Council plans to invest in sewage-treatment plant to extend its life; proposed improvements to park listed

The clarifiers at the sewage-treatment plant need replacing to extend the plant's life. (Photo by Sarah Ladd)

By Sarah Ladd

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council is planning to increase spending on the sewage-treatment plant to make it last longer.

The council discussed the plan Wednesday at a special meeting to work on the budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The plant on West Leestown Road is in its 18th year of operation. At year 20, the state will begin regular inspections of its machinery. Though the plants are built to last 20 years, the length of the bond issue that financed this one, Council Member Bruce Southworth, a former operator of the plant, said that with proper care, it can last much longer.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said his goal is to get 30 years of operation out of the plant. "We should shoot for 30," he said. "Spending $25,000 extra this year is a lot more for your investment than having to go and take out millions and millions of dollars in a bonding loan to build a new plant."

To ensure this life extension, the plant will need a large overhaul in the next fiscal year. To accommodate these changes, the proposed budget calls for an extra $25,000 in capital expenses in the sewer budget, raising last year's $35,000 budget to $60,000. These expenses, Vandegrift said, will be paid for through sewer revenue.

Wastewater operator Jack Blevins said his first goal for the overhaul is to replace the clarifiers, the large tanks used to filter out particles and scum. The clarifiers have a buildup of sludge and will need complete replacement. Blevins said he has an estimate to replace them for $11,000, leaving $14,000 for ultraviolet disinfectant, a new belt press and smaller maintenance items.

With new clarifiers and UV disinfectant, Blevins and Southworth said the 30-year goal should be reachable because the plant is running far below capacity. “On average, we run about 110,000 gallons a day,” said Blevins. “The plant’s design is for 750,000 a day.” However, Southworth said, “It still runs 24 hours a day.”

The plant “is running efficiently,” Vandegrift said. “We just want to make it continues to run that way.” He said he has wanted to reduce water and sewer bills since becoming mayor in January 2015, and now “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The only way to do it, though, is to ensure we don’t have to build a new plant.” 

The proposed budget again includes $17,000 for park improvements; Park Manager John Holloway’s itemized list totals $16,300, including:

• $3,000 for a gate to allow access from the library to the park as well as a 3- to 4-foot-high safety fence along the top of the quarry cliff;
• $3,000 for a wooden pergola to be built over a walkway, pending further information regarding the possibility of moving the old Weisenberger Mill bridge to the park;
• $2,000 for planting the edible forest on Newton and Dudley streets. The tree plantings will include beech, pawpaw, American chestnut, poplar, hickory, bald cypress, hazelnut and sycamore; other plans will include Indian grass, heath aster, Maximilian sunflower, Indian blanket, plains coreopsis, ironweed, sweet Joe-Pie, smooth aster and common milkweed, which attracts butterflies.
• $2,000 for 10 fitness stations along the Paddock Trail; 
• $2,000 for removal of invasive plants such as bush honeysuckle, Japanese honeysuckle, multiflora rose and privet hedge;
• $1,500 for replacing the mulch currently used on the trail with a sturdier rock, stone and dust material.
• $900 for painting the picnic pavilions;
• $800 for history signs designed to teach about Midway’s past;
• $800 for planting two flower fields leading to and from Midway University as part of the edible forest;
• $200 for planting native trumpet vines along the Northside Drive fence;
• $100 for distance markers along the walking trails.

The council also discussed using part of the $30,000 City Hall maintenance budget to fix the bricks on the side of the building as well as replacing the front doors and windows because they leak air.

One jump in the fiscal year 2019 budget is a $2,500 increase for replacing the doors at the fire department, doubling last year’s maintenance budget. Vandergrift said contractors are willing to replace the doors before July 1 but not bill the city until the new fiscal year.

The council has not planned a third budget workshop. Vandegrift said he hopes to have the first reading of a budget ordinance by May 21.