Residents in opposition to a plan by the City of Kansas City to build a new Todd Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant partially in unincorporated Platte County turned out in force to a contentious public forum held last week.
The forum, held Thursday, Aug. 31 at the Kansas City Police Department North Patrol, was standing-room-only, with concerned and frustrated citizens spilling into the hallway throughout the forum. More than 100 area homeowners turned out for the meeting, which was scheduled to include two presentations by Kansas City officials and a question and answer period.
According to city representatives, the original Todd Creek Plant, located at 7600 Northwest 144th Street, was built in 1968 and expanded and renovated in 1990. Now, the plant is considered functionally obsolete and is unable to meet modern water purification standards, particularly in removing nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater.
A new plant is needed, officials say, and the replacement process is well under way, with engineers stating they had already looked at several options. The most cost effective plan, officials said, was to build a new seven-building $76.4 million plant on about 60 acres located just to the northwest of the current plant.
The new plant would have an entrance off 144th Street at Interurban Road and would feature screening berms and plantings along Todd Creek Road to block the plant from residents. The project is scheduled to kick off in January 2024 and be completed by fall 2026. The plant would be about 30 percent larger than the existing plant to meet the needs of development in the Twin Creeks area and at KCI Airport and would be built with an eye toward expansion within 10-20 years.
The target property is only partially inside the City of Kansas City’s city limits, with the other half in unincorporated Platte County. There are no plans to annex the property, officials say.
Platte County’s stance on the new plant was questioned several times during the forum, with residents asking who at the county had signed off on the new plant construction. No county officials were present at the meeting, which was also questioned.
According to Platte County Director of Planning and Zoning Daniel Erickson, Platte County has no jurisdiction over the plant as it is considered a public utility.
“Public services and utility uses are permitted as a matter of right in unincorporated Platte County,” Erickson said.
Residents in opposition to the plan have formed a Facebook page called Move the Plant KC and have launched a Change.org petition, which as of Monday, Sept. 4 has 330 signatures. Concerns about property values, air quality and aesthetics were cited by attendees, with one of the largest concerns for odor.
The current plant sits isolated in a valley, yet area residents say they can smell it. With the new location both closer to their homes and at a higher elevation, residents are concerned the odor problems will be even worse.
City officials say while the new plant will be larger and capable of handling more wastewater, the smell will be reduced due to new technologies.
The odor of the existing plant came up repeatedly, with residents disbelieving of city claims the new plant would smell better.
Residents said the city seems incapable of controlling smell at the current plant, and also has allowed infrastructure such as city roads to crumble in the area.
“What makes you think anyone has any faith in Kansas City?” a resident asked.
This lack of trust in city officials was echoed by many forum attendees. When they have called city hall with questions they say they have been met with the response that they are not city residents, therefore they have no representation.
One Kansas City elected official was in attendance, councilman Nathan Willett – who noted he’d been on the job for about a month in the newly redrawn city council district one. Willett said he had Platte County roots and that he heard the concerns of the people in attendance.
“You deserve to have a good neighbor in Kansas City,” Willett said. “I’m a Kansas Citian but I care about Platte County. I want to make sure the questions you have get addressed.”
One of those questions is the location of the new plant, as city officials admitted they had looked at other properties within the city limits but had ruled them out for various reasons.
The current plan calls for building a pump station on the site of the current plant, which would pump wastewater up a significant hillside to the location of the new plant. Residents pointed out several alternative locations within pumping range, some that would eliminate the need to pump wastewater uphill.
Residents stated they would receive no benefits from this new water treatment plant, yet would potentially suffer from all the drawbacks. They want the plant moved back within city limits, further from their homes.
While there were several heated exchanges between members of city staff and residents, by the end of the meeting city officials agreed to look into an alternative site suggested by several audience members.
“This gathering was just the beginning, and your support and willingness to speak up have set the tone for our united efforts moving forward,” states Move the Plant KC on its Facebook page.
City officials stated another public forum would be held, although a timetable for such a forum was not set.