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MEETING
CITY OF WALKER
MINERAL MINING BOARD OF REVIEW
Tuesday, February 8, 2005
3:00pm
The meeting of the Mineral Mining Board of Review was called to order
by Steve Versluis, Chairman at 3:00pm at the City Hall Commission
Chambers, 4243 Remembrance Rd., N.W., Walker, Michigan.
Members present: Steve Versluis, Chairman; Scott Conners; Mark Koning;
Darrel Schmalzel. Member absent: Gary Voogt. Also present: Jerf Nelson,
Building Official; Dick Denney, Deputy Building Official; Mark Rambo,
Engineering Dept., and Bonnie Antcliff, Recording Secretary.
DECISION AND ORDER
Legal Description
Property located at 3401 Veterans Memorial Dr., 41-17-05-400-001
Applicant & Grand Rapids Gravel Co. (Gary Bos)
Mining Cont: 2700 28th St., SW Box 9160
Grand Rapids, Mi. 49509
Owner: County of Kent
300 Monroe, NW
Grand Rapids, Mi. 49503
Grand Rapids Gravel has requested approval for a Mineral Mining
license.
MMRB 2-8-05
Finding of Facts
Gary Bos, Operations Manager for Grand Rapids Gravel, stated that
this is the last year we intend to be on this site. He went on to say
that they hope to finish sometime in June or July of this year. The
project consists of removing about 8.8 acres of sand and gravel 3 to 4
feet above the water and various steps below the water on the Kent Co.
Road Commission parcel. The end use is part of the wetlands and open
water of the Millennium Park. We processed gravel on this site last year
and we have removed all of our processing equipment. Our intention this
year is to remove all of the remaining stock piles of finished material
and to dig that last 8.8 acres and that material will be dug, allowed to
dry, and loaded on trucks and hauled to our processing plant in Jenison.
There is a little gravel on the property line between what was Grand
Rapids Gravel’s property and the Kent Co. Road Commission’s property
that the Park wishes us to leave there because they want to create a
wetlands trail with a bridge. So we will not be totally clearing that
whole area, that edge of the property is going to look like the
reclamation plan. After we have finished removing the gravel, we will
remove the temporary driveway and the remaining slope will be graded and
top soiled.
Scott Conners asked if the County should sign the permit? They are
responsible for the reclamation so it would be important to know that
they are a party to this agreement so when these folks are gone next
year, we know that it will be taken care of.
Mark Rambo stated that there are no environmental issues here. It is
a self contained site draining into itself. The parking lot to the north
of the site was added in the last year for Millennium Park. The whole SW
corner was excavated out. It was not a lake a year ago. There is just a
small area left to wrap up the site.
Steve Versluis asked how the transition between the road and the park
gets accomplished?
Mr. Bos replied that in the past there has been a berm there but he
felt that the Park does not want that. Other than that, it will be
whatever natural slopes the County wants here. Normally it would be a
one on three slope there but that does not look like a natural park. He
felt there would be some contours there. There will be some wetlands
where the road dips down at the intersection of Vets Dr. and Maynard.
Further west where the road is higher, there will be some material
pushed up and graded. We can leave a berm there but it will depend on
what the Parks Dept. wants.
Mark Rambo stated that on Vets Memorial Dr. we had a meeting to allow
the alteration of the entrance drive, are those staying?
Mr. Bos replied that will be removed when we are finished mining
there and we restore that bank. Our driveway permit is good until
October and is only temporary.
Jeff Nelson stated that there were no conditions on this site from
last year and we did receive the bond for this site.
Motion
Scott Conners moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to open the
public hearing.
Motion carried 4 to 0.
No one appeared with respect to this application.
Motion
Frank Wash moved and Scott Conners supported the motion to close the
public hearing.
Motion carried 4 to 0.
Scott Conners stated that he has a problem with the fact that this is
going to be done in a year and the reclamation part gets handed over to
a different agency who really is not a part of the application. He went
on to say that he would feel better if the County would have a positive
remark about this.
Darwin Baas, Environmental Project Manager for Millennium Park,
stated that Roger Sabine does a lot as far as the development of the
park. He went on to say that he could not comment on the final
reclamation. He did not know if that has been negotiated with Grand
Rapids Gravel or if it is still in the process. He felt there would be a
final end use that would be agreeable with the County. He stated he was
here to understand the process. He went on to say that he would be happy
to follow up and have the parks department make contact with this Board.
Scott Conners stated that he would like a letter from Mark Marsocki
or Roger Sabine showing their support on accepting the responsibilities
for the reclamation for the end of February 2006. He stated we do not
have too many of these sites that close and we have to be careful when
that does happen with the transition of the property. We do not want to
have any problems with erosion and things of that nature, so we would
like something from the County.
Motion
Scott Conners moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to grant the
Mineral Mining license for 3401 Veterans Memorial Dr. until February 28,
2006.
The Board imposed the following condition:
1. The Board obtain a written agreement from Kent County Parks
stating that
they are comfortable handling all of the reclamation requirements and
duties associated with this permit.
Motion carried 4 to 0.
DECISION AND ORDER
Legal Description
Property located at 2200 Walker, NW, 41-13-10-451-001, 329-003,
329-001 &
476-008.
Applicant & Velting Contractors
Mining Cont: 3060 Breton Rd., SE
Kentwood, Mi.
Owners: Kenneth & Kathleen Jackson Edmund Preston
5924 Barna Ave. PO Box 141667
Titusville, Fla. 32780 Grand Rapids, Mi. 49514
Velting Contractors has requested approval for a Mineral Mining
license.
Finding of Facts
Brent DeRose, Nederveld Associates appeared on behalf of Nederveld
Associates. He went on to say that this mine was pretty active in 2004.
He then pointed out the site plan. One of the concerns from last year
was a BMP in the SE corner protecting the wetland. We actually have a
stone berm shown here and we have topsoil stockpiled showing that the
site is protected and it does drain into itself, and the wetland is
protected. There is a concrete berm and was added to the plan. Last year
there was a concern about the sewer and how deep we were digging the
center core. We took a look at the sewer and felt that we were going a
little deep on this. We raised the base elevation to 667, about 7 feet,
to prevent that and it should give us enough cover on our sewer for
future development. Coming up in the next year, we are going to focus on
the SW corner and the reclamation will be up in the NE. Quite a bit of
bank has occurred on the down slope, and now we will continue to work up
that bank.
Mark Rambo stated that the BMP’s have been installed and he has
checked the site and it is self-contained. This site has been very
active and everything is satisfactory.
Jeff Nelson stated that there were three conditions from last year;
one is that we receive a letter of credit and we did receive it. We also
received a new bond for this year. The BMP’s was another condition that
Mark has already addressed and the third was that we receive a key to
the pit and we did receive that. We have also received the fence
certification for this year.
Frank Wash stated that a note on the plan says that brush and stumps
will be placed on the reclaimed area along the railroad right-of-way. Is
this a standard procedure?
Jeff Nelson replied that it is not brush and stumps that they bury,
it is brush and stumps that they leave until they can get rid of them or
chip them up.
Scott Conners stated that we have to be careful about things like
that because we have allowed slopes here that are steeper than normal so
we have to be careful about stability and the potential for things to
rot and decompose. As long as it is on the surface, it should not be
that big of a deal.
Steve Versluis asked if there was material here that is stockpiled?
Brent DeRose replied that there is some material here on site that
will be processed.
Scott Conners stated that there is still no reclamation here.
Scott Velting replied that part of the reason is because we have been
concerned about the grades on the bottom and what we want to do, there
is a lot of extra dirt in the NE corner and some of that is going down
in the bottom and we are going to use that to raise that back up. We
didn’t do too much because we need to sit down with Walker and see what
they want to do with the road. There was some talk a few years ago about
working with the railroad and it looks like now that will not happen.
There was an idea about having a flat spot on the top and that is why
things were put up there.
Scott Conners stated that we need to get some reclamation on this
site. The reason that this is suppose to occur in phases is so that we
can get last year’s mining area reclaimed the next year. We are ten
years behind and you are getting close to the end. This will be a
recurring theme with a lot of these sites.
Scott Velting replied that he did not think this was far off. Part of
the problem is that we are having wet springs and wet falls and when we
have the extra time it has been too wet. We anticipate working on this
in the spring. We may increase the grade. This site will be developed
into an industrial park and the discharge for the storm water will have
to go into the pond. We are still coming up with ideas about where we
will put an interior storm water detention pond with one discharge out.
The bottom grade may change.
Brent DeRose stated that we will look at one regional detention for
these lots and size it for whatever is the worse case for an industrial
site. We have to work out the details to see if it will work out and see
if this will be a public road.
Scott Conners replied that we would prefer that you come in with
almost an industrial park type plan and build the road, build the
detention, and then each of these lots would come in for a simple site
plan review with no detention later on. It is much cleaner and it works
more efficiently.
Scott Velting stated that we will try and get this cleaned up and try
to get it seeded before the cut off time for seeding.
Scott Conners replied that even if it is a wet spring, we are
allowing a one on three slope there and part of the reason that we have
a one on five is because we want to have stable and secure slopes for
the benefit of the people at the top. In this case it is a railroad. If
you get a wet spring, and this whole thing is held together with a one
on one or one on two slope, there might be some dangerous issues with
slope stability. We let this go and now we need to put a dead line on
this to see that this slope gets established at a one on three so that
we know that everything will be supported up on the top.
Frank Wash felt the reclamation area should be identified for this
year by cell because it does not look like they are going to do anything
in cells 4, 5, 6, or 7.
Brent DeRose stated that on the west, we have not mined all of the
material out of there. In future lot 2 and 3 there is not a lot to go in
regard to reclamation. 4 & 5 are the areas that we can move in. We are
hoping to get the bank on the NE corner taken care of this year.
Scott Conners stated that in 6 it looks like you are going to have to
put material in there. The bottom of the slope is at 655 and 653 and you
need to bring it up to 667. There is not a whole lot to come out. We
have been letting this go too long without any restoration up there.
Scott Velting stated that the slope on 6 has been there for 15 years
and it has stabilized with grass on it. It is not a bare slope. So the
slope on 6 is not an issue. The slope on 7 and lots to the east are bare
and we intend to get those graded off. We will probably make it a
flatter slope than a one on three. We may make it a one on five.
Frank Wash stated that this site looks raw. From a planning
standpoint we are always looking for an end use. The reclamation plan is
the most important thing. We want to make sure the reclamation is taking
place.
Scott Velting stated that we can grade the slopes and that is not a
problem. The main concern here is saftety, stability and making sure
everything stays on the site. It was our intention to have it done
before coming here but weather wise it was not possible.
Scott Conners asked if this was going to be an industrial park. He
went on to say that we do not know if the City is going to have to go in
here and build a road and special assess the people or put in some kind
of precise plat. We want to make sure that this road gets extended to
Kloet at some time but obviously the City cannot afford to pay for all
of that. We need to do some planning to work around your schedule.
Scott Velting replied that the intention is still an industrial plat.
The Jackson’s are in Florida and we have tried to discuss joint
development here with them and they are getting up in age and they have
a son who lives in England and his ideas change. It has been hard to
talk with them. We would like to have a joint agreement but have not
been able to put it together. This property to too valuable to ever be
abandoned. It is too valuable a piece of property for an industrial
park. The owners are not interested in selling it.
Mark Koning stated that in the last few months we have had
conversations with the City of Grand Rapids in attempt to get on the
same page as far as the truck routes go. There seems to be a lot
trucking that comes into Grand Rapids from Walker which is not a truck
route. The truck route ends at Sharp Ave. to the north. Some of the
complaints that Grand Rapids brought to us is that there is a lot of
trucking coming out of the City of Walker into Grand Rapids. They felt
it may be associated with the sand mining. One of their requests was to
put some signage up even at the pit to identify the truck route to the
north.
Scott Velting replied that anything we do goes north. We know that
the truck route does not go to the south.
Mark Koning stated that there is going to be some signage improvement
here. He stated that it should be identified that there is not a left
allowed coming out of the pit.
Scott Velting replied the best way to do that is to give them a
ticket.
Scott Conners asked if they could put a sign up for trucks telling
them to keep right?
Scott Velting replied that our signs mean nothing. The most effective
would be a City sign.
Scott Conners stated if there were a sign on the site that would
help.
Motion
Scott Conners moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to open the
public hearing.
Motion carried 4 to 0
Marvin DeVries 2107 Blue Bell Way stated that they have had
considerable dust and dirt constantly. He went on to say that they
cannot have their windows open in the summertime for the dust. It also
affects our ventilation system as it gets in the ducts and
the furnace filter. The last week has been a mud road going up and
down the hill. There is a no truck sign just south of Indian Mill Creek
on the first telephone pole. We have had trucks turn around in our
driveway. We would like the sign moved up the hill further so they will
not come down the hill. There is a lot of noise that comes out of the
mine and we want to protest that on behalf of 56 property owners that
live in the condominiums here.
Motion
Frank Wash moved and Mark Koning supported the motion to close the
public hearing.
Motion carried 4 to 0.
Frank Wash stated that if the restoration were started on this site
it would be helpful.
Scott Conners stated the he felt no vehicles should leave the site
and turn south and that would make a dramatic impact. He went on to say
that he had a hard time believing that material from this site is
airborne and getting to these condos. This site needs to be buttoned up.
Scott Velting replied that we have been dealing with the neighbors on
Walker. We have asked the neighbors to call us direct and we will handle
any complaints. We have the roads swept and try to keep the dust down.
If there is a problem it is usually from the road. We have brooms and
water trucks to help with this. If we are not getting to it soon enough
the neighbors should call him direct and he will take care of it.
Mr. DeVries stated that there is a no truck sign and the first pole
past Indian Mill Creek. That sign should be moved up to the first pole
south of Bissell’s entrance, that would keep the trucks from going down
the hill.
Motion
Scott Conners moved and Mark Koning supported the motion to approve
the Mineral Mining license for 2200 Walker until February 28, 2006.
The Board imposed the following conditions:
1. The slopes on proposed lots 4 & 5 be established by August 15,
2005.
2. A sign be placed at the entrance for exiting vehicles to delineate
that only a right turn is allowed.
Motion carried 4 to 0.
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