Lexington Lawmakers Keep Same Sewer Pump Station Site

Supporters of a strong urban service boundary as a means to protect farms from development in Lexington-Fayette County, Ky., celebrated an April 28 decision by lawmakers to renovate and upgrade a sewer pump station at its current location rather than build one at a new location on the Mill Ridge Farm property. In a decision that pitted one Lexington area Thoroughbred farm against other farm owners and industry leaders concerned about development, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted 10-5 April 28 to approve a plan that will see an overhaul of a sewer pump station at its current Mint Lane location. Because of overflows during rain, the current sewer pump station needed renovation or a new one would have been required. Council members considered these two plans, as well as a third plan of locating the pump station on Blue Grass Airport property. That third plan was much more expensive than the other two options and was set aside. Included in council packets Tuesday was a report from acting commissioner of environmental quality and public works Charles Martin that projected the cost of the Mint Lane location at $19.6 million and the Bowman Mill (Mill Ridge Farm) site at $27.3 million-$29.3 million. (Those prices are ranges based on options. There also was a $25 million estimate for Bowman Mill cited during Tuesday's meeting.) In updates from that report, Martin said the Bowman Mill site would have served future development and would not need a developer-built pumping station. It said the Mint Lane site does not allocate capacity for future expansion (not already on the books), while the Bowman Mill site would allocate that additional capacity. He said both options allow for current planned development. Ahead of Tuesday's vote, Mayor Linda Gorton expressed her support of upgrading the sewer pump station at its current Mint Lane location. Much of that support was tied to the lower projected cost of the Mint Lane option. "I look at this through many lenses... but most importantly at this time when our city had to right-size its own budget—and our residents continue to feel the strain of increasing costs for basic needs—for me, the decision is clear. "Every one of these three proposals has its issues. There is no perfect proposal, so we need to focus on the most fiscally responsible choice that checks all the boxes, and that is Mint Lane, which has been the original plan all along because of cost concerns," Gorton added. "Although no negotiations have happened on any of these plans, the cost estimate for the current Mint Lane site is $5.3 million less than the Bowman Mill site, and $28.8 million less than the airport estimate. Mint Lane will allow us to address the odor, the flooding problems. It meets the consent decree requirements, which is the original reason this needed to get done, and it would accommodate future planned growth and expansion, all at a significantly lower cost to our taxpayers." READ: Pump Station Options Fuel Lexington Development Debate Brittany Roethemeier, executive director of the Fayette Alliance, said the Mint Lane plan would provide the needed upgrades to address overflows and end the odor. She said it would do so at a lower cost than the Bowman Mill Road location. She said the Bowman Mill Road plan would see the public pay the expense of a sewer pump station that would pave the way for future development of the farm. Mill Ridge Farm supported the plan to place a new sewer pump station on its property because it believed it was the best option to address current environmental problems and provide for the community. At Tuesday's meeting, Mill Ridge co-owner Price Bell suggested that because of some factors that are difficult to determine ahead of time, the estimated costs of the two plans likely were closer together. "The Dunbar cost estimate already assumes an expensive rock anchor foundation, but the report makes clear, if conditions are worse than anticipated, costs will increase," Bell said. Also, the Bowman Mill location would have allowed for a 25-acre wetlands area on the farm property that would be donated by Mill Ridge. Council members, who also noted they would expect $2 million in state funding in a grant the LFUCC would oversee if those wetlands were created. Oddly enough, Martin confirmed that because of a mistake years ago, the current location actually was Mill Ridge property all along and beyond the urban service boundary. Darby Dan Farm owner John Phillips, who is a member of the Lexington-Frankfort Scenic Corridor board of directors, opposed the Mill Ridge location. He has noted that the urban service boundary has effectively protected Lexington farms and did not want to make an exception in this case. He said if future development occurs that needs added sewer services, developers should cover that expense. "If you approve relocating the pump station and tank to Bowman Mill at taxpayers' expense, you will reduce the sewer infrastructure costs that the Bells would otherwise incur (in any future development)," Phillips said. "This represents a private benefit at public expense, a benefit all developers would seek. This is inappropriate."