Debate over wastewater plant site heats up

One man worried that building a wastewater reclamation plant north of the Dodge City limits will hinder growth in that part of town.
    Another man said he wants to be certain the city is spending its tax dollars wisely on the project.
    And a third wondered why the city had to decide immediately whether to purchase about 312 acres just outside the north city limits for the plant.
    Those questions and others were raised when the Dodge City Commission hosted a special meeting Monday at the Mariah Hills clubhouse to discuss the property and the city's plans for it.
    The meeting took place several hours before the commission voted 3-2 to purchase the property, located on North 14th Avenue just outside the northern city limits, for  $1.55 million from Marilyn Rebein, Ford County Commission Chairman Kim Goodnight and Elizabeth Goodnight.
    The property comes with about 280 feet of available water rights.
    The city originally announced plans to build a wastewater reclamation plant on the site, but it is willing to consider other locations as well, said Mayor Kent Smoll.
    "If another site is more efficient, we'll look at it," he said.
    Smoll said if another location proved to be the better choice, the city could trade part of the Rebein property for the other site while retaining the water rights associated with the Rebein property.
    City officials have said the plant must be built north of town because all development in that area drains to the north.
    The meeting included presentations from the Wichita-based company Professional Engineering Consultants, which is helping update the city's wastewater master plan; the Denver company ArchitectureDenver, which is gathering information for the city's comprehensive growth plan; and OMI, which maintains the wastewater treatment plant south of town.
    PEC engineer Kevin Rood said the new plant will be as architecturally friendly and odor-free as possible.
    "Treatment plants don't have to be bad neighbors," he said. "They can be good neighbors."
    He said the plant would be designed to minimize odors, but it could not eliminate them altogether.
    Rood said the new plant would filter waste materials through membranes, which would allow clear water to pass through the membranes' pores. The devices would retain viruses, bacteria and solid waste.
    The wastewater would also be disinfected, but it's unclear whether the plant would use ultraviolet light or chlorine for that part of the process.
   
Questions and answers
    Slides from city officials' recent visit to the Haysville wastewater treatment plant, and a newer water reclamation plant in El Dorado, played on one wall of the clubhouse during the 2 1/2-hour meeting.
    Vice Mayor Rick Sowers said he was most impressed by the El Dorado plant, which uses modern technology. He added that Dodge City's plant will be even more up to date.
    "I'm thinking the technology is going to solve quite a bit of the problems," he said.
    Audience members peppered city commissioners and other officials with questions about the project, seeking answers about the location, the cost of the property and other issues.
    Dodge City resident Mike Weber, who opposes building the plant on North 14th Avenue, said he would like to see the city move the facility further away from town.
    "Tim Volz's new neighborhood, where he's building houses, will not gravity drain this site," Weber said. "The west casino location will not gravity drain this site. The east location will not gravity drain this site. And yet, we claim that the reason we want to put a plant up north is because the north end of town won't gravity drain to the old system."
    Weber has proposed moving the facility about two miles directly east of the site on North 14th Avenue, and the city has asked Professional Engineering Consultants to study that option.
    Another man in the audience, Dodge City resident Rick Hessman, said he wanted to make sure city officials were spending money wisely.
    "I guess I want our tax dollars used right," he said.
    A third man said he was concerned about the potential impact of a water reclamation plant on development in north Dodge City.
    "I just don't want to see us stop growing to the north just because we put a sewage plant in that area," he said.

Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com.