Testimony for the BOA, Zoning Committee & County Board

From: Ron Schultz
S1386 State Road 88
Alma, WI 54610

To the Members of the Buffalo County BOA, Zoning Committee and County Board:

My wife, Suzanne, and I live one mile north of Praag on Highway 88.  We attended the site inspections with you on Feb. 2, 2012 at the Klevgard and the R and J Rolling Acres proposed mines.

At the Klevgard mine, the phrase “small footprint” was used numerous times by the mining company.  This terminology disappeared completely at the R and J site.  Even though I still felt the trucking hours and number of trucks were much too liberal on the Klevgard application, I was fairly satisfied with the other conditions.

I  feel very strongly that all of the mines should only be trucking from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Monday through Friday, as was suggested on an earlier application.  This allows 45 hours per week for the mines to earn huge sums of money for their sand, and still provides everyone else the evenings and weekends to enjoy the wonderful life we have been accustomed to in beautiful Buffalo County.  Please consider this for all future applications.

The trucking is especially important for the R and J mine which plans to haul on “Suicide Hwy. 88.”  Please refer to the enclosed sheet with the facts on this 22 mile stretch.  I really feel this stretch of highway is much too dangerous for a high volume of 80,000 pound trucks.

I am not sure how the R and J application will be presented on March 8, since it was changed from its original version at the last meeting.  Unless there is a substantial change in trucking routes and hours, I do not believe this permit should be granted based upon the many hazards that are present on this 22 mile stretch.  The proposal included 24 hour trucking.  It is especially concerning that these large trucks would be navigating sharp corners and blind hilltops in low light conditions.

Thank you for taking my concerns into consideration when making these difficult life-changing decisions.

Respectfully,

Ron Schultz, a fellow taxpayer

Click HERE for a Word, and HERE for a PDF version of this document.