LEXINGTON, Ky. — City Council voted 10-5 on April 28 to keep the troubled Mint Lane pump station at its current location behind Paul Laurence Dunbar High School rather than relocating it, and to proceed with needed upgrades to comply with federal requirements.

The leaking sewage pump station must be addressed by the end of 2030 to meet an EPA Consent Decree the city is under for failing to properly maintain its sanitary sewer and stormwater systems. The decision to upgrade the station in place comes after months of deliberation over competing options that generated significant public controversy.

Keeping the pump station at Dunbar High is estimated to cost $19.6 million, making it the least expensive option. However, the site presents what city officials have described as a "more constrained" location, with concerns about karst topography and potential floodplain impacts. The alternative — relocating the station to a portion of Mill Ridge Farm near Bowman Mill Road — would cost between $24.9 million to $29.3 million but would eliminate the need for the existing Dunbar pump station by taking advantage of gravity-fed operations downstream.

The Bowman Mill relocation option drew fierce opposition from residents and preservationists concerned about farmland development. Several people testified during more than an hour of public comment that moving the pump station outside Lexington's Urban Service Area could pave the way for future development while bypassing the city's existing expansion process.

"This represents a private benefit at public expense," said John Phillips, a District 5 resident.

Mill Ridge Farm owner Price Bell had advocated for the relocation, arguing it would support a state-funded wetland restoration project along Cave Creek. "The Dunbar site is all risk, no reward," Bell said during April deliberations. "The Dunbar site means more time, more cost, more risk."

District 12 Councilmember Hil Boone moved to allow the city's Division of Water Quality to proceed with negotiations and preliminary steps for upgrades at the Dunbar site. The city will need to acquire land from Fayette County Public Schools to complete the project.

Voting in favor of the Dunbar site upgrade were James Brown, Chuck Ellinger II, Tyler Morton, Tom Eblen, Emma Curtis, Lisa Higgins-Hord, Joseph Hale, Whitney Elliott Baxter, Jennifer Reynolds, and Hil Boone. Vice Mayor Dan Wu, Shayla Lynch, Liz Sheehan, Amy Beasley, and Dave Sevigny voted against the measure.

Some council members raised concerns about construction site risks, cost overruns, and the outcome of negotiations with the school board, but Boone's motion ultimately prevailed.