The city of Fallon will open its recently-purchased transfer station off Indian Lakes Road on Tuesday and close its landfill to the general public.

The city expressed interest in the transfer station in early December after Waste Management announced it would close the transfer station.

Waste Management originally owned the transfer station on Enterprise Way, just off Indian Lakes Road behind Rattlesnake Hill. The company shut down the transfer station in October at the same time it dropped garbage pick up service to 74 customers living in the county's more rural areas.

The city council met in a special meeting in early December to discuss purchasing the four-acre parcel and business. The appraisal, provided by Waste Management, reported the facility's worth at $150,000 for the land and $60,000 for the buildings.

City Attorney Mike Mackedon told the council that Waste Management thought it was worth more than the appraisal because the fully-operational facility is permitted and had a steady stream of customers.

The council approved the purchase of the transfer station in late February at a cost of $400,000. The facility already had a special use permit in place with the county and is properly zoned for its use. The city applied for, and received Wednesday, a license from the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection to operate the facility.

City Engineer Larry White said one employee will work on-site full-time while another will operate the loader and drive filled trailers to the landfill, 17 miles south of Fallon on Highway 95 at Russell Pass.

The city purchased both a truck and a loader for approximately $115,000 for use at the transfer station.

In conjunction with the opening of the transfer station, the city will close the landfill to the general public. White said the landfill will stop handling money, and the 24 commercial waste haulers who have contracts with the city will simply be billed.

Residents hauling to the transfer station will initially be charged by the cubic yard with rates very similar to what is being charged now at the landfill.

"We want to keep the rates as low as we possibly can," White said.

The city intends to purchase a 50-foot truck scale in the near future.

City Clerk/treasurer Gary C. Cordes said revenues and expenses for the transfer station will be monitored monthly and rates reviewed at a later date to determine if the station is self-supporting.

While there will not be a reduction in the city labor force, Cordes said there will be a reduction in vehicle use and depreciation as fewer garbage trucks travel the 38-mile round trip to the landfill. He said the city will try to avoid raising rates, but the city is also facing rising fuel costs and inflation.

The transfer station will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.