Not over yet......

Last night's unanimous "NO" vote for the Meyer time extension is good news to be sure.  Dozens of concerned Cary citizens spoke out against the extension.  In fact, other than the completely irrational and inappropriate outburst by Joe Tournier, it was a calm meeting.  People were determined and spoke forcefully.  They knew that they had the moral upperhand:  Meyer had signed a contract.  End of story.

But it is not the end of the story.  This vote was just a recommendation, that is all.

Meyer can (and most likely will) bring the petition to the Village Board in the coming weeks.  The Trustees of Cary will have to make a decision.

Last time, Mayor Lamal worked out a deal with Meyer that resulted in the pit.  I have a feeling the same thing will happen.  Mayor Tom Kierna sees Meyer as a "good neighbor." After all, Meyer was awarded the 2009 Community Relations Award.  And the mayor was there to pose with them.

Tom Kierna (Left) poses with representatives from Meyer Material after being awarded the 2009 Community Relations Award.

Stay tuned.  This is not yet over.

This is what Meyer does.

LIVE BLOG--The ZONING BOARD MEETING

Typical Village of Cary.....

Big Zoning Board meeting tonight to discuss the request by Meyer Material Company to extend the time they want to rip gravel from the ground next to the Fox Trails subdivision.  The meeting is being held at the Holiday Inn, Crystal Lake at 7 pm. 

Or, at least I think so.

The problem:  there is no information at all on the Village website in regard to this meeting.

Not only that, there is no information regarding the Zoning Committee.  No agendas.  No list of those who are even on the committee.

Nothing.

This has been  a problem with the Village Board in the past.  And not much has changed.  In fact, it appears to have gotten worse.  At least back in 2008, there was a page on the site dedicated to the Zoning Board committee.

Not anymore.

So I called the Village and was transferred to Jacob Rife.  He was very nice and gave me the members of the committee.  It's basically the same people who were there in 2007-08.  Joe Tournier is still the chairperson.  And the committee still includes Jim Graziano, Frank O’Laughlin, Patrick Jasper and Patrick Khoury. There are two new members, Holly Kelps and Alyssa Pelican.

Due to his association with Meyer, Frank O'Laughlin has recused himself.

The Village has to do a better job with its website and access to information.  I thought that was what much of the last election was about?

See you tonight.  Don't forget, we'll be live-blogging the event here.

Meyer Material Zoning Meeting

On Thursday, November 10, the Village of Cary Zoning Committee will hear the new petition from Meyer Material asking for an extension of their mining privileges within the borders of the Village. The meeting will begin at 7 pm in one of the large rooms at the Holiday Inn, Crystal Lake.  Hopefully, you can make the meeting.  The more people the harder it will be for Meyer to get the board to roll over this time.

Hope you can make it.

If you can't make the meeting, but would like to know what's going on, I'll be "live-blogging" the meeting.  I'll be posting comments in real-time, which you can view below.

Here comes the Meyer Material sob story.....Get your Kleenex.

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)

How many of us can say that?

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.

Just in Time for Halloween: The Return of Meyer Material!

We all knew this was going to happen--it was only a matter of time.  Over the last couple of days, Cary residents near the Meyer Material gravel pit have been receiving letters via certified mail.  The content:  Meyer Material wishes to extend their mining operation in the village of Cary until the year 2022.

Yes.  You read right:  2022.

Back in 2008, the Village of Cary voted unanimously to grant Meyer Material Company a "conditional use permit" to extend their current operations by making their gravel pit even bigger.  There was much opposition, as many of you remember.  However, greed won out and our mayor, Tom Kierna, commented on how he was "looking forward to a prosperous relationship with Meyer."  Here is what I wrote three years ago in regard to this issue:

I wonder what this "long-term" relationship includes? Perhaps further extension of the pit into Hoffman Park? All that has to happen is the Cary Park District sells that land to Meyer and we are going through this all again. Only this time there will be less opposition, because people will know that the concerns and well-being of the community are secondary to the whims and wishes of a faceless corporation.

Meyer Material is owned by Aggregate Industries, one of the largest mining companies in the world headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.

And now they want to continue mining until 2020 with the "recreation area" being completed by 2022.

Here's the thing:  back in 2008, they signed a deal with the village that would allow mining on the property for only until June 1, 2016.  Then, if they fail to meet that deadline, they will be charged a fee of $100,000 a month for every month they extend beyond that deadline.

Meyer Material should be forced to live up to the original agreement.  Currently, Fox Trails residents near the pit cannot open their windows during the summer months due to the amount of dust.  Now Meyer wants to continue this for another 4 years?  What happens in 2020?  Will Meyer come to the board again with another extension request?

There has been talk that Meyer wants to install a concrete mixing facility on the property as well.

What will Cary do?  We know what they should do: say "no" and collect the fees.  That was the original agreement.  Stick to it.

But will they?  We know how the mayor feels.  Here's a nice cozy picture of him with the Meyer people and their 2009 "Community Relations" Award.  What a joke.

There will be a public hearing on this November 10, 2011.  As usual, the meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn in Crystal Lake.

Hope you can make it.  In the meantime, let the village board know that Meyer needs to stick to their original deal.

Tom Kierna  villagehall@caryillinois.com
Duane (Rick) Dudek  rdudek@caryillinois.com
Robert Bragg rbragg@caryillinois.com
Raymond Chisholm  rchisholm@caryillinois.com
Bruce Kaplan  bkaplan@caryillinois.com
Jeffrey Kraus jkraus@caryillinois.com
Karen Lukasik klukasik@caryillinois.com

More to come.

O'LAUGHLIN: "I GREW UP IN GRAVEL PITS"

Franklin O'Laughlin is running for a position on the Village Board of Cary. He seems like a likeable enough guy. He is roughly my age and has two kids who are roughly the age of my kids. He wants to work to keep businesses in Cary and help certain strip malls and businesses get much needed "face-lifts." He wants to "fix roads" and "get the economy moving for Cary" again.

However, he is also employed by Meyer Material Company and has worked there all his life.

At the candidate forum on Thursday evening hosted by the Cary-Grove Chamber of Commerce, I had the opportunity to ask Mr. O'Laughlin a question:

"I am a little concerned about your employer," I said. "Now that Meyer has a deep relationship with the Village of Cary, as a trustee, how would you deal with issues that may come up between Meyer Material and the Village and do you see a possible conflict of interest here?"

"Absolutely not," he exclaimed. Then he went one to point out a few details:

• He mentioned that he is a "third generation miner."
  
• He pointed out that "gravel pits built McHenry County."
  
• And he expressed a love for gravel pits in general: "I grew up in gravel pits," he exclaimed proudly. "I would live near one."

He then went on to explain that he has been on the Zoning and Planning board for the last several years and when the Meyer petition came up, he simply recused himself. And he would do it again as a trustee, he claimed. But he assured the crowd that the Meyer deal was a done deal and that all of the "Ts" have been crossed, implying that we need not worry about Meyer Material anymore.

But, I am a little worried.

What if Meyer wants to get the agreement amended in the near future? What if Meyer wants other lands within the Village? What if it is discovered that Meyer has broken some of conditions and issues are raised at Village Board meetings?

Even if O'Laughlin recuses himself, what will he say in executive sessions? Will he advocate on behalf of Meyer to the other trustees "off the record?"  Will he be expected by Meyer to be the eyes and ears for the company when it comes to business with the board? As an elected official, will his first inclination be with the Village and the people who elected him, or with the company that pays his salary?

These are important questions.

And, although Mr. O'Laughlin seems like a nice guy and I have nothing against him personally, his association with Meyer material is a liability for the Village of Cary.  Perhaps this is an overreaction, but, in the end, is it worth the risk?

Please remember this when you vote on April 7.