MMRB Minutes

MEETING
CITY OF WALKER
MINERAL MINING REVIEW BOARD
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
3:00 p.m.

The Mineral Mining Review Board was called to order by Steve Versluis, Chairman at 3:00 p.m. at City Hall, 4243 Remembrance Rd., N.W., Walker, Michigan.

Members present: Steve Versluis, Chairman; Scott Conners; Frank Wash; and Bonnie Broadwater. Member absent: Mark Koning. Also present: Jeff Nelson, Building Official; and Bonnie Antcliff, Recording Secretary.

Bonnie Broadwater moved and Scott Conners supported the motion to approve the mineral mining minutes of January 31, 2008.

Motion carried 4 to 0.

Shoemaker Aggregates has requested approval for a mineral mining license.

Property located at 2713 Wilson, SW, 41-17-07-100-040 & 041

Applicant & Shoemaker Aggregates Corp. Owner: Same

Mining Cont: 2633 Wilson, SW

Grand Rapids, Mil 49534

Brent DeRose, Nederveld Associates stated that last year there was a section of fence that was not up in the northeast corner. That section was fence was put up and confirmed in April of 2007. There was a question about encroachment along the west line and that area was put back and seeded and that portion of the slope has been confirmed. There was a question about materials being hauled into the site and that has been added to the plan. In 2007 this site was pretty active. A lot of material was hauled out of this site. The whole north face was re-topoed and these contours are new. On the west side of the site the whole area was reclaimed and we continue to work to the north with a one on five slope. In 2008 we are going to focus in the northeast corner and there is some cleanup on the northwest corner. They are hauling some clay out of here now. We are going to continue the 695 elevation which is going to be the same rear yard elevation as the Timm’s parcel.

Scott Conners asked if they own the Timm’s property?

Mr. DeRose replied yes we do.

Mr. Conners stated that we spend a lot of time every year talking about how close those banks are to that property and it is not included on this plan.

Mr. DeRose replied what is not included is the disturbance line. It is the boundary. The legal description reflects that it is part of the property.

Scott Conners commented that he would like to see an update on the ground water issue that we have had here over the past year.

Mr. DeRose stated that in July a portion of ground water was exposed and Mr. Shoemaker called him and asked for elevations right away. We took a survey crew out and located the ground water. The engineer recommended that clay be put back in there to seal off the ground water. We topoed the elevation of the clay and submitted documentation of all of that and submitted it to the City.

Bonnie Broadwater commented that she noticed that the limits of earth disturbance was altered from last year from 11.9 to 30.6 and she wanted to know if this was revised to include the entire site?

Brent DeRose replied that the 30.6 is the heavy bold line on the plan so it is possible that we did not include the entire site.

Ms. Broadwater replied that she would like to see them show minimal possible disturbed area at one time. You do not want the whole site opened up at the same time.

Scott Conners commented that it will be in your best interest to do that because we are going to start doing our inspections the same way that we do for all of our construction sites. We were just informed that we are not to be doing soil erosion inspections on the mineral mining sites for free in the way we have been the last few years. We assumed that it was included in the cost of the application but that does not come anywhere near the cost of sending an inspector to inspect the site. As those inspections come into play, that is all based on disturbed area, so there is going to be an initiative for you to go out and reclaim areas as quickly as possible and to disturb the least amount of areas as possible at any one time so that your total disturbed area is reducing your inspection costs.

Frank Wash stated that you show on the plan, that the current mining area for 2008 permit, right by the Timm’s property by the reclamation area. Is that the only area you will be working in 2008?

Mr. DeRose replied yes, the corner on the northwest there will be some reclaiming done. There is a lot of material to come out of there.

Frank Wash asked if the fill was coming from over burden on the site?

Mr. DeRose stated that it will be hauled in.

Mr. Wash stated we rewrote the mineral mining ordinance this past year and there are compaction requirements for new fill areas. So we will need compaction tests on that area, not on the area that has already been reclaimed, but anything from this time forward.

Scott Conners stated that you are not going to be able to mine to a sheer cliff anymore and then fill that back in. You can mine to a one on three slope but we do not want 20 or 30 ft. fill go back in at a time. You cannot go more than 5 ft. below finished grade.

Frank Wash stated that what you need to get on the plan, is that you acknowledge a one on three working slope and that there is going to be a compaction test given prior to application for the 2009 permit for any area that has been filled in 2008.

Jeff Nelson stated that we did receive the fence certification here but we need a renewal on the letter of credit.

Scott Conners moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to open the public hearing.

Motion carried 4 to 0.

Mark Haskins 4646 Burton asked if the mining was going to be on the east side of the pit because the problem we had here with the water was on the west side.

Mr. DeRose replied that most of the mining will be on the east side but there will be some on the west. We will not be working in the water table at all.

Frank Wash moved and Bonnie Broadwater supported the motion to close the public hearing.

Motion carried unanimously.

Scott Conners asked what area was reclaimed last year?

Brent DeRose pointed out the area on the site plan in the southeast and working to the north.

Frank Wash moved and Bonnie Broadwater supported the motion to approve the mineral mining license for 2713 Wilson until February 28, 2009.

The Board imposed the following conditions:

Motion carried 4 to 0.

Shoemaker Aggregates has requested approval for a mineral mining license.

Property located at 2619 Butterworth, 41-13-33-400-011.

Applicant & Shoemaker Aggregates Corp. Owner: Flossie Hendges Trust

Mining Cont: Box 908 826 California

Grandville, Mil 49418 Grand Rapids, Mi. 49504

Brent DeRose, Nederveld Associates stated that this site has not seen any activity since 2004 or 2005. It makes sense to keep this active as there is material on site that is available and it is in an area, where on three sides, there is mining going on. Nothing has been moved out of there. In the event that we get a good job, this year and there is material that is usable, we will continue to the north to mine and as we approach the property line we will do a one on five slope to tie in to the 684 elevation. On the east we are tying off with the Meekhoff pit. There is a sediment basin that was constructed in 2003-2004 and that area pretty much drains into itself. There is a pile of top soil here that we can use for reclamation. We are waiting for business for embankment material.

Frank Wash asked if this was strictly an embankment extraction operation?

Mr. DeRose answered that is right.

Scott Conners stated that we can see there has been a lot of erosion here from the aerial views. He would like to see them use some more traditional soil erosion controls here so that we do not end up plugging up all of the pipes downstream. Clays do not settle out.

Brent DeRose replied that this site slopes into the sediment basin and there is a huge berm that goes out all the way to Butterworth.

Scott Conners commented that we are not talking about sandy materials here that absorb the water so he felt that we need to get into some more traditional controls. We are being watched closely by the DEQ about soil erosion inspections. We let the developer choose what type of control they want to use.

Frank Wash asked if we have an open soil erosion permit on this site?

Bonnie Broadwater replied yes we do.

Frank Wash moved and Scott Conners supported the motion to open the public hearing.

Motion carried 4 to 0.

No citizen appeared with respect to this application.

Bonnie Broadwater moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to close the public hearing.

Motion carried 4 to 0.

Scott Conners stated that last year we talked about the contours on the west side of this site. A 644 contour runs through the middle of the site and touches the contour 660 to the west. That only works when there is someone mining on the site to the west. This should not be let go every year.

Frank Wash felt that it should be checked with the property owner to the west and check their reclamation grade and let them know that they need to get in here and get a permit. The issue is on the property to the west. He stated we need to follow up on this.

Brent DeRose stated that we talked about this last year. If we want to be done with this mine and seal it up and what we would do with the contours. He stated we could tie off our contours and make a horseshoe here and feather into it. We are at the bottom.

Scott Conners stated we would like to see that now. It should have a one on five grade. That is the easiest way to handle this application. The reclamation contours need to match a one on five with the existing contours.

Scott Conners moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to approve the mineral mining application for 2619 Butterworth until February 28, 2009.

The Board imposed the following conditions:

Motion carried 4 to 0.

The Mines Golf Club has requested approval for a mineral mining license.

Property located at 2311 & 2301 O’Brien, 41-13-27-300-002, 025.

Applicant & Dan Schimmel Owner: Mines Golf Club, LLC

Mining Cont: 2364 Birnam Woods Dr., NE 330 Covell Ave., SW

Grand Rapids, Mi. 49505 Grand Rapids, Mi. 49534

Dan Schimmel, Mines Golf Club pointed out the site plan to the Board. Not a whole lot of restoration has occurred this past year. One of the stipulations from last year was to get holes 3, 4, & 5 and the perimeter of the property to the north where we would not have to mine. We have removed the dirt and have seeded it. Because it is all sand, very little water reaches the basin. We are hoping to complete the mining this year depending on the economy and the construction business. The Meekhof’s are operating this pit for us and they have shut their pits down to get this sand out of here. We had a decent year last year. There was in excess of 200,000 yards taken out of here.

Frank Wash asked if the valley down the middle of the site was going to be seeded this year?

Mr. Schimmel responded that he is hopeful that will happen this year.

Bonnie Broadwater stated that there have been no complaints on this site of blowing sand or wind erosion. She felt areas needed to be stabilized with a finished grade as soon as possible. There should be no sedimentation basin discharge coming out of the pipe on the wetlands to the west.

Mr. Schimmel replied that after the big rainfall and we cleaned it up, to date there has been no discharge, partly because there is no slope there anymore. He then asked the Board about soil erosion inspections.

Scott Conners replied that typically what we have done about soil erosion inspections, up until about two years ago, we did not feel we needed to do soil erosion inspections on mineral mining sites. The DEQ is of the opinion that we have to do those. We did not want to create a hardship on the mining applicants. We did not want to have to burden them with monthly inspections but times are tough and we are being told now that, yes you will. We are going to be giving you some educational materials that are going to help you minimize the area we will have to inspect, which will minimize the cost to you. As of July 1, 2008 we are going to have to keep track of that.

Jeff Nelson stated that the only thing we need is a fence certification.

Scott Conners moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to open the public hearing.

Motion carried 4 to 0.

Tim Egan, 117 Covell asked what the slope requirement will be in the area where the sand will be taken out?

Mr. Schimmel stated that it will be a one on five slope with a 35 ft. setback.

Frank Wash moved and Bonnie Broadwater supported the motion to close the public hearing.

Motion carried 4 to 0.

Bonnie Broadwater moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to approve the mineral mining license for 2311 & 2301 O’Brien until February 28, 2009.

The Board imposed the following condition:

Motion carried 4 to 0.

Gillisse Aggregates has requested approval for a mineral mining license.

Property located at 1400 Maynard, SW, 41-17-04-300-001, 41-17-04-100-002, 003, 007, 008, 009, & 41-13-33-376-016.

Applicant: Kent County Parks Foundation Owner: Same

1700 Butterworth, SW

Grand Rapids, Mi. 49534

Mining Cont: Gillisse Aggregates Co.

Box 278

Grandville, Mi. 49418

Dave Maas, Gillisse Aggregates stated that they have entered into an agreement with the County to purchase this property. Part of the purchase agreement was incorporated into this plan on what we are going to do for the County. Plans from the past have changed and we are now doing what the County has requested. We will discontinue crushing operations by July 1, 2008. We will move stockpiles of material to the north. He then pointed out the areas to be mined. They will stockpile crushed concrete for bike trails through the area. We will be doing a lot of filling. Most of the area is vegetated now and will stay that way. By September 30, 2009 we will have everything to a one on four and the County will take over and the filling will be done. He stated we do have a DEQ permit for five years. He went on to say that they have a pipe storage area on the south side of Vets Drive and we will be cleaning all of that up.

Bonnie Broadwater stated that your DEQ permit also shows an area on the north of the site for filling and that is not shown on this plan.

Mr. Maas replied that we can put 300,000 yards anywhere on the site. Originally we wanted to have everything above the 100 year flood plain.

Bonnie Broadwater replied that it is not anywhere on the site. They specifically delineate the areas that they authorize to fill on the permit.

Mr. Maas stated that once we are above the 606 contours, they do not care where we fill.

Frank Wash asked when do we close this off as a mining site?

Mr. Maas replied that we can probably give you a final as-built plan and close it out next year. If at that point the County wants more fill in the area, we can probably finish under a soil erosion permit.

Frank Wash stated that we will plan on closing this one out in February 2010.

Scott Conners stated that he is disappointed on the plan that came in, because it does not have much detail for reclamation. He felt the proposed contours should be shown.

Mr. Maas replied that we do not know where they are going to end up. Whatever fill we get over the next year is where they will end up.

Scott Conners replied that it is important to us that it is in a way that meets our ordinance and is safe and vegetated. We are not asking you to close this out right away but this plan does not show a lot of reclamation on it. We also need the plan sealed. It would be nice if this came in with a reclamation plan and a plan from the County to help us with the long range vision.

Frank Wash asked if there was some kind of general agreement as far as the excavated area where the crusher is? Will that be a parking lot area or similar to across the street as an area to be developed in the future? Do they want hills on the site?

Dave Maas replied that our agreement is that whatever this ends up being Sept. 30, 2009, we will have everything graded to a one on four slope. We are also not to trap or pond water.

Scott Conners stated that you need to get all of your contours on one sheet and make sure that it is very clear as to what your target is. If you don’t meet your target, but if it is close and does not cause any problem, no one here will have any trouble with that.

Roger Sabine, Kent Co. Parks stated that this is a key piece of property for us. We know the bike path system will go through this site. Beyond that the other uses are a variety of ideas and there is no single idea that generated enough interest to generate dollars in order to develop any plans. An open rolling green area is fine with us. If it needs to be flat we will make it flat.

Steve Versluis asked about the water on the site.

Mr. Sabine replied that as many ponds that are on the site will be connected that can be connected. There will be no more filling of water bodies. A little to the east of this site it gets fairly natural quickly and that is part of our trail network. If there are any kind of features constructed on this site, we will make sure that the bike trail network connects into those features.

Frank Wash commented that it sounds like you have a general agreement of restoring some slopes on here not to exceed a certain percentage. Do you have any requirements for compaction of fill going in at this site?

Mr. Sabine replied that if we know where there is going to be some parking or buildings, we will make sure the compaction is correct in those areas.

Scott Conners stated that he would like a letter from the County telling us that there are no buildings planned here at this point and they are fine with loose fill material or whatever you are fine with.

Scott Conners moved and Bonnie Broadwater supported the motion to open the public hearing.

Motion carried 4 to 0.

Dan Schimmel stated that he did not feel that any compaction tests were necessary on this site. He felt this is a great use for this property.

Scott Conners moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to close the public hearing.

Motion carried unanimously.

Scott Conners moved and Frank Wash supported the motion to table the request for a mineral mining license until February 19 for 1400 Maynard.

The Board imposed the following conditions:

Motion carried 4 to 0.

Frank Wash moved and Scott Conners supported the motion to adjourn the mineral mining meeting at 4:30 p.m.

Motion carried 4 to 0.

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Walker, MI  49534
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