"Your Endorsement is All That Matters"

I have been really struck this election cycle by the effort and money being spent by Ellen McAlpine and her "We Unite Cary" slate. I don't know how much as been spent by this group, but this is not typical of a Village Board election. From a slick website, to fliers, mailers, and signs everywhere to a podcast that began several weeks ago. And, they have enlisted the help of ex-Cary officials for a slew of endorsements that really is nothing more than a desperate attempt to cover up the mediocrity that has been the status quo of the Cary Village Board.

I have said this before: in regard to the Meyer Material fiasco, Jim and Kim have been stellar in their attempt to hold Meyer accountable. They sought out residents, they listened to the history of the pit.  And they fought to make it right by the residents of Fox Trails.

What did McAlpine and most of those people she has enlisted to provide "endorsements" for herself and her slate do about the Meyer situation? They rolled over. They gave Meyer time. They even over-turned the rules about resubmitting an application by a petitioner after being voted down by the zoning board. As a result, Meyer got a second chance at presenting to the board their reasons for wanting an extension. And guess who voted for overturning that rule for Meyer? It wasn't Covelli or Cosler.  And then, McAlpine gushed about how "great" Meyer Material was to the Village of Cary.

Give me a break.

Kim and Jim have been instrumental in holding Meyer material to the deal. They have been instrumental in eliciting feedback from residents. They take their jobs very seriously and have agonized over decisions but ultimately made those decisions based on the promises that they made and the feedback they received.



And the "We Unite Cary" crowd has been going on and on about how Kim and Jim said no to a $60,000 anonymous donation to the Village. They even made a video, describing Kim and Jim as the "party of no." Kim and Jim acknowledged that the donation was generous but, in the end, did the right thing:  when you stand up for transparency, anonymity is wrought with potential problems. There was no other answer but no.

And anyone who believes in the integrity of government would agree.

And that's what Kim and Jim bring to the Village Board:

Integrity.

A belief that the residents have a voice.

And an unwavering belief in standing up for what is right, even when they know that others will use it to tear them down.

That is leadership.

And that is why they deserve our vote on April 2.

We Unite Cary for What?

So Ellen McAlpine is heading up a slate of candidates for the Cary Board election. She has joined forces with Dale Collier, Jr. and Sean Wheeler and they call themselves "We Unite Cary." Not quite sure what that means, but okay.

Truth be told, I know nothing about Dale Collier or Sean Wheeler.  However, the fact that they've teamed up with McAlpine and have publicized the endorsements of a slew of people who have been responsible for uniting Cary not with constituents, but with the interests of a multinational corporation that has done nothing but walk all over the village should say enough.

Let's see. It's the same old story. Over the last twelve years (and it goes back further than that), Meyer Material has manipulated the board. It has disregarded the contract. And currently it is holding the land that it was supposed to give back to Cary last June hostage, because it wants to continue to have mining rights on that very land.

And McAlpine, Collier and Wheeler enthusiastically went on a "field trip" a few weeks ago with Randi Wille, the Lefarge/Meyer representative who has been the point-person from the beginning. And in the video, they gush over the size of the lake and the wildlife that they got to see.

But the fact remains that Meyer still hasn't honored the contract. Meyer is not paying fines that they agreed to as well. The land is still not under Cary's control, even though this was supposed to happen last summer.

And to further obfuscate the issue, the village still has an "artist rendering" of what the park could look like up on its website.  This was created for one reason: to unite Cary around something that will never be. Folks, let's be clear: if the park is ever given to Cary it will not be Three Oaks.  It is a lake with a path around it. That is all.  And the village spent thousands of dollars to have an artist sell the residents a lie.

Yet, McAlpine still plays to that farce. Even after Meyer missed the deadline for turning over the land to Cary she thanked them. Yes, she thanked them for doing a good job!  

On the "We Unite Cary" website they enthusiastically display the "endorsements" of past Cary officials. That list is a who's who of who's sold out Cary:

Mayor Steve Lamal: He is the guy who started this mess in the first place. He sold out Cary by allowing a weak and easily manipulated contract to be written that has given Meyer the upper hand in their relationship with the village. During his tenure, there were even issues with getting out agendas and notifying residents of meetings.

Mayor Tom Kierna: He was a Meyer super-fan who went out of his way to sway things in Meyer's favor (not unlike the current mayor, Mark Kownick). When there was a tie, like on the vote to give Meyer one of their many extensions back in 2012, he broke the tie with a yes.

Dave Chapman, former Trustee: Dave was also a Meyer cheerleader. In July of 2015 he admitted that Meyer was "significant" to the village budget and did what he could to keep the pit rolling. He even once lashed out at Fox Trails residents in October 2016 who were upset with the situation by saying that "Meyer has done a great job here." 

Rick Dudek, former trustee: This guy once made the suggestions that Fox Trails residents shouldn't complain because they moved into the neighborhood in the first place. He stated back in 2015 that there had not been complaints since Meyer started mining. Spoiler alert: that was not true. Dudek was instrumental in getting Meyer another hearing even though they had been voted down at the zoning board.

These guys are not the most stellar of endorsements. Perhaps we should fix the "We Unite Cary" logo:

The Conning of Cary...

I didn't think I would be writing any more about Meyer Material Company. After all, it appeared that everything was done. The deadline had passed and the reclamation of the land looked done. Surprisingly so. They even had the parking lot completed.

But still, there are barriers blocking the entrance to the parking lot. No one can use the site or the pathway that exists around the lake.

As it turns out, Meyer did not finish on time and the transfer of property to the Village of Cary has not yet occured.

Here is what has happened:  Last week, at the Village of Cary Board meeting, Meyer was getting ready to transfer the land to Cary ownership. But there were some "snags," to use the words of Randy Willey, the "Permits Manager" for Meyer Material.

Meyer missed the deadline for finishing the reclamation. Why?  Here is the list of excuses used by Randy Willey...and let me say, this is not surprising as we have heard excuses before. Remember: Meyer Material Company is not some mom and pop company. They are owned by one of the largest mining companies IN THE WORLD. Back in 2016, Meyer complained that the economy prevented them from extracting the gravel in a timely manner. Now, they have a fresh list of excuses:

A) The Americans With Disabilities Act prevented them from finishing on time. He acted like this was a new law and that they haven't had to deal with these provisions before.

B) Dealing with storm drainage issues

C) Construction work

D) Rain. In Randy's words: It was "wet and cold" and "really wet;" "record setting wet." Yep. He said that.

So, they missed the deadline. As it was outlined in the agreement, Meyer should be paying the Village fines. After all, if you miss your water bill or electrical bill, you need to pay fines. But not Meyer Material Company. They feel like they shouldn't have to pay these fines because we should feel sorry for them because it rained. Give me a break. They are a multi-national corporation that spends its time screwing over small communities. Just ask McHenry how they feel about Meyer Material Company. 

As of now, Meyer has not paid the fines that THEY AGREED TO. 

That's not all. They have some "reservations" before agreeing to transferring the deed of the land into Cary's possession.

Get this: Meyer wants "future" mining rights for the land! NEVER was this brought up in the ten years as a condition for deed transfer.

They want the right to mine in the future up to 200 feet below the surface. Details were not made on how this is to be done.  This is the most confounding thing. Meyer has removed all equipment. The dredge was removed. Did they find more minerals? Why is this coming up now?  Does this mean that, if approved, Meyer can come in 10, 20 years in the future and start mining again? This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Yet, people on the village board seemed more than willing to give this away. Trustee McAlpine fawned over Meyer Material, proclaiming that "you guys have done a great job...Thank you."

Luckily, they tabled this vote until further discussions could be made. But Cary does not have to accept these conditions. Let the Trustees know that Meyer needs to cede the land as agreed!

Let's be clear: Meyer is very good at getting what they want. They play the victim. They have lawyers and money. They sell "what could be" to the community to gain support. 

And then they screw them over. 

They are doing it in Cary. McHenry. Hartland, Wisconsin. And who knows where else? 

Also, for all of you who believe that this land is going to become something like Three Oaks, you've been duped. Take a look at this map:

Half of this property is in Algonquin. Although Cary and Algonquin have been in talks, there is no guarantee that Algonquin will actually cede this land to Cary. Sorry, but the more valuable areas of the property, including the entrance and parking lot, are located in Algonquin.

Let's see how this turns out. But I can tell you this: every time we see a light at the end of the tunnel, Meyer throws a curve ball. And they have been in this game a long time. They know exactly what they are doing.

They are con artists. And small communities, with the promise of money and amenities, buy into it.

And end up not getting what was sold.

The Cary Pit--March 29, 2017

There was an unusual amount of noise coming from this pit this morning. So I decided to use the drone to take a look.

After getting clearance from the Lake in the Hills Airport, I brought the drone 150 feet over the Fox Trails subdivision and took a look. They are moving dirt near the berm. But, at this altitude, you can get a nice glimpse of what lies next door to Fox Trails.

Hydraulic Dredging, 24/6

Meyer lost. They lost at the Zoning Board and they lost at the Village Board level.

However, the powers that be want them to have another chance. Although, due to Village rules, they cannot submit another plan until a year long "cooling off" period. Nonetheless, Meyer presented an informational meeting to Village residents about a new plan.

In order to get this plan in action, the Village of Cary will have to give Meyer a waiver. The plan will then go to the new Zoning Board and then back to the Village Board.

What Meyer wants to do is bring in some dredging equipment and turn the pit into a 24 hour a day, 6 days a week operation. They claim it will be quieter than what they are doing now.

At the meeting, Meyer presented the following video, showing how a hydraulic dredger works:


The video has no sound, so we can't hear the dredger in action. Although Meyer insisted that that this method would be less noisy than what they have now, they couldn't get more specific than that.

However, here is another video of a hydraulic dredger. This is what Meyer wants to be operating next to Fox Trails 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. This setup, I am sure, is not what Meyer will do, but the plans presented were not too specific and this is all we have to go on:


And another:


And another:


I think Meyer will have to provide evidence to the Village of the exact setup that they will use so the Village can be assured that at 2 am the sound is not excessive.  

Sounds from the Pit

Recently, Meyer gave residents a tour of their gravel pit operations when they were looking for a time extension for mining. While on that tour, Meyer officials touted how they were using sound mitigation techniques in order to minimize the noise in the Fox Trail Subdivision. Among the things that they discussed was a way to damper the back-up beeping sound from trucks and equipment. In fact, we were told that if we heard back-up beeping sounds it wasn't coming from the pit.

Oh, really. Well, there's a lot of sound coming directly from the pit, including back-up beeping noises. So they must not be using the very equipment they claimed a few months ago.

Current;y, the sound coming from the pit is loud. Very loud. The beeping noise can be heard in houses even with windows closed.

I recorded a couple of minutes of what is sounds like in my front yard.



Last week, Meyer gave a presentation about their plans to use dredging equipment for 24 hours a day, six days a week.  At that presentation, they could not say how loud it would be.

Considering the fact that they can't damper beeping noises, my faith in Meyer Material being able to keep a dredger quiet in the middle of the night is very much in doubt.

If you do not like what you are hearing, please let the Village of Cary know. Email them at Villagehall@caryillinois.com.

Pit Sounds

No, it's not a new Beach Boys album.

It is the sound outside our bedroom window.

Over the last few days, the noise from the pit has been louder than normal. This is to be expected, due to the fact that they are moving closer to the subdivision. Right now, I suspect, they are removing overburden from the cells closest to the subdivision. And it is loud.

I recorded the following audio using a voice recorder app on my cellphone. It was placed in my bedroom window, approximately 1200 feet from the pit. This is pretty typical for the sound coming from the pit, especially in the last few days.

Democracy? What Democracy? Get Ready for a Meyer Waiver

UPDATE: On the Facebook "Cary Connection" Page, it was stated that the Meyer waiver vote is "not expected" to be on the agenda for July 5th. The agenda will be published sometime in the afternoon of July 1.

UPDATE 2: A vote on Meyer Material is not on the agenda for July 5. Meyer can still be discussed in the Administrator's report.

Trustees at the last two Village of Cary board meetings had lively discussions about the fate of Meyer Material.  Those who voted yes to the extension want to give Meyer another opportunity to present their plan to the Zoning Board. They cite "new evidence" as a justification to waive the required one year "cooling off" period.

They even presented what a new proposal "might" look like at the last Village Board meeting. Keep in mind, this proposal was not written by Meyer, but by the Village:

In order for Meyer to be able to submit another proposal to the Zoning Board this summer, the village would have to waive the 1 year requirement.  As Trustee Kraus so plainly stated at the June 21 meeting, "We've already voted." Why would they want to do this?

Simple:  They want a "yes" recommendation from the Zoning board so that the mayor can vote at the Village level. That way they can overcome the three "no" votes.

Two Village Board meetings ago, Trustee Dudek lamented the fact that the Meyer proposal they voted on was not the same as what was presented at the Zoning Board in February. Given that, he argued, Meyer should be allowed to present that plan back to the Zoning Board. He and the Mayor expressed a belief that Meyer--"a good corporate citizen," they added--was not being treated fairly.

This is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to circumvent the system and get another vote. I am sorry, Trustee Dudek and Mayor Kownick--the system worked just as it was intended:

1) Meyer presented a plan to the Zoning Board in February
2) The Zoning Board gave a "no" recommendation
3) Meyer adjusted their proposal for the Village Board meeting of May 17
4) That proposal was defeated 3-3. The Mayor was prohibited from voting in this instance due to the negative recommendation from the Zoning board.

Done and done.  Or so we thought.

Now we have a new Zoning Board. Shortly after that vote in February, Zoning Board Chairman Joe Tournier was basically fired by the Mayor.

Now, with a new Zoning Board, the mayor wants to start the whole process over so he can vote and reverse the outcome. In other words: DEMOCRACY BE DAMNED!

The fact of the matter is this: Meyer screwed up. They went into the meeting in May thinking they were going to sail through. They didn't present a plan that gave enough back to the Village and they lost. End of story. They can present a proposal again. But they have to wait a year just like everybody else.

But that's not enough for Mayor Kownick, Trustee Dudek and the other two trustees who voted yes. They didn't get what they wanted so they want to re-do the vote.

Nice. And this is why people do not trust government.

Although the agenda for the next meeting has not been released, I suspect that the Meyer waiver vote will come at the July 5th meeting. As has been done now a few times, important votes have been scheduled for this meeting after the July 4th holiday--A day where they will get less attendance.

Its been done before and so the pattern continues.

More to come.

Just when you thought it was all over....

Last month, the Village of Cary denied the extension of mining to Meyer Material in a vote 3-3. The mayor was not allowed to vote and, because the Zoning Board did not recommend the extension, the vote needed to be a super majority. A special thanks to trustees Covelli, Krause and Cosler who voted "no" because they listened to the residents of Fox Trails.  That was not an easy vote for them and they need to be commended.

However, it is not over. This week, Meyer was brought up again by Trustee Dudek who read a statement in which he expressed a belief that Meyer should be allowed to resubmit their proposal to the Zoning Board. His reasoning: the proposal that the board voted on was not the same as the one presented to the Board. However, according to the rules, Meyer cannot reapply for a year, in what is called a "cooling off period."  Dudek suggested that the board waive that requirement.

Trustee Cosler rightly called such action as a "backdoor method of getting it reheard."  The mayor was obviously upset by the vote last month and wants to have the matter reconsidered. He said it was not fair to treat Meyer in such a way. I guess in his mind it is fair to treat the residents this way, but that's beside the point.

Here's what is going to happen:

1) Meyer is going to continue mining through November. They have made their first $100,000 fine payment.
2) Meyer has been in conversations with Village Administrator Clark
3) The Village will put on an agenda to vote to waive the time period in which Meyer can resubmit a proposal.

Stay tuned for that. It will probably come at the traditional low-turnout board meeting on July 5.

See the video below. The Meyer portion starts at 57:44.



Looks like we are going to go through this whole thing again.

Does Meyer have the right to resubmit a plan? Absolutely. But the rules state that they need to wait a year.

Dudek and the Mayor seem to believe that the proposal that they voted on needed to be the same as the proposal offered to the Zoning Board. That is simply not true.

The system worked. The Zoning Board did not recommend the extension. And, as is the reason for a zoning board hearing, Meyer revised their plan for the Village Board vote.  The Village Board voted no.

There.

But apparently the democratic process is inconvenient to certain members of the Village Board and this is likely to start up all over again.

Stay tuned. The drama continues.

Information regarding the Meyer Extension Vote Tonight

The Village has placed a lot of information on their website.  Here is a breakdown of the mining schedule if approved:

If approved, the mining, which was to stop on June 1, 2016, will continue until June 1, 2019. Three years. 

Here's the thing: according to the current contract, Meyer would have to pay $100,000 a month for every month they go beyond the June 1, 2016 date.  This comes to about $600,000 a year.

Here is the updated ordinance that will be voted on tonight.

The entire packet, including Zoning Board minutes and resident emails can be read here. Beware, it is long:

This is it...The Meyer Vote Comes on Tuesday

After a couple of postponements, it appears that the Board is now ready to vote on the Meyer extension. And all signs point to a "yes" vote. But only we can prevent that from happening.

It appears, as usual, Meyer has sweetened the deal. Somewhat. They've sweetened it at least enough to make this new board feel inclined to vote yes.  And, at the last couple of meetings, a very nice "plan" was presented on what the Village would like to do with the land. A plan that cost some $16,000 to put together, by the way, with no real proposals on how it would get done.

According to the new deal, Meyer is now going to pay for some improvements to the Fox Trails subdivision (as one person on Facebook remarked: Maybe now we can get an 'S' for our sign) totalling some $50,000. This sounds good to the board, but one has to remember that Meyer will have to pay fines if they go beyond the June 1, 2016 date. So one month of fines is more than double what they have offered. Doesn't sound like a great deal to me.

Here are some other points:

1) The Zoning Board gave a resounding "no" to the extension deal back in February

2) The homeowners of Fox Trails were assured by a previous board back in 2008 that the penalties in the contract would make it so Meyer wouldn't come back and ask for an extension.  And here we are. This board is increasing the fines, but who is to say the same thing won't happen in three years?

3) If Meyer stops mining as they should on June 1, we still get a lake. Meyer still needs to restore the land. The lake will be a little smaller, but so what.

4) The area that still needs to be mined is right next to the Fox Trails subdivision. Happy summer everyone!

5) Half of the proposed recreation area is in the Village of Algonquin. I'm not sure if this has been worked out as of yet.

I think most of us are just tired of this mess. We want it done. We are tired of the dust and the noise. It's time to say goodbye to Meyer Material Company.

Please come to the meeting on Tuesday. The more people who show up the harder it will be for them to vote yes on the extension. If you can't make the meeting, please send a message to the board at villagehall@caryillinois.com

Next Meyer Meeting is....(drumroll) TOMORROW!

Yep. You read that right. The next time the Village Board discusses the Meyer Petition is TOMORROW night, April 5 at 6 pm.

The Village does not want you to go to this meeting, apparently.

I downloaded the Committee of the Whole Agenda from the Cary website and examined the metadata. The pdf was created on Friday.  I'm not sure when it was posted.

But then again, there was no indication that this was going to be discussed. There is nothing on the Village website, except for the agenda, which has to be downloaded in order to be viewed.

The current Cary Connection newsletter with the information about the meeting is dated April 4--the day before the meeting. Today. Thanks for the notice, Cary!

For those of us who have been around for a while, this is very typical when it comes to meetings involving Meyer Material.

So we need to go to this meeting. We need to say the same things we said at the other village board meeting.

The Committee of the Whole meeting is at 6pm on Tuesday, April 5. Then, the mayor will update the Village Board at the meeting at 7:30. The final vote will be taken on April 19.

Hope to see you at the meeting tomorrow!

What about that Lake?

In the recent letter sent to Fox Trails residents, Meyer claimed that they wanted an extension in their mining operations in order to "expand the lake as much as possible."  That misleading statement is meant to convey the idea that the purpose of the gravel pit is to make us a nice lake. This is a gravel pit first and foremost.  Meyer is in the aggregate business and is owned by Holcim, Ltd. headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The annual profits of this conglomerate average around $15 billion or so.

Due to various reasons, Meyer will not be able to finish mining gravel by the June 2016 deadline. In order to avoid paying the agreed-upon penalties of $100,000 a month, Meyer wants to extend the contract through 2020, with mining continuing until June 1, 2019 and restoration finished by June 1, 2020.

The picture below is the most recent Google Earth image of the gravel pit, taken in June, 2015. Rollover the image with your mouse to see some details about the gravel pit and the areas still left to mine. The area that still needs to mined is directly adjacent to the Fox Trails subdivision.
         

But what about that lake?

Originally, Meyer stated that the finished lake would be about 94 acres. But, due to the problems they have had with overburden, the new estimated size will be around 89-90 acres.

If they do not get the extension, Cary still gets a finished lake, but it will be around an estimated 76 acres or so with more land around the lake.

Roll your mouse over the image below to see the roughly estimated sizes of the shoreline.



What does Cary get out of this when all is said and done?

When the mining operations are finished, Meyer will present Cary with a lake. There will be a multipurpose path around the lake and a small parking lot located off of Klasen Road in the village of Algonquin.

The banks of the lake will be seeded, like they have already started doing in 2015. Below is an image of the western portion of the lake and the bank that was seeded early last year.

This is more of what the banks will look like when completed. This is a view of the south eastern portion of the lake that was one of the first areas to be finished a couple of decades ago.

A multi-use path will be built around the lake, regardless of its final size with a small parking lot located in the south east portion of the property. This is the original proposal of what the lake and grading will look like, as presented by Meyer:

Many residents outside of Fox Trails believe that this is going to be a recreation area on par with the recently opened Three Oaks Recreation Area in neighboring Crystal Lake.  I hate to disappoint people, but this is not the case.

First of all, the village of Crystal Lake spent $14.37 million converting a portion of that former gravel pit into a recreation area. Although nothing has been decided as of yet, the Village of Cary and the Cary Park District will have to work out a plan. Anything beyond what Meyer deeds to the Village of Cary will be costly in terms of upgrades and maintenance. Plus, as half of the property is actually located in Algonquin, rights and access will need to be negotiated between the two government bodies.

Here is what we need to find out:  Meyer has paid the Village of Cary $250,000 a year in impact fees since the start of the mining operation for a total of $2.5 million (and an additional $2 million total to a Land Conservancy fund). What has Cary done with that money from impact fees?

During the July 7, 2015, board meeting, Trustee David Chapman admitted that the Meyer payment is a "significant portion of the Village's budget."  So where has that money gone?

Based on this alone, I am convinced the Village will grant the extension just in order to gather those impact fees for a few years more.  But what do we, the residents located next to the pit, get?

Four more years of dust and noise, to be sure.

----------------------------

The Zoning Board and Appeals meeting is set for Thursday, January 28.

Meyer Material, Round 4 Begins in January

What did you get for Christmas? We got a nice letter from Meyer informing us of their intent to request an extension on mining next to the Fox Trails Subdivision until 2020.

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!

An Open Letter to the Village of Cary

Dear Mayor Kownick, Village Trustees and Village Officials:

I would like to make a clarification regarding the last Village Board meeting of July 7, 2015 concerning Meyer Material Company and their annual report.  Trustee Dudek stated near the end of the discussion that there have “not been any complaints” regarding the gravel pit located next to the Fox Trails subdivision.

This is plainly not true.

I made two complaints early in the process. One of the complaints was regarding the building of the berm and the other was a complaint regarding the failure to cease operations after the 7:30 deadline. Neither complaint, as far as I know, was ever addressed, as I never heard back from the Village.

But that is not all. Several residents issued complaints between 2008 and 2012. For one resident, Cam Davis told her that the noise she was hearing was not from the pit but from “somewhere else.”  Some people I know complained about the sound of firearms from the pit.

All you need to do is look back on the minutes from the Zoning Board meeting of November 10, 2011 and you will see several complaints by residents that are part of the official record:

• One resident complained about the mud in his pool from all of the dust
• ATVs and snowmobiles running the berm. One resident described it as the “Indy 500 day and night”
• A complaint about “lack of security” along the berm
• Complaints about furnaces becoming clogged due to dust and particulates
• Unable to open windows because of the dust
• Decline in home values

Although not a resident of Cary, the business owner of Trinity Auto also made a statement regarding the extra money he has had to shell out due to the amount of dust from the pit in order to clean the cars in his lot.

The fact of the matter is that Fox Trails residents know that they have to put up with the realities of living next to a pit for a certain amount of time. As a result, many people may not have issued formal complaints.  They have just been waiting for it all to end by June 1, 2016.

My point is this: the perception that there have not been complaints regarding the pit is just plain false. Perhaps those in the previous administrations did not keep adequate records, I don’t know. Even so, a perceived lack of complaints does not mean that everybody is happy with the pit.

We were just hoping for it all to end by June 1, 2016. And they haven’t even started mining the sectors close to Fox Trails. That is yet to come.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Bruce Janu
Knollwood Dr

No Complaints, Mr. Dudek? Not True

At the last village board meeting, Rick Dudek made a comment that was echoed by some of the other trustees.  "There has not been one complaint" about the gravel pit, he stated.

This is simply not true. There have been complaints made about the pit.  I made a couple of complaints myself several years ago regarding the noise when they were working on the berm and later when they were working past the time when they should have ceased operations.

Others have as well.  In fact, one resident was belittled by Cam Davis, the former Village Administrator, telling her that the noise that was coming from the pit was actually not coming from the pit.  She had made three official complaints to the Village regarding the noise, but no action was made by Cam Davis or anyone else in Village government.

I am not sure any of these complaints were actually recorded.  I never received a follow-up for mine, that is for sure.

But the last time Meyer came asking for an extension, residents stood up before the zoning board and complained about dust and noise.  People complained about having to frequently wash windows and replace furnace filters.  People talked about dust blanketing backyard picnic tables.

• One resident complained about the dust and mud in his pool during the summer
• Another resident said that they had to replace furnace filters so often the repair man told them not use filters or it could ruin the furnace because so much dust was clogging it
• "My backyard is an Indy 500 night and day," said one resident regarding the atv's and snowmobiles using the berm at all hours with little security

So yes, Rick "There-Have-Been-No-Complaints" Dudek, complaints have been made over the last 7 years.

And let's not forget some of the businesses located along Route 31. The owner of Trinity Auto even spoke at a zoning board meeting in 2011 regarding the dust that was blanketing his cars and how he spends $3000 extra a year just keeping his cars looking good.  Meyer had stated that they would help compensate businesses for any adverse effects the pit had on their operations. But, at that time, Meyer had done nothing.

But all of this really doesn't matter.  The fact is Meyer has not yet started mining the cells directly next to the Fox Trails subdivision.

With the agreement in place, residents gritted their teeth and prepared themselves to be inconvenienced until the agreed-upon date: June 1, 2016.  Therefore, many residents may not have complained.  They have just been waiting for it to end.

And now, if Meyer gets its way, they will have to wait three more years.....at least.

If you live in Fox Trails and would like to share your experience living next to the pit, please send an email in the comment form on the right, documenting what life is like living next to the pit.  We are currently making a little documentary about the pit and Fox Trails.  If you would like to be involved, please let me know.

Thank you.

Village Board Meeting--Tuesday July 7, 2015

So the board meeting tonight went as expected.  Two people spoke about Meyer, including myself. Meyer presented their annual report, which emphasized all of their "obligations" and their corporate citizenship, such as Cub Scout trips where, it was said, the kids could visit "nature in your backyard." I wouldn't classify a gravel pit as nature, but okay.  They talked about the impact fees that they pay to the Village and how the economic downturn really took a toll on the business.  Same things we heard back in 2011-12.

The two Meyer representatives, Randi Wille and Ron Raupp, spent a great deal of time talking about the challenges of mining in the parcels. The overburden, they claim, has been a problem, causing them to actually pile the extra overburden on the north side of the property, bordering Hoffman Park, as seen below.

The pile of overburden in the Meyer gravel pit.

And, due to the overburden and the inconsistency of the gravel deposits, the lake will actually be smaller than expected. Originally, they estimated the lake being about 94 acres. Now, they expect it to be 89-90 acres......if they get the extension.  If not, the lake will be about 77 acres or so but with more land surrounding it.

As for the financial committment, Meyer said they were willing to continue paying the current fees. Surprisingly, Dudek said that they should "sharpen their pencils" and come with a better offer.

Covelli then asked, for the sake of the Fox Trails residents, if there was "nothing above and beyond" the current fees---after all, they could be subjected to penalties.  And Mr.Wille replied "No" and clarified that with the impact fees they are already paying enough.  He and Covelli went back and forth a little and said he'd take it back to the management team.

Chapman and McAlpine both commented on how they loved the tour and that Meyer did a really great job of explaining everything to them.

Kraus made the suggestion that if they stop mining in 2016, then perhaps Cary could build a hotel or something on that extra land.

Dudek then stated that there have been no complaints from residents at all, therefore there shouldn't be a problem with the extension.  However, what complaints was he hoping to get? Fox Trails residents are not complaining about the noise or the dust because there is nothing that can be done: we live next to a gravel pit.  We know that there is going to be dust and noise---but we expect that to be done by June 1, 2016.  More on this ridiculous point in a later post.

In the end, it was only Covelli and Cosler who voted "no" on reducing the letters of credit for Meyer and that passed without a problem.  I even was lectured on what a "letter of credit" is by Dudek.  For some reason he thought I believed that the letters of credit were penalties. They're not, but they do serve as collateral.  And they are part of the deal that was struck in 2008.

The most telling moment came during the discussion when Chapman announced that the pit is a "significant part of the Village budget."  There it is.  The bottom line.

One thing that did happen was Jim Cossler (via a speaker- phone as he was out of town on business) speciffically asked me if I had any comments after the presentation and I was allowed to speak.  I reiterated that a deal is a deal. But I also mentioned the fact that everybody has gotten a tour and a detailed explaination of the pit operations, except Fox Trails residents.

Meyer was open to providing some tours for Fox Trails residents.  So that may be in our future.

My Remarks at the Cary Board Meeting

Here are my remarks at the Cary Board Meeting in regard to Meyer material and their annual presentation and the forthcoming request for an extension:

My name is Bruce Janu.  I live in the Fox Trails subdivision.  I am here to speak for a moment about Meyer Material Company.  As you know, they are wanting to extend the conditional use permit.  We all knew that they were never going to finish on time---we said this over and over again back in 2007-08.  In 2011, they came to ask for an extension, claiming that the economic downturn has prevented them from finishing on time.  They ended up withdrawing the petition and here we are with one year left--conveniently---and Meyer is asking again. With new reasons.

Now, there's too much dirt.   There's not enough time, because of the limits placed on their mining operations that they had originally agreed to.  

However, some things to consider:  Since withdrawing the petition, Meyer has not added more heavy equipment to the property.  Has not increased the workforce. Has not made any attempt to finish on time.  They're just expecting to be given the extension. That was the plan all along.

What I find interesting is that in the original deal, they sought a 2 year timeframe to reclaim the land. Now, they are going to do it in one year. They can speed that up, but not the mining?  Seems a little suspect to me. 

In their report, they are going to talk about how a good corporate citizen they are---by allowing kids to visit on field trips and maintaining parks and what not. Don't forget, this good corporate citizen has threatened to walk away from the property leaving it as is if they don't get what they want. Yeah, that's good corporate citizenship. 

And now they want to reduce the amount of money in their letters of credit?  I don't think that would be a smart thing for the Village to do. I cannot just stop paying my mortgage because of an economic downturn....or too much dirt in my lawn.  That is why we have contracts in the first place and the residents of Fox Trails can not be responsible for their bad decisions.  

And remember, Meyer is owned by a global corporation that sees over 16 billion dollars in revenue every year.  

This is going to be a long process, we know.  But we cannot start this process by reducing their economic burden. Vote no on the reduction of the amount in their letters of credit.  Thank you for your time, you'll be seeing more of me, I'm sure. More information can be found at noquarry.blogspot.com.

I attempted to video record these comments, but my iPad froze as I went up to the podium.  Next time...

Meyer is given 6 extra months to study for the test...

So, this is not much of a surprise:  Meyer was granted a 6 month extension in order to make their case before the Village Board.  That's right:  6 extra months.  And you know when that meeting will most likely be?

July 3.

Yes, there is a board meeting on July 3 and Meyer now has to that meeting to plan for their presentation to the Village.  And what better time to ask the board to give them the ability to forgo paying fees to the village and mine an additional four years than the day before a national holiday when many residents will not even be in town?

Here's how the meeting went down:

First of all, the Village Administrator apologized for the "oversight" in not posting the agenda online.  Of course, I explained in the public comment section that this was not just an "oversight," but a pattern.  After all, the minutes from the December 6th meeting are still not available.  The Mayor later blamed this on the "archaic" website and not the people running it.  (For this website, I simply use "Google Docs" and can have things online---in any format---in a matter of seconds.  And its free.  Apparently, the Village of Cary hasn't heard of a thing called "google.")

Then, the mayor brought up for a vote the proposal to grant Meyer an additional 6 months extension.  Even though the Zoning Board made their recommendation, not all of the trustees were at that meeting and apparently hadn't read the report.    And it was clear that many did not know that they had 60 days to act on Meyer's proposal.

Sixty days would be January 10.  And, the mayor explained, with the "holidays and everything" there just wasn't enough time to plan that meeting.  Especially since they would have to get information out to the residents and post the meeting in the newpaper.

It was like the holidays snuck up on them.  

And then Mike Coppedge, this so-called lawyer our tax dollars pay for, decided to amp things up a bit by scaring the trustees to vote in a particular way.  He said that Meyer as the "petitioner" has a right to a fair hearing in front of the board.  He said that if they failed to grant Meyer the extension, then they would have to vote on Meyer's plan that night.  And that would not have been "fair" to "Meyer or the residents," he said.

So the vote was taken.  Chisholm voted yes.  So did Kaplan and Kraus.

Lukasik, Bragg and Dudek voted no.

Mayor Tom Kierna, Meyer Super Fan

It was a tie.

And here is the best part:  Coppedge then made a dramatic gesture to the Mayor, waving his arms in the air to attract the attention of the person taking roll, apparently intent on making sure that everyone knew the mayor had the tie-breaking vote.

Calmly and with a slight smile, Kierna voted "yes."  Done and done.  On to the next order of business.

Once again the residents got screwed.

Happy New Year, everyone.  See you on July 3rd for the next round.

Meyer's Operations Hurting Local Business

Darren Rivchin owns Trinity Auto Center on Route 31 just across from Meyer's current operations.  Having cars clean and presentable are a major part of his business.  However, with Meyer digging just across the street, this is an impossibility.  He can no longer display convertibles and is forced to wash the cars now several times a week just remove the dust.  Before Meyer won approval to extend the pit, dust and dirt were not a problem.  Now it is.  Big time.

It costs him an extra $3000 a year to keep his cars presentable.   The cars need to be washed every few days whereas they could go weeks between washings before Meyer extended the pit.

During the extension debate back in 2007-08, Meyer publicly claimed that they would do good to their neighbors, that they would be "ethical."    They even offered to compensate Darren and other small businesses for any negative impact the pit would have on their businesses.

So far, that hasn't happened.  After numerous letters and even three meetings with Meyer officials, Meyer has refused to live up to what they promised.  They even claim that the dust is not from them, even though Darren and others have seen the billows of dust blowing across Route 31.

Darren recently spoke at the Zoning Board meeting and had this letter published in the Northwest Herald:

Re: Meyer Material’s request for a mining extension:

As all are aware, the Cary Zoning, Planning and Appeals Board rose to the occasion for its residents. It rightfully voted against Meyer’s requested extension. I attended the meeting, as I own The Trinity Auto Center facility across the street from the mining site.

Back in 2008, there were several meetings about concerns about the damage caused by Meyer’s mining in this area. People at the meeting last night complained of mud being created from large amounts of dust from the site, forming mud in their pools and clogged furnace filters.

My facility is much closer than these homes are to the site, and the repercussions of Meyer mining here has cost me many thousands of dollars. I expressed my concerns two years ago to Tom Kierna and the village, and wrote several letters. They had promised that the village and Meyer would be good neighbors, and small businesses and neighbors would be compensated for damage.

The old regime failed to do so. Meyer has been to my site several times only to prolong and dance around the subject. With the new Cary trustees in place and new team members who seem sincere and dedicated, perhaps we can duplicate the efforts made at the meeting.

Let’s get Meyer to step up and pay for their long overdue responsibilities. Meyer is two years behind on what they owe for compensation to my facility. Please correct this situation in a timely manner.

Darren Rivchin
Lake in the Hills

The point here is that Meyer's operations are not just impacting home owners.  This is not something we should forget.  Meyer claims to be "a good neighbor," yet fails to live up to obligations promised when they wined and dined the village into getting them the right to mine within Village boundaries.

Now, they want to mine longer and avoid paying the fine.  They certainly don't want to pay the $6000 they owe Trinity Auto Center for the extra detail work on their cars.  And their refusal to do so should be an indication as to how sincere they are in regard to their "ethical" responsibilities.

They need to live up to their promises to businesses like Trinity Auto Center.  We need to remain vigilant.  Even though they received a unanimous "no" from the Zoning Board, that vote was merely a "recommendation."  The Village Trustees will soon be holding public hearings on this and you can bet Meyer will double down on their efforts to extend their time without paying the fine.
And homeowners in Fox Trails, remember this:  they haven't even started mining yet near the subdivision.  They are currently extracting from cells close to Route 31.  Consider Darren's words a warning as to what will come when they move closer to Fox Trails.  

Stay tuned.  This is not over.