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Littig area residents again urged the city to reconsider and slow down site plans for a new wastewater treatment plant after council members approved two resolutions tied to the project last week.
City Council on March 3 authorized a pair of agreements they said are intended to support Elgin’s growing wastewater system as a whole and improve reliability across the network. Members of the unincorporated community, southwest of downtown, criticized a lack of communication and early planning for the potential 3 million gallon- per-day Littig facility.
“We simply ask that the city give equal weight to protecting the quality of life of the existing residents while planning the future of growth,” Alana Gonzalez said.
The council approved design services for an odor control system, a nearly $400,000 contract, and roughly $1.55 million in engineering services for new wastewater infrastructure. Plans include major gravity sewer lines from the Westwind and Elm Creek lift stations that would connect to the future treatment plant, according to the council.
“To have this type of odor control system, which is something that we do not have in our own city and our own wastewater treatment plant, is appropriate measures to move forward,” Councilwoman YaLecia Love said.
In a December community meeting, Littig residents said the plant on newly annexed city land unjustly targets the community and its cultural legacy.
Several community members revisited the podium during Tuesday’s meeting to address the council directly.
“The initial lack of odor engineering isn’t just an oversight,” Juanita Valerie Neidig said. “It’s a direct threat to our land, our livestock, our health, our food and the heritage of the people in Littig.”
Love said the odor control system was included on the agenda because of concerns voiced by residents during the December meeting.
“We are here, we have been proactive in trying to mitigate with the residents,” she said.
The facility is part of Elgin’s long-term plan for continued growth and infrastructural demand, according to officials.
Public Works Director Michael Gonzalez said beginning odor control work now would help avoid higher costs later in the project. Designs would not commit the city to constructing the plant but would allow planning to move forward while officials continue evaluating the project.
He added funding for the engineering designs comes from impact and developer fees. If the council decides to build the new facility, the cost of the odor control system would add $4 million to the total construction tab.
“Retro designing something can be done, but it’s much more expensive,” Michael Gonzalez said. “Staff feels that this is a timely proposal.”
Alana Gonzalez, whose family lives directly next to the proposed site, said she worries what starts as a relatively small plant could become a much larger regional facility.
“Families in our community made long-term investments in their homes and properties far before this project was proposed,” she said.
City Manager Robert Eads said the separate contract for new wastewater infrastructure is designed to improve Elgin’s sewer lines and reduce the risk of mechanical failures that frequently happen with gravity based systems.
“Staff remains pretty firm in saying that we need this as a community as a whole,” Eads said. “This is just smart, safe infrastructure for the entire community.”
Despite those assurances, Littig residents urged the council to slow the process and reconsider the project’s location before moving forward with any design work.
