Gering agrees on option to purchase new landfill property

The Gering city council Monday night approved an agreement for a six year option to purchase a rural Gering property to be used as the site for the city's new landfill. Under the contract, approximately 460 acres owned by Alan and Patricia Weinhold a mile east of Gering and next to Highway 92 would be purchased for just over one and a quarter million dollars.

Lengthy environmental reviews and tests required by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality would need to be conducted first before any purchase is made. The $15,000 option payment would be reduced from the $1.265 million purchase price if everything checks out. The council also purchased an adjacent residential property owned by the Weinholds for $300,000 to give them an opportunity to plan moving into town.

Mayor Ed Mayo says the property is far enough away from town there should be no complaints about odor, dust and debris. He also noted it is within the city's zoning jurisdiction so any zoning issues can be handled by the city's planning commission and council.

The city has been collecting a tonnage fee under an inter-local agreement with Scottsbluff to raise funds to purchase a new landfill property for use by both communities when the current landfill's life span expires in ten years..

The council Monday night also rejected a bid to construct the final cell at the current landfill because it was 29% higher than the engineer's estimate. The city will re-bid the project in two phases so part of cell six can be constructed for use early next year when cell five is full. The rest of the construction can be stretched until the spring of next year to avoid extra costs associated with the initial fast tracking of the project.

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