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 Board members present either in person or remotely
were Board Chairman Emily Davenport, Vice Chairman Scott
Schaffenacker, David Blankenship, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, Dale
Nelson, David Hepler, Steve Jenness, Keenan Leesman, Bob Sanders,
Annette Welch and Jim Wessbecher.
Planning and Zoning
At the Thursday, July 15th Board Workshop, Doug Muck shared the
plans for mining sand, gravel and limestone with the board. The
proposed project area is north of Salt Creek, west of 900th Avenue,
south of 1575th St and east of Kickapoo Creek. There are 407.8 acres
are in the proposed area.
Before the board voted on the applications on Tuesday, Muck briefly
spoke about his quest for mining, which began in 2012.
Over the years, Muck said Logan County’s Development Plans
identified limestone, sand and gravel deposits in places in the
county including the proposed location.
The plan said limestone, sand and gravel have value to the economy,
the county and the city of Lincoln. These resources provide building
materials and road making materials among other uses. All the
products are useful and needed.
Sand, gravel and limestone are products used by farmers, builders
and homeowners. Muck said limestone is useful for agriculture
because it adjusts the pH in the soils and improves productivity of
the land. Limestone can also be used for making concrete.
Farmers have been without a local source of limestone since 2010. In
2010, Muck said, limestone was selling for nine dollars a ton and
recently he paid twenty-six dollars a ton for it.
Having limestone available in Logan County would generate revenue
for the county. Muck said in Heyworth, where Carrie Scharf Materials
Company mines and sells sand and gravel, they generate quite a bit
of sales tax.
When mining for these products, Muck said he does not want to do any
harm to people here. He believes the area they hope to mine is well
screened and the plant will not be seen. There will be little
noticeable noise.
With the limestone, they would need to blast to fracture the stone.
Muck said it would be done by professional blasting crews who know
what they are doing and use a minimal number of explosives. If
everything is approved, Muck said it would be at least a few years
before they get to the limestone.
Muck has talked to Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp about
the roads and made progress with Aukamp’s suggestions.
If approved to start mining. Muck would communicate with West
Lincoln Township Road Commissioner Austin Goodman to work any other
road issues out.
Since Muck believes he has met all the requirements and put a lot of
time, effort and finances into planning, he asked the board to
approve the rezoning and conditional use permits. Muck said he wants
to be a good neighbor and wishes he could have had more
conversations with those who live nearby. He included a letter with
the notice asking for calls, but only received two calls.
Mike White, who lives near the proposed project area, brought a list
of 30 signatures to share with the board. These signatures were from
residents who live near the quarry asking the board to vote against
the zoning.
Brent Hellman is a farmer and serves as a Trustee for Prairie Creek
Township. Hellman said having limestone in the county would keep
them from having to drive much further to get these products. He
hopes the board can accommodate issues noted by nearby residents.
Before voting, Schaffenacker said he is in favor of rezoning. To put
everyone at ease, he said there are many conditions which must be
met.
Jenness said he is in favor of the project.
However, he wants to make sure this company does not leave a mess
after mining is done like a previous company did at a nearby quarry.
Jenness would like more time to do research.
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Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman David Hepler’s
motion for a resolution to amend the Logan County Zoning Map to
allow mining passed 7-4-1.
Blankenship, Estill, Davenport, Hepler, Leesman, Sanders and
Schaffenacker voted yes.
Jenness, Nelson, Welch and Wessbecher voted no.
Farmer abstained due a possible conflict of interest.
Before voting on the conditional use permit, Davenport said there
are a lot of conditions to go over that the board did not have time
to review. She would like to have a subcommittee go over the list of
conditions.
The issue cannot go back to the Planning and Zoning Committee, but
D’Andrea told Hepler it could be discussed further by a subcommittee
before being brought back to the board.
Davenport said the subcommittee would have two members of the
Planning and Zoning Committee and one other board member, and meet
with Zoning Officer Will D’Andrea, Muck and Aukamp. They could then
bring the conditional use permit and conditions listed back to the
full board next month for approval.
Welch then made a motion to table approving the resolution for a
Conditional Use Permit with the conditions [for mining].
From a homeowner’s perspective, Welch said the board owes other
homeowners the time to make sure they are addressing concerns some
members of the public have.
The board unanimously approved tabling the resolution for the
Conditional Use Permit.
Building and Grounds Committee update
The board approved the following motions from Building and Grounds
Committee Chair David Blankenship:
- To move forward with restoration of Scully Park Fountain by Elite
Construction in the amount of $24,250.
Bill Walter of MRTS donated his services for the restoration
including the specifications, bidding and project management.
At the Building and Grounds Committee meeting, Blankenship said
Elite Construction has experience working with residential and
commercial fountains. The company also grasped what is needed for
restoration and charges reasonable prices.
Elite Construction would pull apart the fountain to do concrete
replacement and make changes. They would restore the fountain, put
epoxy on the outside and coating on the inside.
- To cancel the current KONE elevator maintenance contract subject
to approval by the State’s Attorney.
- To accept the proposed TKE elevator [formerly Thyssenkrupp
Elevator] maintenance contract subject to approval by the State’s
Attorney.
Blankenship reached out to Thyssenkrupp about a new elevator
contract. They have done some recent repairs on a case-by-case
basis.
With TKE having a regional representative, Blankenship hopes for
more direct contact and improved response times.
Road and Bridge Committee update
The board unanimously approved a motion from the Road and Bridge
Committee for a resolution to award a contract to Truman Flatt &
Sons in the amount of $112,778.50 to resurface the Country Place
Subdivision in Mount Pulaski Township.
The next Regular Board meeting will be Tuesday, August 17 at 6 p.m.
in the Orr Building.
[Angela Reiners] |
