PLAN COMMISSION MEETING
2024 MARCH 11
_________ 

Town of Barksdale Plan
Commission Meeting Minutes

Barksdale Town Hall
29025 East Ondossagon Rd. 
Ashland, WI  54806

Date: March 11, 2024

Present: Susan Jacobson, Lynn Divine, John Ganske, Bob Sanger, John Nyara and Jayson Nohl

Absent Members: Mike Bark

Public Present: Deb Jack, Tim Jack, Ronald Nemec, Jerry Thompson, Dakota Schwauke, Mike Sturgul, Mark Richardson, Cheryl Nohl, Dennis Pocernich, Caren Kreinbring, Jim Kreinbring, Marsha Sorensen, Don Karr, Jayson W Nohl, Dave Kreinbring, Teri, Ansiworth, Theresa Margetta, John McCue, Janis Kacvinsky, Stephen Kacvinsky, James Jacboson, Chris Bretting, Dee Croteau, Dan Orley, Curtis Malmberg, Jerry Hudack, John Zanto, Ruth Oppedahl and Thomas Parr

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairperson Susan Jacobson after determining a quorum was present.

Verification of Posting: Jayson Nohl verified the meeting notices were posted at the Lake Shore Drive, Bono Creek Landing, Barksdale Town Hall and the Town Website.

Reading and Approval of meeting minutes from:  January 15th, 16th and 23rd Plan workshop.  Bob Sanger motioned to dispense with reading the minutes and approve them as written, Lynn Divine second the motion, all were in favor, motion passed.

Discussion and Possible Action on a Conditional use permit from: Todd’s Redimix Concrete LLC.  Plan commission Chairperson Susan Jacobson introduced the members of the Plan Commission to the audience and asked if there were any representatives from Todd’s Redimix. 

Jerry Thompson explained the reason for their request is to bring in a temporary portable concrete plant to support the project on Hwy 13 construction in Washburn and they want to try and put a temporary plant in an area as close to the project as possible to cut down on cost for trucking. The request for the concrete crushing is because they ran out of room for the crusher and recycled material and would like to stock pile on another parcel of property Tax ID #332. Trierweiler Construction is the company that wants to bring in the temporary concrete plant and that would be placed on the triangular section of parcel #333.

Thompson went on to say they have not had any citations or dust complaints from the DNR. They have not had any citation from the EPA as long as they have been here. They did have a complaint about dust from a crusher that was brought in to crush the recycled concrete. When the crusher had a malfunction and the crusher supervisor decided to run the crusher without water that is supposed to suppress the dust. Then there are issues.

Jayson Nohl asked Jerry Thompson about how many loads a day would the temporary plant produce. Thompson introduced the representative from Trierweiler Construction and he said they would do 50 round trips a day for the main line and 20 round trips a day for the curb and gutter.

Nohl asked about the concrete that is presently onsite and Nick from Trierweiler said he wasn’t sure because that is another contractor, Hoffman Construction, and Trierweiler is not a part of that contract. Nohl asked about bringing concrete from other projects sites into the redimix site. Thompson told everyone a local contractor asked about whether he could haul recycled concrete. Thompson told the audience that if it didn’t get recycled it would probably end up in a landfill. 

John Nyara asked about what type of dust suppressant do they use on a crusher, and Thompson again told everyone water is used on the belts of the crusher to suppress the dust.

Nohl asked Thompson when they hauled the crushed concrete to the Bayfield area why didn’t they use a tracking pad. Thompson claimed that blacktop is the best tracking pad. Nohl asked then why didn’t they clean up the stuff they tracked out on Hwy 13 north, stating it is still out there probably 1/2 of a mile or more. Thompson replied, "it is?" Nohl replied, "yes it is." Nohl brought samples of the material that he scooped up at the shoulder of Hwy 13 north and the intersection of Mission Springs Road and also between Mission Springs Road and the Donald and Jodie Karr residence shaking the jar and showing the audience the dust. Nohl told Thompson "this is what the people are breathing every time a vehicle goes by it creates a cloud of dust and goes right into their yards." Thompson replied, "it is?" Nohl asked Thompson what the particulates in concrete powder are, "are they silica crystals, aluminum oxide, fly ash and calcium chloride?" Thompson reply was "yes."

Nohl asked about the piles of crushed concrete stating this winter we had a lot of prevailing winds and the piles are sitting there exposed to the high winds and the dust blows across the road onto the residences. Nohl told Thompson he was in the site today and looked it over and stood there for forty minutes and started to get choked up, asking Thompson, "what are you going to do to insure the safety of the residences that live along there?" Thompson told the audience that they monitor the air quality with each employee wearing a personal monitor on their shoulder area and have never been over. Nohl asked if they ever monitor the air along the haul road, Thompson's reply was "no but we could do that in the future." Nohl told Thompson, "I know we need concrete, but is this the safest thing you can do - saying you can have the best equipment in air management and if you don’t put it to use and only regulate the air where the management system is at, and you are not regulating the air along the road out to the highway? That is where the problems are at, it crosses the road and down to the homes and the resort." Nohl also explains that "it is not only when you truck the materials out but when the redimix trucks return they drive over the hill and into the pit and create large clouds of dust and then  drive around the bottom of the redimix plant. You can water or whatever you want but the sand or whatever is in it sticks to the tires and they drag it out on the road again creating more dust."

John Nyara asked Thompson "if this gets turned down what are the options for a temporary concrete plant?" The representative from Trierweiler replied "we don’t have an alternative site, we were just informed we had the job." Nyara asked, "when did you apply for the permit?" The representative from Trierweiler replied, "in December." Nohl states that February 19, 2024 the permit was dated. The rep from Trierweiler Construction said he can understand the concerns about the dust, we see it all over the state, but we do our best. You are not going to see that from the road…….

Dee Croteau spoke. She lives across from the plant and told the reps from Todd’s and Trierweiler she is concerned with the safety with traffic as heavy as it is in the summer and trucks having to turn in across the highway. She has seen several near accidents and believes there will be a very bad accident.

Bob Sanger asked about utilization of the equipment and was told the concrete plant would run 26 days total. When Sanger asked what about the crusher permit, Thompson replied "2-3 years they would crush, they would stock pile until then."

Caren Kreinbring asked about tree removal. Thompson states "I am not going to remove any trees. I am even opened to putting a berm in there." Nohl replied it wouldn’t do any good to put a berm in there unless it was wrapped 2/3rds of the way around the plant site and 20 feet high. That is one of the conditions that was asked for when the original permit was issued and we didn’t get.

Jerry Hudack asked how deep the well is at the redimix plant, Thompson replied 340 feet. Jayson Nohl checked the drilling report and it is 340 feet.

Lynn Divine asked "what are the operating hours?" and was told "Now, 6am until 8pm." Another question was what about using lights. Thompson said lights would only be used in the fall from 5pm-8pm. Tim Jack asked about lights again and said "if we agree to the lights, you would run them whenever you want... I don’t trust you." Bob Sanger asked Trierweiler "what is your projected working hours?" He replied "6am-8pm." Jayson Nohl told Thompson "we would negotiate the time 7am-6pm." 

Nohl also said that everyone that lives across from Todd’s is fed up with the dust and the noise from banging end gates. He also stated he leaves his driveway early in the morning before 5:30am and there are lights on and the powder truck is over there blowing the powder into the silo and then the silo shaker comes on. He added "all the people that live within this area of the plant want is to be able to sleep, have some peace and quiet and not have all the dust. We can’t even open our windows because of the dust; it is a real nuisance." 

Jim Kreinbring asked Todd's Redimix about the best interest of the people living next to the plant. "Your plant is literally 200 feet from our property, who in their right mind would want that? It is insane; our well is only 26 feet deep and Lake Superior is less then a quarter of a mile away. You purchased that property and the very next year you tried to put an asphalt plant in there. No one on earth would want a concrete crusher and another plant!" Thompson replied, "what do you want us to do?" Kreinbring replied, "withdraw your permit!"

Tim Jack said, "you have known this job has been in the design process for sometime haven’t you." Thompson explained "we don’t bid DOT work, we primarily do commercial and residential work and we might supply some to state work." Tim Jack said he is hard of hearing and lives 300-400 yards from the plant to the north. He states he has lived a healthy life and since being retired has had pneumonia twice and has developed chronic sinus and respiratory problems, "I washed my car and the next day I went out to drive it and it’s full of white dust!" Thompson replied "there is a lot of salt on the highway today."

Steve Kacvinsky asked Thompson where does the ground water go that is around the plant? He has Parkinson’s disease from chemicals he was in contact with while in the military. Thompson replied "in the ground but doesn’t go anywhere when hardened and the rest is absorbed by the vegetation around the plant."

Jayson Nohl asked, "you guys crushed in that hole several times didn’t you?" Thompson replied "yes, years ago." Nohl added "and those piles sat in there for several months didn’t they?" Thompson replied "Yes." Nohl asked "where does the dust from those piles go?" Thompson replied "nowhere when it is in a hardened form." Nohl, in talking about the dust after crushing, "where does the silica crystal’s and aluminum oxide go?" 

Ruth Oppedahl asked to clarify "is this simply a new activity that you are already doing or are you expanding the operation you have been permitted for?" Thompson explained "we are asking to be allowed to expand onto parcel #333 with our stock piles of crushed materials and bring in a temporary concrete batch plant for the next three to four months that would only operate for 26 days."

Dave Kreinbring expressed concerns about Todds crushing operation being so close to the natural gas line. Thompson replied "if we have to do anything in close proximity to the gas line we contact the gas company and they send a representative out."

Tim Jack, "when you go to your personal vehicle in the morning do you have to turn your windshield washer on to wipe the dust off your windshield?" Thompson, "yes because I live on a dirt road." Tim Jack, "well I don’t."

Bob Sanger asked "when will the temporary concrete plant be in operation?" Trierweiler's rep explained "hopefully the first phase of the project will be ready to pave in June or early July and the second phase in October."

Jayson Nohl, owner and operator of Mission Springs Resort, asked "let's get some clarity here; you are asking for a permanent CDU permit to put a temporary concrete plant on site," Thompson, "correct." Jayson added, "so you would be transporting concrete into the site and crushing it right?" Thompson replied, "yes." Nohl, "for clarity at what temp is it you can’t pour concrete?" Thompson, "85 degrees, the temp of the concrete itself." Nohl, "I am an engineer by schooling and I have poured concrete in Florida when it was over 85 degrees." Thompson, "we would have to add ice to the concrete and it would cost more, otherwise we would have to pour at night when temps are cooler." Nohl, "I own a resort that has been in business for four generations since 1930; 94 years. We get people from all over the world who stay at the resort and come to Bayfield County to see the Islands, and we have been hearing more and more complaints about the noise. A permanent thing, so you can continuously dust the people that live across from this site. Topography stand point, the berm you are purposing will do nothing to mitigate the dust and noise. As a value standpoint the tax payers along the lakeside of the highway across from the concrete plant pay nearly $60,000 in property taxes to Bayfield County and Todd’s Redimix pays less than $1000. Todd’s is of no value to Bayfield County whatsoever. The extra trucks will fuel up in Ashland, the extra jobs will come from out of the area, and the workers will stay in Motels in Ashland and use the services from Ashland, so everything tax wise will go to Ashland County." Thompson, "well what can I do about that?" Nohl replied, "withdraw your permit request!"

Dave Kreinbring, "is there going to be any blacktop or asphalt trucking in there?" Thompson, "no, it is not mentioned on the permit."

Bob Sanger, "You are asking for a permit to bring in a temporary concrete plant? The crushing part is already permitted, right?" Thompson, "They told us to include both parcels of property for the permit so we can stock pile extra material on #333."

Chairperson Susan Jacobson asked if there were any more questions; there were none. Susan Jacobson explained the process which the Plan Commission uses to make decisions. "We use a form which consist of 10 elements of the Comprehensive Plan and decide if there is a conflict with those elements, the future land use map, and what residents want in our Township. Does it conflict with any of the following: housing, economic development, utilities and communication, facilities, agriculture resources, natural resources, cultural resources, intergovernmental relations, transportation and natural resource sensitive areas?" After considering whether there were conflicts with the 10 elements of the comprehensive plan, the commission found conflicts with 8 of them. 

After conferring with the representative from Todd’s, Jayson Nohl told the audience there is a big problem here with noise and dust. This has gone on for years; it is not something that just started from crushing. He explained that he just talked with a man that frequently visited the plant and said when the powder truck comes in and is blowing the powder in the silo you can see the dust leaking out from around the tube and blowing away in the wind. Susan Jacobson told them she saw the dust on the side of the road and watched it being blown into the air by vehicles traveling north towards Washburn.

Bob Sanger mentioned there are two issues here and they probably should have been permitted separately. The two issues are the temporary plant permit request and the issues of dust control, excess noise and heavy truck traffic.

John Nyara said he was elected by the people to do what is best for the people, not Todd’s Redimix. Twenty years ago this would have been ok to do but not today. Today we have discussions, and the laws are only going to get stricter. What you are going to have in 20 years from now, if you think you are going to come in here with a permit like this, you are going to get run out of town! Saying to Todd’s if they want to be in the area in the future they should really look into relocating their plant somewhere else.

Jayson Nohl asked a representative from Todd’s if he'd pass a message on to management of Todd’s Redimix. Mike Sturgul said "yes." Nohl replied "I don’t have an issue with any of the employees at Todd’s; they are doing their job and doing it well. My issue is the inappropriate things that come with the concrete plant and I don’t believe this is the appropriate place to have this plant. The County Health Department is working on that issue right now among others. I see Dennis has left already but I wish you and Bayfield County would get together and find a more appropriate place to put this concrete plant where it won’t interfere with the lives of so many people. I took the hose and rinsed off the hood and Tonneau cover on my pickup because it was covered in concrete dust, I parked it under the pines where I always park it and we had a little thunderstorm the next morning the hood and Tonnaeu cover with big spots of white concrete. This has been ongoing for many years. I cannot approve this permit, something has to give and I will tell you the people will not move." 

Bob Sanger asked before we vote maybe we should ask that the permit be broken into two permit requests.

Lynn Divine said she feels this permit request should be denied, and if Todd’s wants to, they could reapply.

Jim Jacobson spoke briefly and told everyone "I live on Cherryville Rd. and most people living up there don’t know about this ordeal, but out of the 800 and some residents in this Town if they were to have known about what is going on here and were asked if they were interested in buying property here they would say no. Jacobson continued saying to him there was a mistake made when this original permit was approved, back when this plant first started. 

John Nyara motioned to recommend to the Town Board to deny the permit request. John Ganske second the motion, all were in favor, motion passed.

Chairperson Jacobson asked for a raise of hands if they would be in favor of the motion to deny the permit request. 25 Barksdale residence raised their hand in favor to deny this permit; there were 30 names on the attendance list, 4 were representatives from Todd’s Redimix. There is conflict with 8 elements of the Comprehensive Plan. 

In other business: Discussion and possible action on rewriting and printing the Comprehensive Plan. Lynn Divine reported she is nearly done with rewriting of the Comprehensive Plan and will send all the plan commission members a copy when she is done to review before the next meeting.

Bob Sanger motioned to adjourn, Lynn Divine second the motion, all were in favor, motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 8:15pm.

Respectively Submitted:

Jayson Nohl, secretary