Trash-talking at the Sedgwick County Commission meeting

Sedgwick County Commissioners spent a majority of Wednesday's meeting talking about waste.

Commissioners approved the county's solid waste fees for 2025. Residential customers will see a drop from $8.23 to $5 on their property tax bill.

Solid waste fees fund household hazardous waste operations, waste minimization programs and general administrative support.

Commissioners also approved a roughly $1.9 million project to double the size of the Household Hazardous Waste facility located at 801 Stillwell Street in Wichita.

Key Construction will start the work in early Fall and it should be completed in about 9 months.

The Household Hazardous Waste facility was originally built in 2002 but the Department has outgrown the building thanks to an increase in customers.

In other county news, the commission approved a grant application to the Department of Defense for funding the design and construction of a new Emergency Preparedness Center.

The new EPC is planned just south of the Meridian and MacArthur intersection in south Wichita. The county plans to use the facility to store a reserve of emergency response supplies, provide access to public health services like vaccinations, and respond to disasters.

The county needs a new emergency center as they can't expand at their current location on Main Street and the 911 call center there needs more space.

The grant would be worth over $9.7 million. If the application fails, the county will have to work out a new plan.