City authorizes $367,636 in monitoring work for former Schilling Air Force Base; residents press for faster cleanup

The commission authorized the city manager to execute agreements with Dragon Corporation ($299,827), ALS Global USA Corp. ($57,390) and PACE Analytical ($10,419) for remedial action and monitoring under Work Plan 7, covering sampling in August 2026 and August 2027. Martha Tasker, director of utilities, said the plan was approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment on July 23, 2026, and described the technical sampling requirements, including new PFAS sampling methods.

"Right now, we have, $69,402,000 and change," Tasker said when summarizing the balance available for the remediation program and added that, after these agreements, the project remains roughly $2 million under the overall budget previously established. Tasker also explained the increase in lab costs compared with 2023–24 was driven in part by required PFAS analysis.

During public comment, several residents urged the city to accelerate cleanup. Bill Sarolt, who identified himself as a manager for Greenfield Contractors, criticized the pace and scope of remediation and said earlier work could have been completed for far less. "Now we've got a $5,060,000,000 dollar deal, and it's gonna go more than that," Sarolt said, adding that he believed more aggressive remediation technologies could have been deployed sooner.

Staff responded that the city must follow KDHE-approved work plans and that the remediation program includes long-term monitoring and testing requirements that drive multi-year schedules and costs. The commission voted to authorize the contracts as presented.