Owner: State to seize salvage yard
By CLEON RICKEL, Herald Senior Writer
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WELLSVILLE — The owner of a large truck salvage yard along I-35 near Wellsville said this morning he’s been told that the state will seize his property and begin shredding trucks, parts and salvage and clearing the property.
Danny Lambeth, operator of Truck Wholesale, said he and his family have received a formal notice from the Kansas Department of Transportation that the state will take over the yard and move in heavy equipment as early as Wednesday morning.
However, KDOT hasn’t issued a formal notice to Lambeth and isn’t planning to move that quickly, Joe Erskine, a KDOT attorney, said.
The site is owned by Lambeth’s children and KDOT has been negotiating with their attorney to find a remedy, he said.
KDOT told Lambeth three months ago he had three months to clean up the site and that hasn’t happened, Erskine said.
Lambeth has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with Miami County and the state over his 20-acre yard, which is on the Franklin-Miami county line.
In a series of court and legal exchanges, the state and Miami County contend that over the years, Truck Wholesale has ignored the state and county’s demands that the operation comply with zoning regulations, state licensing laws and federal landscaping rules.
State and county officials have said they have tried to settle the matter amicably and that they merely want Lambeth to comply with the regulations.
Lambeth has contended that his business is legal and he complies with all state and county laws concerning salvage businesses. He said his business existed before the county passed its planning and zoning regulations.
In September, following a court decision, KDOT issued a order telling Lambeth he had 30 days to comply with the regulations or that the state would remove the yard.
At the time, one state official said all of the trucks and other material would be cleaned completely off the site. Originally, state officials had said they planned to begin action in November. But since then, KDOT gave Lambeth the three-month notice, Erskine said.
Truck Wholesale is one of the few truck salvage yards in the Great Plains and gets orders for parts from customers from the Dakotas to Texas and from across the world, he said.
The yard is especially prized because it has hard to find parts for cranes, oil-field equipment and road equipment, he said.
Lambeth said he even gets orders for truck and equipment parts from KDOT and other state agencies.
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