This new letter is very misleading. It begins, "As you may have read in the local newspaper, we will be filing a petition to extend the time to mine our Cary property, so that we can expand the Lake as much as possible." [emphasis mine]
What? It's one thing to ask for an extension, but do not pretend that it is being done for us. The purpose of the extension is not to make the lake bigger, but to remove the gravel. It is a gravel pit. Plain and simple. Last summer, even the Northwest Herald referred to Meyer's gravel pit as a "lake project." It is not a lake project. We can't let them reframe the purpose of the extension.
It all comes down to this: Meyer is asking for the extension because they do not want to pay the $100,000 monthly penalty for failure to complete the mining operation by June, 2016, as was the original deal.
If Meyer wants to extend their time, they also must be willing to give something for it. Some ideas floated by people in the neighborhood:
- a reinstatement of the home-owner's assistance program, prorated for the time frame
- building of a sidewalk on Foxtrails South
If you have other ideas, please leave them in the comments. You can read the entire letter below:
The Zoning Board Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 28th when Meyer will officially ask the Zoning Board for the extension. We encourage everyone to come. If Meyer does not get the extension, Cary still gets the lake. And let's not be deceived: the lake we are getting will be nothing at all like the lake at Three Oaks in Crystal Lake, as some people believe. What we will get is a lake, a small parking lot located in Algonquin off of Klasen Road and a path around the lake. That is it.
So mark your calendars. The Meyer show is back in town!
