Mayor Randy Rhoads vetoed a City Council resolution which says the city will not own a new landfill after it closes its present dump.</p><p>The City Council on Nov. 1 passed its resolution which contradicts a direction set by an earlier council in 2010 to work with a consortium of Cass County cities on building a regional landfill.</p><p>Rhoads vetoed this council&#x2019;s resolution Nov. 7 and gave it a statement explaining his objection. Rhoads said he thought this year&#x2019;s resolution was unclear.</p><p>He said if the current council&#x2019;s intent is to stop city staff from working on the consortium, it would be better to rescind the earlier resolution passed in 2010.</p><p>Rhoads said he isn&#x2019;t sure the city is &#x201C;pursing ownership of a landfill&#x201D; and a regional facility possibly could be modeled after the Little Blue Valley Sewer District.</p><p>The Little Blue Valley Sewer District owns and operates a wastewater treatment plant in Jackson County, independent of cities it serves, but mayors are included as representatives on its trustee board.</p><p>Lee&#x2019;s Summit sends its sewage to the plant, paying fees to the district, but does not own the facility.</p><p>Rhoads said that without the consortium, the city would have only two practical options, building a transfer station or leave solid waste disposal entirely up to haulers.</p><p>He said he thinks the city shouldn&#x2019;t limit its choices until it has a definite long-term plan in place.</p><p>&#x201C;It&#x2019;s a little premature at this time,&#x201D; Rhoads said. &#x201C;That may be where we end up, and that&#x2019;s fine, but I don&#x2019;t know if this is the time to make that decision.</p><p>&#x201C;I&#x2019;m not saying we need to own a landfill.&#x201D;</p><p>The city&#x2019;s Environment and Natural Resources Committee recently held meetings where it discussed the direction of the city landfill and recycling programs.</p><p>The committee heard testimony from haulers and landfill owners that there is sufficient space in private landfills to meet the area&#x2019;s needs for many years.</p><p>Councilmember Bob Johnson, committee chairman, proposed the resolution which was drafted by city staff, and the committee recommended it be adopted.</p><p>&#x201C;(The veto) came so late, I&#x2019;m surprised,&#x201D; Johnson said.</p><p>Johnson said he could support rescinding the 2012 resolution and wouldn&#x2019;t seek to override the veto. He said that with Councilmember David Mosby on an extended absence because of his work, he did not think there would be enough votes.</p><p>Johnson said he thinks opening transfer station, once Lee&#x2019;s Summit&#x2019;s current landfill closes, is the city&#x2019;s best course because it avoids long-term liability and post-closure costs of another landfill.</p><p>The city is still deciding what to do about recycling programs and also is considering whether to use a private firm to manage the current landfill until it closes sometime this decade.</p><p>A transfer station would be a facility where haulers and residents can dump trash to be loaded onto large trucks and hauled away for disposal.