisburg Mound Improvement Corporation (MMCIC), which negotiated for the cleanup and acquisition of the former Mound facility. He advocated for his community and communities around the country every time he got off the plane in Washington, D.C.
One of his favorite stories to tell was of his first trips to Washington, when the head of the new Office of Environmental Management told him – “I don’t need to listen to you, you are just the Mayor; I only need to listen to the State.” He changed the way
DOE worked with and treated local governments. He set the stage for the working relationship that we have now with EM.
On a personal note, he hired me and gave me the chance to work with communities around the country and be their advocate and friend on these important issues. He will be missed by all. He was a tireless leader and cared deeply about his family, his city, and the communities around all of the DOE sites.
Seth Kirshenberg, Executive Director