JOHN DAY – The John Day city council unanimously approved proposals for the purchase of two crucial components to the operation of the proposed new wastewater treatment plant at its March 26 meeting.

The two components make-up the first and last steps in the new plant’s wastewater treatment process. The council spent $638,727 in total for both components.

The first proposal approved by the city council was for an ultraviolet (UV) disinfectant system that will serve as the final step in the new plant’s water treatment process. The city will purchase three units for the plant at a total cost of $503,727.

At the meeting, Nate Bell of Kenedy Jenks explained that the disinfectant system will replace chlorine in neutralizing any pathogens with protective shells.

Two of the three UV disinfectant systems will be used regularly while the third will be on standby. The systems will be purchased from Charlotte, NC based Xylem Water Solutions USA, Inc.

The second approved proposal was for a headworks screen that will serve as the first step in the plant’s water treatment process. The city received two proposals for the headworks screen and decided to go with the cheaper of the two options, a $135,000 proposal from Arcadia, SC based Kusters Water.

The headworks screen will remove large pieces of debris from raw, untreated wastewater.

John Day City Manager, Melissa Bethel, said the wastewater treatment plant project is progressing well and is on track to break ground late next year. “I think the city is pleased with the progress,” she said. “Although it may not look like it, we’re moving at rapid speed for groundbreaking in 2026.”

In other council news:

The city council unanimously approved the sale of 24 acres of industrial property on Industrial Park Road to Chuck Skupa of Russell’s Custom Meats in Canyon City. The property will be used to construct a U.S. Department of Agriculture certified meat processing facility.

The city is selling the property at $7,086 per acre. Skupa will be responsible for any infrastructure (power, sewer, water and so on) that needs to be installed at the site along with covering the cost of partitioning a 41 acre parcel into the 24 acres he will ultimately purchase.

Bethel said the council would get a sale agreement at the April 9 meeting followed by a partition and development agreement.