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Council, mayor approve purchase of ground
Members of the Hastings City Council voted 5-4 at their Feb. 12, 2024 meeting to approve the purchase of 127.4 acres of state-owned land east of Southern Hills Drive and north of the existing Hastings Solid Waste Landfill.
Mayor Corey Stutte broke the 4-4 tie by voting in favor of the purchase.
Purchasing the property is a proactive approach to issues faced by multiple City departments.
The purchase price of $1.45 million is the appraised value of the property, which averages to $11,381.48 per acre. Of that amount, $500,000 will come from the Landfill. The southern third of the property is planned to be used as an expansion site for the Landfill.
Utilizing ground adjacent to the existing Landfill will minimize infrastructure costs that the City would incur if ground was developed elsewhere for a new landfill. Those infrastructure costs to develop another site could exceed the $500,000 that the Landfill is contributing toward the purchase.
Because state-owned ground is not taxed, the purchase does not take property off the tax rolls.
Before development can take place, the property is subject to a review from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy as well as Federal Aviation Administration, due to the ground’s proximity to the Hastings Municipal Airport. This review includes public comment.
The NDEE site selection criteria has been evaluated and appears it can be met – Actual design details will need to be submitted to NDEE before approval can be provided. NDEE has been consulted and no red flags were identified.
The permitting of the future expansion is expected to be less complicated being adjacent to existing landfill.
The purchase also ensures the City of Hastings, and nearby communities, have access to Landfill services for several decades into the future.
While the existing Landfill has an estimated 10 to 30 years of use left, a portion of the adjacent ground has been proposed to be developed for use on windy days. Using that additional space would cut down on debris blowing out of the Landfill cell currently being used.
The rest of the funding for the purchase is provided by Hastings Utilities.
Along with the opportunity for the two city departments to partner on this purchase and share cost, the location of the property provides many opportunities for Hastings Utilities to take advantage of existing infrastructure, which includes gas, electric, and rail. Hastings Utilities continues to analyze existing resources as well future opportunities, including liquid natural gas, gas turbines, energy storage options and solar. This land is ideally located to potentially be utilized for these future opportunities.
Published Date: 02/13/2024