City Hoping to Expand Happy Jack Landfill

To meet Cheyenne's long-term solid waste needs, city officials are recommending expanding the Happy Jack Landfill.

Public Works Director Vicki Nemecek says they've looked at different alternatives, such as constructing a new landfill at the Belvoir Ranch, but the cost to build a new facility was $24.8 million.  The estimated cost of expansion at the Happy Jack Landfill is $10.2 to $15.6 million.

"It's cheaper to expand at Happy Jack rather than build a new one," said Nemecek. "It's cheaper to maintain one site rather than two."

Nemecek also says a big advantage to expanding Happy Jack is having one landfill footprint versus two.

"It is the best long-term solution because we already have a footprint out there, and we're just expanding it a little bit to the north," said Nemecek. "It's already on land we own, we don't have to buy any land, so there's a lot of good things about expanding at Happy Jack."

Nemecek says the city will continue to truck garbage to Ault, Colorado for now, but that diversion was never intended as a long-term solution.