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MEETING
CITY OF WALKER
MINERAL MINING REVIEW BOARD
Tuesday, March 1, 2005
2:30pm
The meeting of the Mineral Mining Review Board was called to order by
Steve Versluis, Chairman at 2:30 p.m. at City Hall, 4243 Remembrance
Road, N.W., Walker, Michigan.
Members present: Steve Versluis, Chairman; Scott Conners; Mark Koning;
Frank Wash; and Gary Voogt. Also present: Jeff 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 2713 Wilson, SW, 41-17-07-100-040 & 041
Applicant & Shoemaker Aggregates Corp. Owner: Shoemaker Aggregates
Mining Cont: 2633 Wilson, SW 2633 Wilson, SW
Grandville, Mi. 49418 Grandville, Mi. 49418
Shoemaker Aggregates has requested approval for a mineral mining
license.
Finding of Facts
Brent DeRose of Nederveld Associates stated that this plan is pretty
much the same as before. There has not been a lot of activity on this
site this past year. He then pointed out the site plan with explanations
saying that this should be a big year for this site. There is a lot of
material that needs to be taken out of here.
Mark Rambo stated that there has been no activity here.
Jeff Nelson stated that one of the conditions from last year was that
the area on the east side would be the first area to be reclaimed.
Brent DeRose stated that some of the conversation from last year was
that the grading is within the 50 ft. setback around the home and the
Board has asked for an agreement. That is not yet in place. Once we
start encroaching on that, we will get an agreement.
Scott Conners replied we should still get the agreement because you
are still proposing work there. We are basing our decisions on what is
shown on the plan, which is not allowed without that agreement.
Bob Shoemaker stated that the agreement that we are talking about is
on the corner and that is because of the elevation slope. It is lower on
the Timm’s property. We want to come up within the 50 ft., right to the
property line, rather than stay away the 50 ft. because of the
elevation. They agreed that would be in the best interest to take more
material out of there. That is quite far away from where we will be
mining to the north. The reclamation has not been done here because
there is still more sand to remove to get to the 50 ft. mark. We want to
go to the property line as we go to the north, and they have already
agreed to that, we just do not have it in writing yet. It will be some
time before we get to that property line.
Scott Conner replied that the top of the slope and the active face is
fairly close and will impact it as soon as you start working again. That
is why we have those buffers, for the impact of the slope. There should
be a one on five up to that 50 ft. line so that the neighbors do not
have to worry about trees falling in, or safety concerns. He commented
that he would like to see that in place before you start digging.
Bob Shoemaker replied that we can get this in writing if that is what
the Board would like. We will not get to more than 50 ft. where we need
to remove the sand. The issue will be when we get to the corner. We can
get that in writing.
Gary Voogt stated that the slope should be reclaimed before they
start mining. He pointed this area out on the map. He stated that this
area (pointing to map) has to be refilled.
Motion
Gary Voogt moved and Scott Conners supported the motion to open the
public hearing.
Motion carried 5 to 0.
Bob Bergman 2230 Kenowa stated that his property abuts the west side
where previous sand mining has taken place. He went on to say that he
commends Mr. Shoemaker on the reclamation on the west side of the
property. He stated we had a lot of concerns starting out and he was not
the operator at that time. Mr. Shoemaker has done a very good job on
reclaiming that. He is concerned about the property behind the American
Legion, the sand mining has been going on here in excess of 30 years. He
felt it should not go on for an extended period of time. Young
Environmental Clean-up is storing dumpsters here. He does not know what
they are storing here but is concerned.
Motion
Scott Conners moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to close the
public hearing.
Motion carried 5 to 0.
Bob Shoemaker stated that it is a storage area. Young Environmental
is a customer of Shoemakers. He stated he allows them to store their
dumpsters here. They have been there 4 – 5 years and there is nothing
hazardous. The dumpsters are lined and they keep them clean.
Jeff Nelson replied that is a not a permitted use here, it should be
in light industrial or heavy industrial areas. They will be getting a
letter stating that and they will have to move.
Mark Rambo asked if the dumpsters would be allowed if empty and
covered?
Jeff Nelson replied no they are not allowed.
Motion
Scott Conners moved and Gary Voogt supported the motion to grant the
Mineral Mining license for 2713 Wilson, SW until February 28, 2006.
The Board imposed the following conditions:
1. Letter to allow grades to be steeper and close to the property
line by Timm’s property by April 15 or area to be reclaimed with slopes
one on five by June 1 .
2. Youngs Environmental containers be removed from the site.
3. Berm on West portion of site be removed from the plan.
4. Northern retention basin be allowed to be a moving process to the
north, meaning that they can over excavate the active face to let that
act as a retention, detention basin.
Motion carried 5 to 0.
DECISION AND ORDER
Legal Description
Property located at 700 Maynard, 41-13-33-126-003, 002,
41-13-33-102-001, 41-13-33-200-001.
Applicant & Shoemaker Aggregates Owner: Anne B. Voshel
Mining Cont: PO Box 908 636 Wellington
Grandville, Mi. 49418 Chicago, Ill. 60657
Shoemaker Aggregates has requested approval for a Mineral Mining
license.
Finding of Facts
Brent DeRose of Nederveld Associates stated that in 2004 the focus
was to continue with the sand. The time frame here is 2007 for the
lease. They are still working with Goodales on an end use here.
Jeff Nelson stated that the conditions from last year were that the
Board wanted to see an end use plan and a plan on reclamation and
placing of fill also. We received the letter of credit but not a fence
certification.
Brent DeRose replied that there is a heavy deer fence along the
northern line and there is embankment material there. There is not a
safety fence along the north line but it is pretty much contained.
Gary Voogt stated that on the face you have a 720 contour and the
ground is 690 so that is 30 ft. of fill there. By the old face, there is
30 ft. of fill there also, so what is it that you are proposing to do
here?
Brent DeRose replied that we are proposing to build this lower shelf
at a one on five and get that area safe where there is not a steep bank.
In the next two years ideally an agreement will be reached to continue
mining to the north. If we can’t do that, then this bank that we have
created at a one on five is going to need to be pulled out and filled
back in. The amount of material that it is going to take is going to be
substantial. We are focusing on this area for 2005. The reclamation
contours will be the final product.
Gary Voogt replied he did not see how they were going to make any
money this year. There is no dirt leaving and a whole lot of dirt being
pushed around. 30 ft. of fill is a lot of fill and no dirt leaving. The
face to the north shows 30 ft. of fill.
Brent DeRose replied that there will be very little leaving here this
year. The lease agreement says that by 2007 this has to be reclaimed.
The next 3 years will be intensive on reclaiming this site. Ideally this
will continue to move to the north with Meekhof to the side. Two years
ago we tried to get the Goodales to agree to a one on three slope. We
could not get an agreement, so we moved it to a one on five. It will
take time to get all that material in here.
Gary Voogt replied that he sees a lot of dirt required here to
rebuild these slopes. It looks like they need an embankment permit and
not a mining permit.
Brent DeRose stated that there are three different parties involved
in this.
Scott Conners replied they are all here today so can we get an
agreement?
Motion
Gary Voogt moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to open the
public hearing.
Motion carried 5 to 0.
Pat Goodale stated that he tried to get an agreement with Shoemakers
and Voshels and so far there is no agreement. We were hoping that they
would not take anymore sand out and we would take over the sand pit and
they would reclaim what needed to be done other than the face. We would
keep mining the sand and go to the north but so far there is no
agreement. This is our property.
Scott Conners stated so you want them to leave an active face and you
want to pick up where they left off?
Mr. Goodale replied that is what we talked about but there are other
issues. Shoemaker has a lease with Voshels and they have to abide by
that lease and reclaim what has been done. We have a say on what the
property is going to be like at the end. He went on to say that they
hoped to work with the oil well people and get that lowered.
Scott Conners stated that Shoemaker needs to have their part
reclaimed for the people in Chicago by 2007. If Goodales, as the
property owner, take on the responsibility for the reclamation from the
active face to north, does not seem like a big deal.
Mr. Goodale replied that they have a lease on that and they can
exercise that lease and that is what they are doing. We are the owner of
the property but not the owner of the sand. North of the line we are.
Scott Conners replied that happens all the time when someone comes in
with two different properties, both people sign the application and it
becomes one big plan to work on reclamation.
Jeff Koncek, representing Anne Voshel, stated that Anne’s father made
the original mineral agreement with Pat Goodale’s father. We have an
agreement with the Goodales and Shoemakers. Both agreements talk about
reclamation and topography and what it ends up being. In the agreement
with Mr. Goodale, there is a section which talks about exhibit B which
is an excel document. We have been unable to get a hold of that. The
assumption is that it we would reclaim it per this Board’s
specifications. That would be our responsibility. Our agreement with
Shoemaker is the same. One of the issues that comes into play is that
Anne is very specific and we will follow through with our agreements
whatever they are. There are financial implications in walking away. In
the original agreement with Shoemakers, to mine the sand for us, there
is an assumption of reclamations costs in the split on the financial
side. If the property is not required to be reclaimed, there are other
issues to talk about. Our perspective here is to follow through with
what our agreements are. If Pat, Bob and I can put something together,
we will do that. We have agreements, and you have requirements and we
will follow those.
Frank Wash stated that the site has to be restored by 2007 and they
are bound by that.
Pat Goodale stated that this is a financial issue. If we take it
over, then Shoemakers will owe some money because it will not have to be
reclaimed and they have already taken the sand out. It is a money issue
between Shoemaker and Voshel.
Scott Conners stated that most of the area where the existing oil
well is, most of that sand would be used to restore this slope, that is
in the east part of Phase 2 and the west part of Phase 3.
Brent DeRose stated that the oil well is an issue because it needs to
be lowered. If an agreement cannot be worked out with that, it will have
to be filled in to create the one on five slope there. We are proposing
a scenario for 2005. Shoemakers’ lease is up in 2007. In 2005 a lot of
material needs to be moved around. There is some material to the north
and east that needs to come out. Hopefully an agreement can be worked
out, otherwise it will have to be reclaimed to a one on five slope per
plan.
Gary Voogt replied that if the oil well stays untouched, there is not
enough dirt on the site to do this plan.
Brent DeRose replied that is true.
Scott Conners stated that the oil well cannot stay if it is 50 ft.
above the proposed grade. If that stays you will have to triple the
volume of material that you need to finish that.
Brent DeRose stated that our hope is to get an agreement in place. We
are doing what we can to continue with the reclamation and over the next
3 construction seasons, bringing material in. We know we have to bring
material in.
Scott Conners stated that we have been allowing this permit to go
forward with the understanding that this is going to have to be lowered
down to this reclamation grade.
Pat Goodale stated that the oil well is Christian Oil and he does not
have a say in that. They originally had a lease for a 50 acre piece and
now it is 53 acres. They made it 3 acres bigger to the north so they
could slope it and still get 50 acres of sand. He would recommend that
they do not go any further to the north. This is not really a property
line, it is an imaginary line. We do not want our fence falling down
here if they get that close.
Brent DeRose replied that the active face is not going to go up that
far. It is going to the 50 ft. line.
Gary Voogt stated that if we deny the permit, and Shoemaker walks, we
have an awful mess here. There is more dirt gone than there is left to
get it to this plan. We need to stay involved.
Scott Conners stated that the over excavation far exceeds the amount
of the bond.
Bob Shoemaker stated that our intent from the beginning was to put
the reclamation around the property perimeters. He asked if the Board
requires a reclamation on an imaginary property line? This is in the
middle of the Goodale property so is it a rule that we need to reclaim
it?
Scott Conners replied absolutely. We are allowing you to take the
mineral out of there that has value but you still need to preserve the
integrity of the neighboring property.
Jeff Nelson stated that they can leave the face active if they get an
agreement with Goodale to take it over.
Scott Conners stated that if they revise their reclamation plan and
have the adjacent property owner and mineral rights owner sign as well,
and then continue that active face, we cannot just leave it there. It
has to be resolved in some manner.
Bob Shoemaker stated that in 2002 he had Nederveld set stakes along
the imaginary line because the contract stipulates 53 acres of mining.
Rather than over mine we had them set stakes. We have not reached those
stakes yet. Ms. Voshel would like as much sand out of there as we can
get.
Scott Conners suggested that we extend this permit for 8 weeks and
give these people a chance to get this all worked out.
Bob Shoemaker stated that he would like to work something out. He
went on to say that he will reclaim the bottom area and the rest is up
to the Goodales on what they want to do.
Gary Voogt stated that the oil well here is important.
Bob Shoemaker replied that his intention was to remove that last year
but he does not have control of that. That is between Christian Oil and
Goodale.
Gary Voogt replied that you have an interest in that because you
cannot build your plan if that oil well stays there.
Bob Shoemaker replied that he is trying to comply with what the
Goodales want and make the neighbors happy. He stated he needs to know
soon if they are going to want a one on five slope because it is going
to take awhile to do that. Last summer Goodales told him not to do it.
Motion
Scott Conners moved and Gary Voogt supported the motion to extend
this request for a Mineral Mining license at 700 Maynard until May 1,
2005.
The Board imposed the following condition:
1. Mr Shoemaker has 8 weeks until May 1, 2005 to work out an
agreement with the parties involved or come back with a new reclamation
plan, new bond, and how the oil well will be addressed.
Motion carried 5 to 0.
DECISION AND ORDER
Legal Description
Property located at 2619 Butterworth, 41-13-33-400-002.
Applicant & Shoemaker Aggregates Owner: Flossie Hendges
Mining Cont: PO Box 908 826 California, NW
Grandville, Mi. 49418 Grand Rapids, Mi. 49504
Shoemaker Aggregates has requested approval for a Mineral Mining
license.
Finding of Facts
Steve Versluis, Chairman reviewed the application and site plan
submitted.
Brent DeRose of Nederveld Associates stated that this site is pretty
much the same as last year. The sand is almost gone on this site and we
are down to the embankment layer. In 2004 there was no material taken
out of here. The area in the northeast has been stabilized and there is
some topsoil up there to be spread out around the site. The area to the
south and west is already reclaimed. We have provided the sedimentation
basin. In 2005 we would like to keep this open to continue mining to the
north if there is a good project where embankment material will be
required. As projects become available, we are going to focus on the
north and reclaim as we go.
Mark Rambo stated that there is no activity here as far as soil
erosion.
Jeff Nelson stated that last year there were only two conditions and
one was a letter of credit which we did receive and one for this year
and that there be satisfactory arrangements for access into the site. We
did receive the fence certification for the site for this year.
Scott Conners stated that there is a site on the plan where it is 20
ft. higher than the proposed reclamation contours so the site does not
fit from east to west because on the west you are going down and
targeting those contours and the east you are 20 ft. high and there is
no connection between the two.
Brent DeRose stated that this is incidental growth. It is noted
because there is some growth on there and it is not raw. The reason
these contours are so low is because you have two sand mine operations
on both sides of it. There is not much sand left on this property.
Motion
Scott Conners moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to open the
public hearing.
Motion carried 5 to 0.
Scott Conners asked Mr. Meekhof if this area that says area
stabilized, is actually going to stay 20 ft. higher than what the
proposed reclamation contours are going to be, that will influence your
reclamation contours. Are you aware of that?
Dave Meekhof stated that their clay banks were pretty much in place
but then Bob Shoemaker got a pretty big job with the highway and they
went back and cut that all down. Now there is a little difference. It
does not affect us. We are done there. Houses are not going in there so
he sees it as back to nature someday. He went on to say that they want
to keep it looking as good as possible. We will blend it in if need be.
If they need to come onto our property to blend it in, that is alright.
Steve Versluis commented that the Meekhof property looks like an
oasis in the middle of the desert.
Motion
Frank Wash moved and Mark Koning supported the motion to close the
public hearing.
Motion carried 5 to 0.
Gary Voogt asked what exactly are you going to do on this site this
year?
Brent DeRose stated that we want to keep this open for the
possibility of a job. There is valuable material here that can be used
if something comes about. There is material on site to reclaim it with
some earth moving. We will reclaim it as we go.
Scott Conners commented that he would like to see them come back next
year with a new reclamation plan to actually co-ordinate with adjacent
properties.
Motion
Gary Voogt moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to renew the
Mineral Mining license for 2619 Butterworth until February 28, 2006.
Motion carried 5 to 0.
Motion
Frank Wash moved and Mark Koning supported the motion to approve the
Mineral Mining minutes of February 17, 2005 and February 22, 2005.
Motion carried 5 to 0.
Motion
Gary Voogt moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to adjourn the
Mineral Mining meeting at 4:20pm.
Motion carried 5 to 0.
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