The pleas of nearby residents were heard Tuesday as the Pipestone County Board declared their willingness to relocate the county’s gravel crushing operation on a county-owned plot of land southeast of Holland.
If a new conditional use permit is approved by the planning and zoning committee the gravel-crushing site would be placed in the northwest corner of the 200-acre parcel, away from property owned by Sue and Bernie Uilk, that’s located off the southwest side of the parcel.
The county received a conditional use permit in June to use a 30-acre section in the southwest corner of the 200-acre parcel for gravel crushing. Then, during the July 7 Road and Bridge meeting, the Board accepted a bid from Sterzinger construction to begin gravel crushing services at the site this fall.
At the July 14 Board meeting, however, the Uilks and their daughter-in-law, Tonya Fey, requested a new site be chosen. The Uilks own the nearby property and rent it to Tanya and her husband Wyatt. During the July 14 meeting, the Uilks expressed concerns about dust, decreased property value, harm to their well water and the possibility of a future bituminous plant at the site.
“We’ve even discussed the possibility of moving,” Fey told the Board Tuesday.
“If you were to come behind there (the Uilks’ property), you’re going to push them off there anyway,” Sue said, her voice cracking with emotion.
The Board considered a variety of options during the meeting including changing the specifications of the permit to require a 70-foot setback from the Uilks’ property line rather than the current 15-foot setback, and the relocation of the gravel-crushing site.
The two alternate sites proposed during the meeting were east of the already approved site on the southwest side of the 200-acre parcel, and north of the current site, in the northwest corner of the parcel. The Board agreed upon the site in the northwest corner of the parcel.
County Highway engineer Dave Halbersma said boring samples taken in the northwest corner indicate that the gravel depth beneath the topsoil is only 15 feet deep as opposed to the 25-foot depth found under the original site. Problems could also arise, Halbersma said, because a contract between the county and Sterzinger Construction has already been agreed to.
“The other catch on that is that in our contract, we told the contractor we’re starting in this (the southwest) corner,” Halbersma said.
Halbersma also expressed concern about the quality of the gravel under the new location, the ease of access to it and concerns by other residents closer to the new location.
“It may cause us problems, but we won’t know until we get into it,” he said.
Following the Board’s decision, Sue said she appreciated the Board’s willingness to work with them, but she would still prefer that the pit was not built anywhere near their land.
“It’s not going to be pretty either way,” Fey said. “I just appreciate the consideration.”
“I guess anywhere you go, it’s better than right behind the place,” Bernie said.
County Planning and Zoning Administrator Kyle Krier said obtaining the new conditional use permit would take 45 days. The planning committee could consider the new permit as soon as Aug. 25, in which case the Board could vote on the new location at the Sept. 1 Road and Bridge meeting.
“We tried to do what’s reasonable,” Board Chairman Harold Miller said after the vote. “We hope it doesn’t have a detrimental impact on the contract we’ve already let for the crushing project.”
