Venice approves $85,000 budget amendment and contracts to move forward with FM 85 landfill closure

The Venice City Commission voted to amend the FY2026 budget to appropriate $85,000 from the sanitation fund to cover initial professional services needed to pursue final closure of the inactive FM 85 landfill and to comply with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) permit guidelines.

Public works director Doug Taylor explained the site's history: the landfill opened around 1980 and was closed in 1986. The full tract totals about 123 acres, of which roughly 30 acres were actually used as the landfill. Taylor said the city has spent roughly $300,000 on testing and repairs since closure — about $10,000 per year — and that final closure could take multiple years and additional remediation if inspections find problems such as cap breaches or sloughing into nearby creeks.

The commission also approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a contract with Salutant Geosciences Inc. for professional geosciences services related to final closure and permit revocation for the inactive FM 85 landfill, in a sum not to exceed $84,637 plus allowable contingencies. Staff said the $85,000 appropriation will be used to procure those initial services (drone flyovers, sampling, TCEQ communications and public notices), with additional remediation work to be budgeted if the geotechnical review identifies required repairs.

Commissioners discussed limits on future uses of the property (for example, permanent structures typically are not permitted on closed landfill cells), potential post-closure uses such as nonstructural open space or sale, and the ongoing requirement for annual testing and monitoring. The motions carried on voice votes.

Next steps: the consultant will begin required geoscientific analysis and documentation for communication with TCEQ; staff will return with any scope changes and further cost estimates if additional remediation is needed.