The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Agency celebrates 50 years
NOACA coordinates major road construction projects in Northeast Ohio
Chances are, you’ve heard the name of NOACA mentioned in news stories about major road projects.
Short for Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, NOACA is the Cleveland-based metropolitan planning organization for Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain, Geauga and Medina counties.
Established in 1966 as a mandated offshoot of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962, NOACA is responsible for analyzing and ranking proposals for highway , bikeway and transit projects that are eligible for federal funding. The 45-person NOACA board of directors, receiving input from subgroups, decides which projects receive funding and in what order those projects will move forward toward completion.
Funding applications for projects dealing with water quality and air quality in the five counties also fall under NOACA’s
administrative umbrella.
On April 25, at The City Club of Cleveland, NOACA will mark its half-century of work in a luncheon program titled “50 Years of NOACA: Reflecting on the Past, Forging the Future.”
Among the eight scheduled participants in that event’s panel discussion are Grace Gallucci, executive director of NOACA since 2013, and Lake County commissioner Daniel P. Troy, currently the treasurer of the board of directors and one of its past presidents.
Gallucci said NOACA currently has $1.8 billion in road projects on its books through 2021 as elements of the Transportation Improvement Plan.
“NOACA is the closest thing we have to regional government,” Gallucci said. “What makes NOACA work is the high level of professionalism among members of the board. There is an understanding that while you have to look out for the constituents of your particular county, you also have to think regionally and consider the bigger picture. It is never an us-versus-them mentality.”
Troy said he’s been actively involved in NOACA throughout his 19 years as a county commissioner.
“Being part of this agency allows county commissioners, mayors, township trustees, transit authority representatives, count engineers and planners to convene on a regular basis and discuss issues of mutual interest,” Troy said.
NOACA’s mission is especially important given the current state of the economy , according to Troy.
“We have aging infrastructure and there are only so many dollars to go around,” he said. “Are we going to decide in Washington (D.C.) where they get spent or do we want these things vetted and analyzed by local officials?
“People prefer local control,” Troy added. “Projects need to be planned better. We need to make sure
whatever transportation dollars we have are spent on things that are absolutely essential.”
Lorain County Commissioner Ted Kalo has been active in NOACA during his 14 years as a commissioner and is secretary of the NOACA board.
“NOACA is one place where partisan politics does not become part of the equation,” he said. “We have disputes and differences of opinion, but we always come up with compromises that work for the region.”
Kalo said board members work closely with NOACA’s in-house staff of planners, engineers, geographic information system specialists and information technology specialists during deliberations for projects proposed by representatives of the five counties.
“It’s not so much a competition as a ranking of issues,” Kalo said. “Without a doubt, our process is geared toward effective spending of taxpayer dollars.”
Not all representatives of the five counties in NOACA’s coverage area are as enthusiastic about the agency and its mission.
“This is a program forced on us by the federal government,” Geauga County Commissioner Walter M. Claypool said. “I am not a fan of regionalism because it creates a power a power base that motivates the activity of local officials.”
Claypool is on NOACA’s board of directors, along with fellow Geauga County commissioners Timothy C. Lennon and Ralph Spidalieri. Lennon is NOACA’s second vice president
“There are no misunderstandings between me and the other members of the (NOACA) board. They know where I’m coming from. I don’t go along to get along,” Claypool said.
“Geauga County is in NOACA, so I don’t see us as having an option,” Claypool added. “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. My responsibility is to fight tooth and nail for the citizens of this county. Some of those citizens, the Amish, are still using horses and buggies. I am proud to represent their interests, and those interests are not necessarily served by NOACA.”
Jerry C. Cirino is a relative newcomer to NOACA and its board, having just been elected as a Lake County commissioner in November 2016. He officially took office in January 2017.
“When I got there, I had the impression NOACA was very Cleveland- and Cuyahoga County-centric,” Cerino said. “Over the last 16 months, I have been disabused of that notion. The other four counties makes sure that kind of influence doesn’t manifest in unfair fashion.
“Meetings are run efficiently. I never feel hesitant to voice an opinion,” Cerino added. “NOACA’s board has a good mix of experience and fresh outlooks that keeps everyone on their toes.”
Allocations of NOACA board positions are based on population. Cuyahoga County has 15 board members. The city of Cleveland has six as compared to seven for Lorain County, six for various state and regional officials, five for Lake County, four for Medina County and three for Geauga County.
There are 16 other metropolitan planning organizations in Ohio, including the Mid-Ohio Planning Commission in the Columbus are and Erie Regional Planning Commission in the Sandusky area.