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With the New Year around the corner, the Town of Taylor is working to finish projects started in 2018 at the wastewater treatment plant while finishing the installation of a million gallon water tank before summer; all with an eye on completing the airport fencing and making the Roy Palmer Business Park a viable part of the town.
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Town Manager Gus Lundberg said that in February of 2018, the town closed on a $2 million loan for a dewatering facility at the wastewater plant for the sludge removal, as well as an effluent screen and septic receiving station, and a million gallon water tank to replace an old tank that was failing.
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The three components being addressed in the town’s sewage treatment upgrade are sludge, sewer rags and receiving septic waste from pumper trucks.
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With the increase of sewage waste, the town was faced with either creating more lagoons or finding a way to dry out the sludge so that it can be accepted into a landfill. While the dewatering was expensive, it created the best option that would hopefully give the town a future cost savings in being able to transport the sludge to a recycling facility.
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By May of 2018, a contract was issued for the dewatering facility and the project was started, with the final installation of all the equipment scheduled to be done early in 2019. “All the underground work is done,” said Lundberg. “The crew is now working on getting the pads poured, the equipment set and the electronics operational.”
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Like most towns, Taylor faces the continual problems created by sewage rags, which are more commonly known as feminine products, flushable wipes and paper rag-type products that don’t easily break down. When the sewage rags enter the system, they can quickly clog the fans and pumps causing breakdowns and burn outs. In an effort to combat that expense, a large influent screen will be installed that will filter out those products before they are able to impact the system.
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Septage comes from septic tanks that are pumped and port-a-potties. The new receiving station has its own influent screen after which it can be diverted to the lagoon or the mechanical plant.
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“About 10 years ago we started receiving septage at our sewer lagoons,” said Lundberg. “Currently, it brings in about $100,000 a year. After the receiving station is in place, we might see an increase in usage, as it will all be metered.”
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The other part of the loan was used to pay for a million gallon water tank that is replacing a nearly 80-year-old 300,000-gallon tank that was bolted together and leaking. Purchased from Texas Aquastore, the new tank is a glass-infused steel tank that should be able to withstand the ultra violet rays better at a cost of $678,465.
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Lundberg said, “The old tank has been removed from the pad and has been hauled off. The new tank should be here sometime in March, which is right on schedule since we won’t need the extra storage until April or May when the growing season begins.”
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Like the Town of Snowflake, the idea of a recreation center is part of the ongoing conversation between the two towns. “Right now, we don’t know where the best place would be,” said Lundberg. “Snowflake is evaluating the status of the current pool to find out if the money is best spent getting that one functional and usable again or if it would be better to start from scratch.”
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Lundberg said he sees three options for funding the recreation center. The first would be a cost that would fit into the current operations, the second would be something affordable whether refurbishing or starting new with borrowed money for capital to get the facilities up and running and the third option would be at the highest level, which would add a new funding source strictly for the recreation center.
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The addition of new businesses, including several that opened in the shops next to Walmart, have been helpful for the town’s economy. “Walmart has been a big impact,” shared Lundberg. “Our current sales tax revenue has doubled from what it was at the low point of the recession in 2008. Other businesses have recovered and the new businesses have been great.”
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With the finalization of the business park on the table, Lundberg said his immediate goal is to get water to the lines in the park so that Kompo, the state-licensed medical marijuana dispensary, will no longer have to haul water. Finishing the fencing on the airport is a big push for 2019 as is working on the flood mitigation in and around the park with the Federal Emergency Management Act grants.
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