Venice Council OK's land but for Solid Waste, Fleet

VENICE — The City County had no concerns Tuesday about buying land off Knights Trail Road to relocate Solid Waste and Fleet operations, but some future neighbors did.

Diane Jochum, a Toscana Isles Homeowners Association Board member, told the Council Tuesday there had been three major crashes at the subdivision’s main entrance. A turn lane is going to be installed there, she said, but it really needs a traffic signal.

Knights Trail also should be widened, to alleviate traffic that makes people leaving the subdivision wait as long as 20 minutes to exit, she said.

Jim Tenney, another Toscana resident, also complained about current traffic, and asked what the hours of Solid Waste operations would be, and whether neighbors would be able to see or smell waste.

After reminding the audience that the only matter before the Council Tuesday was whether to buy the land, Mayor Nick Pachota asked Assistant City Manager James Clinch to respond to Jochum and Tenney.

The city’s trucks already use Knights Trail Road to get to the county landfill, he said, making one or two trips per day. About 30 employees would be working at the new facilities, so the overall impact on traffic would be minimal.

The county’s extension of Lorraine Road will provide access to the landfill from the north, which will reduce the number of trucks approaching from the south, he said.

The county plans to expand Knights Trail Road, but not in the immediate future, Clinch said. It’s a county decision whether to install a traffic signal, he added.

Trucks leave the current facility on Seaboard Avenue empty and return empty, so there’s no storage of solid waste onsite, he said.

Also, he said, the property the city is buying doesn’t actually front Knights Trail Road, and vehicle maintenance will be performed indoors.

It will be at least a couple of years before the new site is in use. In fact, the city doesn’t even own the property yet.

It’s made an escrow deposit under the contract but the closing won’t occur until the current owner has gotten it platted.

Money to design the new Solid Waste and Fleet facilities will be in the next fiscal year’s budget, which goes into effect Oct. 1.

Construction is projected to be funded in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, according to the Capital Improvement Program the Council reviewed Wednesday.