Lagoon stench is still there

Something still stinks in the Village of Belgium, and Scott and Jodi Mellesmoen said it’s making them and their children sick.

The couple contacted the village last September with concerns over the smell from Lakeside Foods’ lagoons and treatment ponds and sent another email in late April with the same complaint.

At last week’s Village Board meeting, Jodi asked Lakeside Foods General Manager Paul Kuzio what has been done about the situation.

An early beet run last year threw off the balance of the waste, Kuzio said, but he addressed the problem.

“I spent a lot of time and a lot of money making sure that the equipment works to get rid of waste properly,” he said. “We’ve made a lot of strides in making sure that smell goes away.”

Trustee Clem Gottsacker asked if the company’s aerators are working, and Kuzio confirmed they are. The key, he said, is to pull out solvents and make sure they don’t get into the lagoons, the major source of the smell.

Kuzio said he replaced a broken compressor and got a new pump to replace one that developed a crack.

“What you’ve done has been great, and it’s much better than last year,” Scott Mellesmoen said.

Jodi thanked Kuzio for his efforts.

“It sounds like you’re actually trying to control the smell,” she said.

This was the second time in the last year Kuzio and residents discussed the odor at a Village Board meeting.

“I am going to spend the money because I personally don’t look good,” Kuzio said. 

“I want to do what’s right, whether it’s for the company or the state.”