Location of proposed wastewater plant draws opposition

    Dodge City's plans to build a wastewater treatment plant north of town drew several protests during Monday's Dodge City Commission meeting.
    The city has a pending contract with property owner Marilyn Rebein to buy approximately 312 acres of land on North 14th Avenue, just outside the city limits. The property would be used for a wastewater treatment plant and accompanying facilities.
    Ford County Commission Chairman Kim Goodnight has a house on the southern edge of the property, which would be included in the purchase, City Manager Ken Strobel said Tuesday.
    The city would pay $1.55 million for the property.
    An attempt to reach Goodnight for comment Tuesday night was not immediately successful.
    Strobel said the city chose that site for the proposed wastewater treatment plant for two reasons. First, he said, the location would accommodate the areas where city officials anticipate future growth, no matter where the proposed casino is located. Second, he said, the property comes with 280 feet of available water rights, which will be included in the sale.
    He said the wastewater treatment plant will use a new recycling process, which will allow the city to use the recycled water to irrigate public grounds such as Mariah Hills Golf Course, Maple Grove Cemetery and Dodge City Community College. Using the recycled water would allow the city to reserve its supplies of potable water for municipal use.
    "You're reusing water instead of sending it down the river," Strobel said. "It just makes a whole lot of sense, it seems to me. And frankly, it needs to be the way we're going."
    He added that new technology at the plant would reduce, if not eliminate, possible odors.
    Mayor Kent Smoll said the commission has discussed the city's need for a new wastewater treatment plant ever since he joined the panel. He said the commission met with the city's engineers, Professional Engineering Corp., a couple of months ago to discuss whether the city should expand the existing plant south of town or look at other options.
    "They advised us that basically, everything north of the bypass — or Highway 50 Business, whatever it's called — drains to the north," he said. "So if we don't put a plant to the north, then we're constantly going to have to build lift stations because it won't gravity flow back down to the other plant."
    Smoll said the commission then voted to build the new plant north of town. He added that the Rebein property turned out to be the best choice because it included available water rights.
    But several people who live or own property in the area near the proposed plant are worried about the possible smell and the plant's impact on further development.
    Mike Weber, who lives and owns property in that area, said in a phone interview Tuesday that he dislikes the idea of building the plant less than a mile outside town — partly because of the potential odor, and partly because he was concerned about future growth in the area.
    "I think the negative stigma that's associated with a sewage treatment plant will stifle growth in that area of town," said Weber, the father of Dodge City Commissioner Brian Weber.
    Hans Katzenmeier, who addressed the commission on the subject Monday, said on Tuesday that he was less worried about odor than about the proposed plant's location on North 14th Avenue.
    "Just the fact that it might be an eyesore in the showcase corridor of our community," he said.
    The commission will host a public hearing on the issue during its next meeting, set for 7 p.m. Aug. 18 at City Hall.
   
Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com.