Decision on Big Lake gravel mining put off for a month

BIG LAKE — Developers of a proposed gravel operation will have to wait another month to find out if the Big Lake Community Council will support their application, but Bill and Helen Heairet got a chance to make their case Wednesday night.

Because there were so many first-time attendants, and new registrants have to wait a month to vote, the council passed a motion to table the issue until the March 11 meeting at 7 p.m. The council plans to have the meeting at the school due to overflow. Fliers will be posted at the post office, library and Steve’s Food Boy one week prior with the final location.

The issue at hand is the Heairets’ application to level a 138,000-cubic-yard ridge on their 40-acre lot off of West Lakes Boulevard and Belarde Boulevard. The permit calls for a maximum of 1,000 gravel loads per year to be trucked off their property for 14 years.

The ultimate goal, Bill Heairet said, is to level the ridge for future subdividing and development.

According to their application, they found no aquifer after drilling down 18 feet, and the extraction site is in the middle of their property offering a natural buffer to the surrounding neighbors.

In the January meeting, the council voted to send a letter of no objection to the Borough Planning Commission.

On Wednesday night, the council members explained their vote from the last meeting. They followed the procedures set by their by-laws, and the attending members voted in favor of the no objection letter.

In front of a packed fire house, the council voted to re-open the issue.

Before the discussion began, the council president, Bill O’Hara, reminded the crowd that only members of the council could vote. By the reaction of the crowd, it was apparent many in attendance were not voting members.

Any registered voter in Big Lake can become a voting member, O’Hara said, they just have to sign up a month prior to the next meeting. Since the next meeting is less than a month away, only those who were at the meeting could sign up in time to vote March 11.

A sheet was passed around and quickly filled with signatures.

When it became apparent many concerned parties were not yet registered voting members, the council passed a motion to extend the discussion until next month’s meeting.

Not before Bill Heairet had a chance to make his case, however.

Because he will be out-of-town during the next meeting, the council gave the floor to Heairet to answer questions from the community.

“I have done quite a bit [to Belarde Boulevard] last summer. I have 40 feet at the stop sign in a radius, which I measured and did. The road is 20 feet,” Heairet said in response to the concerns about the intersection of Belarde and West Lakes.

“There’s a substantial amount of gravel truck traffic on that road now, so realistically I don’t think were adding a bunch more.”

Heairet said there would be only one week, or maybe two, in each summer when he would rent a screening plant and possibly a crushing plant if there was any crushing to do.

The operation will be behind the largest ridge on the 40-acre plot, he said, “So its going to build a natural noise wall around itself. You shouldn’t see it from West Lakes Boulevard. You shouldn’t see it from over the hill. It’s going to be protected.”

“I do not foresee 1,000 loads per season going out of there,” he added. “The stigma of a gravel pit is what’s killing this whole thing. I am leveling the land, but they don’t offer that permit.”

Community members will have a chance to respond in March when the council will vote once again on the issue.

No matter what the council’s recommendation is, the application still has to pass the Borough Planning Commission scheduled for April 6 at 6 p.m.

Anyone who cannot attend or cannot vote at the Big Lake Community Council on March 11 can take their concerns directly to the Planning Commission. Comments faxed to 745-9876 or e-mailed to astrawn@matsugov.us before March 9 will be included in the packet for the commission’s review.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.