In June, Meyer Material went to the Village Board and presented the company’s annual status report regarding their operations in the Village of Cary. Spokesperson Randi Wille set up the entire argument that Meyer will be making to the zoning board on November 10: he said that this past year has been a “challenge” for Meyer Material because of the “weak economy.”
There it is: Meyer Material is experiencing some problems in this economy, therefore they need more time to extract the gravel from the land adjacent to Fox Trails.
Here is what he is not going to tell you:
1. Meyer Material is owned by Aggregate Industries, which is owned by Holcim, LTD. This is the second largest producer of concrete in the world. They employ over 80,000 people worldwide and operate in more than 2,500 locations in 70 countries.
2. This is a foreign corporation, headquartered in Switzerland.
Holcim LTD is not hurting, despite what will be stated at the meeting. Let’s look at their profit over the last couple of years:
Net Income for Holcim, LTD (taken from the 2010 annual report):
2009 1.958 billion CHF ($2.27 billion US)
2010 1.621 billion CHF ($1.88 billion US)
Yes, they lost money from 2009 to 2010. But, so far in 2011, Holcim has seen a 29.7% increase in profit for the first half of the year and they are set to surpass their 2009 performance. (Source)
The CEO of Holcim is Markus Akermann. In 2010 he made 8,713,996 CHF (source). That is equal to over $10 million US.
And they want to continue mining in Cary for another 6 years?
That’s another six years of low property values.
That’s another six years of dust and noise.
That’s another six years before they come to the village again with another request to extend mining operations.
You can see that coming, right? When will it stop?
Meyer Material wants to change the agreement they made with Cary in 2008. Yet how many of us can change the terms of our mortgages so that we don’t have to pay a penalty? How many of us would like more time to pay off loans? Try calling your credit card company and asking to be free from the penalty that you will be receiving because of a late payment. How sympathetic would they be?
Here is what needs to happen:
Meyer needs to finish mining by June 1, 2016. If they can’t do it, then they need to pay the $100,000 penalty per month beyond that date.
End of story. They signed an agreement.
If they don’t want to do that, here’s a novel idea: hire more workers and get it done in time. Then, if they can’t sell the material at the moment, store it for a later date. After all, gravel doesn’t go bad.
See how easy that was. And I don't make $10 million a year.
