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Council committee directs expanded site analysis for Mint Lane pump station under consent decree
Summary
The Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee asked the Division of Water Quality to study multiple sites, including a school-adjacent parcel, Bowman Mill Road and airport-adjacent land, and set a March 1, 2026 delivery date; $2 million was allocated in FY26 for design and property acquisition.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government’s Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee on Aug. 12 recommended expanding the site-analysis scope for the proposed Mint Lane pump station, a consent-decree project aimed at preventing sanitary overflows.
Director Martin, Division of Water Quality, told the committee that $2,000,000 has been allocated in the FY26 budget for design and property acquisition for the Mint Lane project and that the pump station “must be completed by December 2030.” The proposed pump station would sit on land owned by Fayette County Public Schools adjacent to the existing facility, but the committee directed staff to study additional locations before committing to design and acquisition.
Councilmember Kevin Savigny moved the initial recommendation to perform a complete site analysis and feasibility study for the existing Mint Lane location and a downstream Bowman Mill Road site. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Jennifer Curtis and passed in committee 7-to-2. Councilmember John Brown later moved an amendment to add a third site — land owned by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board in and adjacent to the Bluegrass Airport Rural Activity Center — and to expand the scope to include geotechnical issues, acquisition cost and future growth under the Area 1 master plan. Councilmember Katie Morton seconded the amendment; the committee approved the amendment and the amended motion.
The committee asked staff to deliver a complete site analysis and cost-feasibility study comparing: (1) the existing Mint Lane location; (2) 3750 Bowman Mill Road (the Bowman Mill site described in an August 2023 sewer compatibility study); and (3) airport-board land adjacent to Bluegrass Airport. The analysis is to account for future regional growth per the master plan for Area 1 and be delivered to council at a regularly scheduled work session by March 1, 2026.
Committee members framed the study as necessary because the project stems from a history of overflows at the existing pump station and because deadlines in the consent decree require timely action.
On the record, the committee’s formal report was moved by Councilmember LaGree and seconded by Councilmember Sheehan; the committee’s motions and amendment were adopted and reported to the full council. The committee did not adopt a construction contract or site selection at the Aug. 12 meeting — it directed staff to complete the feasibility analysis and return with recommendations.
