City to unveil design for transfer station

Advisory group proposed changes

Neighbors can get a first look at the preliminary design concepts for a proposed North Valley garbage transfer station during a city-sponsored meeting Tuesday evening.

The meeting will be held at the North Valley Senior Center, 3825 Fourth NW. It starts at 5:30 p.m. with an hourlong open house followed by a presentation and question-andanswer period.

The city wants to convert a 22-acre property it owns on the corner of Edith and Griegos into an enclosed transfer station where dump trucks would drop off loads and then tractor-trailers would haul them to the dump west of town. It is also proposing that it become a convenience station where the public can drop off garbage and other household waste.

The city has said the project would save taxpayers millions of dollars a year.

Neighbors have been very vocal about their opposition, citing concerns about noise, pollution, increased traffic, groundwater contamination and decreased property values. The city has placed a few neighbors on the advisory design committee.

David Wood, vice president of the North Valley Coalition and a committee member, said neighbors have suggested the property be designed so that the trucks use Rankin Road to enter and exit and that the city not include the convenience station as part of the plan.

“We hope they listen to at least one of these suggestions,” Wood said. “We don’t want to be relegated to choosing trees and shrubbery.”

Michael Riordan, the city’s chief operations officer, said Friday that the convenience center is a “major element” of the project.

Neighbors have also complained that the city did not include them in the planning process from the start. Riordan said the city has advertised the project in the Journal, held several public meetings and participated in neighborhood meetings.

Ellen Allanic, who lives 1.3 miles from the site, said she learned about the project by mail from a local neighborhood association. Allanic has taken issue with the city saying the project would enhance the neighborhood because it is improving the property.

“We have concerns about our health and not what the site looks like,” she said. “They should be advocates for us as well as for a good budget. What has the city done to determine how this is going to affect us?”

The project does not have full approval yet, and construction would not begin until the New Mexico Environment Department provides a permit, the City Council approves funding for the project and the city’s Environmental Planning Commission approves a zone change and a site-development plan for the property.

The project is expected to be submitted to the EPC in late July.