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 Material....Round 3

Meyer Material is presenting their annual review at the Village of Cary board meeting on Tuesday, July 7, 2015.  This review is going to set-up a request by Meyer to get an extension on their conditional use permit to continue mining until 2019.

According to the conditional use permit that Meyer agreed to back in 2008, they would mine next to the Fox Trails subdivision until June 1, 2016.  Any time over that deadline, Meyer would be subjected to $100,000 per month fine.

The fact of the matter: Meyer can't finish and doesn't want to live up to its end of the bargain.

They tried this back in 2012 and, after not receiving the blessing of the zoning board, they withdrew the petition.

Since then, Meyer Material has not added additional equipment or workers to get the job done in time and is just expecting to get the extension.

Back in 2012, Meyer claimed the economic downturn made it impossible for them to finish in time.  Now, they are claiming that in addition to the economy, there are two more reasons why they can't finish in time:

• "Unanticipated overburden volumes." In other words, too much dirt on top of the gravel.
• "Operational hours." This is great. They are complaining that the agreement they made to mine during the week from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm has placed too much of a burden on their ability to complete the mining in time.

Should the residents of Cary be responsible for the business decisions of Meyer Material? They supposedly did core samples of the overburden back pre-2008.  Did they not do enough? If they couldn't get the mining done during the time allotted, why did they agree to the permit in the first place?

Also, we have to remember that Meyer Material is owned by Aggregate Industries, which is owned by Holcim, Ltd.  Holcim is a multinational corporation headquartered in Switzerland and operates in over 70 countries.  In 2013, Holcim's revenue was over $16 billion.

In its presentation to the board, Meyer Material will claim to be a "good corporate citizen." They'll talk about giving science tours to kids and maintaining Cary parks.

It all comes down to this: Meyer Material (aka Holcim, Ltd) doesn't want to pay its fines and has threatened to walk away from the site leaving it as is.  This is not an example of a "good corporate citizen."

In the end, Meyer should live up to its original agreement and pay the fines they agreed to back in 2008.  If they break it, they should be sued for breach of contract.  All of us have been affected by the economic turndown but we can't simply change the terms of our mortgages. Neither should Meyer.

In addition to wanting an extension to its mining operation, Meyer is also asking the Village for a reduction in the amount of credit they need to provide for Land Conservation and the Impact Fees. Why they want this is unknown. Click here to see the documentation.

As the Village ponders the requests Meyer is making, these points need to be considered:

• What's to stop Meyer from asking for another extension in 2019?  And another after that?
• If the extension is granted, will Meyer be financially penalized for not living up to the deal? Getting extensions should not be a rubber-stamp. 
• Since 2008, the Consumer Price Index has increased about 9%. Therefore, the $250,000 that Meyer pays the village every year is no longer worth $250,000.  This should be addressed.
• If Meyer is threatening to walk away from the site if it doesn't get its way, why lower the amount in the letters of credit? Shouldn't the Village better protect itself from that action?
• Originally, Meyer stated that they need two years to reclaim the land and turn it into a park. Now, they say they can do it in a year.  How so? Why can they speed up that process but not the mining?

As we stated back in 2008, Meyer was never going to live up to this deal in the first place. We said that over and over again. A quick scan of news headlines indicates that this is a common occurance in the gravel industry across the country.

It is time to stop caving into the desires of a multinational corporation. It is time to hold them accountable.

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If you would like to view the Meyer presentation, click here.

If you would like to read the original agreement, click here.

Meyer will be presenting this information at the Village Board meeting on Tuesday, July 7. The meeting begins at 7:30 pm.

In the meantime, let your Village Trustees know what you think about the matter. You can send a message via Cary Connection on Facebook, or email them directly.  Be aware that many village trustees do not use village emails, but their own personal email accounts in order to not be required to keep a paper trail.  So it is recommended that you save any correspondence you may have with Village trustees.

Mayor Mark Kownick (mkownick@caryillinois.com)
Trustee David Chapman (dchapman@caryillinois.com)
Trustee Jim Cosler (jcosler@caryillinois.com)
Trustee Kimberly Covelli (kcovelli@caryillinois.com)
Trustee Duane (Rick) Dudek (rdudek@caryillinois.com)
Trustee Jeffery Kraus (jkraus@caryillinois.com)
Trustee Ellen McAlpine (emcalpine@caryillinois.com)

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.

Village Board Meeting Tonight (January 3, 2012)

So the Village of Cary finally made the agenda for tonight's meeting available.  Only 24 hours too late.  Cary's reluctance in making agendas and minutes available is in violation of the Open Meetings Act  (they still don't have the minutes available for the December 6 meeting.  According to the law, they need to have those available within 7 days of their approval).

Last month, the zoning board voted "no" on Meyer's request to extend mining in the Village until 2022.  This was only a recommendation and Meyer will be going before the village board to make their case sometime in the future.  However, they have asked for more time to do that.  No doubt to gather more information and make a better case for their new plan.

Meyer Material is asking for a 6 month continuance.  At tonight's board meeting, trustees will vote on whether or not to grant Meyer that time. 

Here's the thing:  the vote is contained in the Mayor's report along with four other items.  As the mayor hopes to give Meyer this continuance, it is included in his report so that the trustees will vote on all of the measures at once. 

Hopefully, the trustees will see this ploy and recommend a separate vote and discussion on the Meyer issue. 

Hopefully, they will vote no on the continuance.

How about some asphalt recycling?

Don’t get me wrong:  I thoroughly believe that recycling is a good thing.  However, I have problems with certain types of recycling being so close to residential neighborhoods.

Earlier in the year, the Village of Cary de-annexed some land on Route 31 to Lake in the Hills.  Now, Bluff City Materials  is petitioning the Village of Lake in the Hills to install an asphalt recycling plant on the property.   Bluff City is petitioning Lake in the Hills for the following:

• Rezoning of the land from “agricultural” (AI) use to “manufacturing” (M1) use
• Reduction in the “perimeter landscaping requirements, screening requirements, parking lot landscaping, and tree preservation requirements" 
• variance to include parking lot and vehicle storage 
• Variance to hold materials without being covered

The problem with asphalt recycling is the fact that it can have a negative impact on the surrounding environment.  Smell is always an issue with asphalt recycling, that is for sure.  Since asphalt shingles are made from petroleum, the recycling of such materials can also release dangerous substances into the air.  According to the Ohio EPA, the seven most dangerous substances associated with asphalt recycling are hydrogen sulfide, benzene, chromium, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, cadmium and arsenic.  These can be released into the air or leached into the groundwater.  The biggest concern is asbestos. Even a study done by the asphalt recycling industry in 2007 acknowledged that that there are

“potential harmful environmental emissions of asbestos minerals that could possibly be contained in the shingles during asphalt shingle processing. Historically, asbestos minerals have been used in a number of roofing products, and thus may be present to some degree in roofing debris. A secondary concern is the release of PAH compounds, a group of organic chemicals that naturally occur in petroleum, many of which are known to have detrimental human health impacts at elevated levels of exposure. (Environmental Issues Associated With Asphalt Shingle Recycling,  Construction Materials Recycling Association, p. 11)

Asbestos is a major potential problem with asphalt recycling.  The problem is that much of the shingles brought in for recycling may have asbestos, especially if they come from older sites.  And there is no way to tell beforehand. 

Bluff City Materials is located in Bartlett and has locations throughout the area.  Their main business is gravel, but they have branched out into other ventures.  Earlier this year they were cited by the Illinois EPA for the illegal storage of salt in one of their facilities that was leaching into local water sources.  Currently, McHenry County is conducting an investigation for illegal construction on the site and for the dumping of materials.  Recently, the owners put up a chain-link fence around the property.

Residents of Fox Trails are already being adversely affected by the Meyer gravel pit.  This could further impact the subdivision.  However, this proposed asphalt recycling plant will also affect other residents of Cary, most notably those closer to the site.  That would include the Cambria and Greenfields subdivisions.  Depending on the wind, even more of Cary can be affected.  Crystal Lake, too.

Particulates and odor are not the only concerns.  In a study done by the Blue RidgeDefense Fund in 2002, it was reported that property values of homes near asphalt plants suffered losses up to 57%.

Why didn’t you hear about this?  Lake in the Hills only requires that residents within 250 feet of the site be notified.  That means no one in the subdivisions of southern western Cary ever received the notice (View it here).

Here is the proposed site:

(More pictures can be viewed here, including the tiny "Public Notice" sign at the site)

What can you do?

On Monday, December 12, Bluff City will make their case to the Zoning Board of Lake in the Hills.  The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. in the Lake in the Hills Village Hall, 600 Harvest Gate, Lake in the Hills.

Although Cary residents are not taxpayers in Lake in the Hills, we do shop there.  And we deserve to be heard.

Please consider attending this important meeting.

You can send your concerns to Tom Stock, the Zoning Commission Chairman via the Lake in the Hills “Speak Out” form:

http://www.lith.org/Contact.php#Lake_in_the_Hills_Speak_Out

More to come.

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Links cited:

Asphalt Plants Contaminants of Concern.  Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. 

Pineola Property Study Shows Adverse Impacts from Asphalt Plants. Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. 2002.
Environmental Issues Associated With Asphalt Shingle Recycling.  Construction Materials Recycling Association. 2007.
Property owner moves forward with asphalt-shingle recycling. Northwest Herald, June 1, 2011.
Illinois EPA refers Bluff City Materials to Attorney General for enforcement;
Agency alleges illegal discharge from salt storage pile into nature preserve. Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, February, 2011.

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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.

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.