Wellington council approves the construction of a new landfill transfer station
by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington City Council ended a year debate over the expansion of municipal trash services, by approving a $1.125 million general obligation bond project to build a new transfer station at the city landfill south of town at its Tuesday meeting.
The new transfer station was approved by a 4-1 vote with council member Kip Etter voting in opposition and Kelly Hawley not in attendance. The new station will provide additional space for Wellington’s burgeoning landfill traffic from Sedgwick County.
Using General Obligation bonds, the new transfer station will be financed through sanitation fees from a recommended 50 cent monthly increase in residential trash and 3.3 percent increased commercial fees. That will be a future agenda item. There is no taxation involved with the project.
The $1.25 million project is significantly less than the $2.1 million project that would have included automated recycling trucks that was proposed and approved by the previous council, but was overturned by the current council in January. Wellington City Manager Shane Shields brought the proposal minus the automated trash process.
Wellington Director of Public Works Jeremy Jones said business has been booming because haulers can save as much as $38 a ton by bringing their waste to Wellington instead of using the landfill in Sedgwick County.
The new landfill station will also include a new backhoe. The new transfer floor will be 90-foot by 90-foot, which is approximately three times larger than the current floor and will include lowered loading pit to allow for more efficient loading of trucks. Jones said this will accommodate the 13,000 ton increase of solid waste since 2015.
The old building could be used for other purposes or rented out to other businesses.
The council also approved the hiring of Allied Environmental Consultants for engineering purposes on the project.
———
In other city council business:
•The council approved a request by Rick and Brenda Stewart, owners of 116 North F Street to rezone from a single family to a multi-family dwelling. The Stewarts are hoping to build a bed and breakfast at that location.
•Mike and Stacy Wiley received approval of the rezoning and lot split of their property on Maize Road, west of Wellington, from Agriculture to Residential Suburban for future construction.
