This morning's Northwest Herald reports that Merryman Aggregate and the City of Harvard are butting heads over Merryman's agreement with the City over a gravel pit there. Failure to meet the terms of agreements might be an undercurrent with Merryman, since the Woodstock City Council has received complaints about compliance with the agreement concerning the mining operation on U.S. 14 across from the hospital.
You can read the Harvard snarl at www.nwherald.com/2010/12/08/harvard-considers-legal-action-against-merryman-aggregates/apocal4/
It was on October 19 that the Woodstock City Council heard from a resident on Lily Pond Road about non-compliance at the pit (Merryman says it's not a "pit") in Woodstock. The resident complained about speeding gravel trucks, untarped loads, worries about groundwater contamination, dumping of foreign materials at the site. I had previously heard complaints about early hours of truck operations.
Public Works has submitted a report to the City Administration, and the City Council should hear about it at the December 21st meeting at 7:00PM. The City Council passed an ordinance to permit the mining operation with 50 conditions attached. At the time it seemed to me to be an extraordinarily high number of conditions many of which, in my opinion, should have been satisfied before the City Council approved the Ordinance.
On October 19 Mayor Sager praised the City staff for doing "an excellent job communicating with Merryman Aggregate." Minutes of that meeting include "City staff are also trying to provide oversight."
My opinion? "Communicating" with Merryman hadn't resolved the problems about which the resident, Matt Gilbert, must have complained, before he took his time to attend a City Council meeting in person and complain to those where the buck stops. And "trying" to provide oversight just doesn't make it with me. Providing oversight would be much better.
Interested residents should attend the December 21st meeting to observe to what extent the City of Woodstock tightens the leash on Merryman's Woodstock pit operation.
Of particular attention may be the participation of Woodstock's newest City Council member, who is a partner of the law firm that represents Merryman. Mark Saladin will have to recuse himself from participation and voting.
But won't he have access to complete inside information as to the City's position on enforcement of the conditions of the Ordinance that applies to the pit? Will he be under some obligation not to disclose that information to his law partners, who then can advise their client?
You never know who is interested…
3 months ago
4 comments:
When I lived in Illinois I was about 1/2 - 3/4 mile from a then closed pit. Maybe it was used infrequently for a load or two. About ten years before I moved the County voted to allow a company to reopen the pit. The company promised they would limit the number of trucks and the pit would only be open during daytime hours. I can't tell you how many calm nights we could hear the constant noise of the rock crusher or the excavators late into the evening.
Have you even heard an empty dump truck driving by? Sounds like ten people beating on steel drums. Multiply that times a couple hundred.
Did you know the land is taxed agricultural until it is actually being mined? Taxes are non existent. Sales tax does to the point of sale not at the pit. The local government and county get very little from these pits.
I think the neighbors of the Woodstock operation can attest to the sound of trucks arriving early in the morning, before the approved opening hour of the pit.
You're right Gus. Gravel trucks line up well before the pits open.
We attended meeting to complain and the Zoning board defends the pits. Why they load late in the day, many trucks pre-load late just before the pits close so they can get an early start for the job sites in the morning and get a jump on traffic. The pits work late to stockpile for the next days early loads. The truckers explain that if they can get one extra load per day, it pays the cost of fuel for the entire day or more. Its all about the pits and the trucks, damn the residents.
Did you know McHenry County does not have a noise ordinance? Your neighbors can have a Moto Cross track right next to you and there is nothing you can do. Unless the pit has an agreement that they will not work past a cerain hour, you are SOL.Many were operating under agreements that were written 40 years ago. If a county board person lived next to one of these pits or had a neighbor running motorcycles all day long, then there would be a law.
I moved out because of taxes and becuase this county is so backward.
I'm not familiar with Merryman Aggregate's deal with the City of Harvard, but I think that one of the 50 conditions in Woodstock's ordinance was directed at Hours of Operation. Not sure; just recalling from memory.
Didn't think about stockpiling for early departure the next day. There could be a clever wording in the ordinance, no doubt negotiated by the City and Merryman, that the City didn't realize could allow noisy trucks to operate before the day's start of mining business.
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