City spreads dry sludge at new location

Chiefland City Commissioner unanimously approved on Feb. 11 a five-year contract to spread dry sludge in the area of the county surrounded by the Quincey Cattle Co. on Levy County Road 320 East.

The contract is contingent on City Attorney Norm Fugate adding a release clause, in case the city gets out of the sludge-spreading business. For instance, if the city found a place to sell its dry sludge rather than paying to spread it on land, then the city would want out of the contract.

The city had a sludge disposal agreement with the late Lula Celia Locke Gillespie since 1998. She died in 2007, City Manager Grady Hartzog Sr. said, and her sister asked the city to find another place to spread the dry sludge.

Sludge is human waste. Hartzog said this does not smell bad if it is properly spread. If it is improperly spread and gets wet from rain, however, that will cause some bad odors, he said.

The new agreement will be with Wendell Corbin on a 20-acre site. Where Gillespie was paid $235 per month, Corbin will collect $300 per month from the city. Hartzog said the city has paid $3,000 as it seeks permits for this sludge spreading site and for another one that the city is seeking.