County Planning Commission Hears Plans for Housing Project, Holly Transfer Station

The Town of Holly has settled on a course of action for dealing with refuse, establishing a Roll Off Transfer Station Waste Disposal System near the present landfill site. Holly Town Manager, Michael Tanner, along with Meagan Hillman, Director Prowers County Public Health and Environment, discussed the proposal for a Special Use Permit with the Prowers County Planning Commission.

The presentation states the system will include two roll off dumpsters; eight by six by 20 feet long at the landfill site which is owned by the Town of Holly. For the past several years, the community has discussed options for dealing refuse; from a new landfill or closing the landfill and shipping waste to other communities. Given the financial impact, the Holly Trustees decided on a transfer station and the request for the permit is the next step in its development.

Plains Disposal of Springfield was contracted to collect and haul away residential waste and refuse to sites outside of Holly while the roll offs would hold larger items such as construction materials, according to Tanner. The Planning Commission board is visiting the site and will request a public hearing for comments on the proposal. Because of the 30 day publication notice requirement, the board decided to hold its next meeting on September 16^th at a location yet to be determined due to social distancing issues. The manner in which the pubic hearing will be conducted will also have to be determined.

Local contractor, Mark Carrigan, explored his housing development idea with the Commission board during the August 12^th meeting. While only in the very preliminary discussion stages, Carrigan explained that he and potential partners, are interested in a stick-built housing development on property north of Alta Vista school, in the vicinity of County Road 9/MM. The size of the proposed site was not discussed, nor the number of houses. “We’re just testing the waters and wanted a general idea of how receptive to the plans the Commission would be,” Carrigan explained.

Carrigan said the water sites have sufficient capacity and he’s discussed the proposal with May Valley Water and North Sanitation Sewer District on utilities, either running a sewer line from the site or using separate septic tanks. Which power supplier would be involved as well as 1041 regulations and test digging for the water table at the site also have to be considered.

The Planning Commission took no action, other than to say they were interested in Carrigan’s proposal in light of the established need for more new housing projects in the community. Carrigan currently has platted the land between 8^th and 9^th Streets off Savage Avenue for a construction project for 12 new houses, one of five being considered around the City of Lamar.

Two subdivision requests were approved by the Planning Commission, one by Marilyn Idler to subdivide from six to eight acres, with a residence, from the existing property, and another to subdivide 1 ½ acres which includes a commercial building from the existing property of Brice and Brenna Chenoweth on Highway 196.

Under new business, board member, Chad Hart, asked among the members if they were aware of any future plans to haul out-of-state sludge into the county has had been the case several years ago on property around the Lamar and Hartman areas. He believed there had been some discussion on the matter and wanted a general idea if any proposal had been brought to light. At this time, there wasn’t anything conclusive.

By Russ Baldwin