6.1. & 6.2. SR 07-06-2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning Commission Minutes June 9, 2009 Page 4 they could be found. Mr. Shardlow stated that they feel Mr. Schreib's report makes a lot of assumptions and they question the accuracy of those assumptions. Stephanie Stolz, Engineer representing Waste Management -was present to answer questions. Chair Scott opened the public hearing. Stephen Rohlf, 11282 188 Avenue, Elk River -stated he was in favor of the expansion. He stated he had 22 years experience working for the City of Elk River, and worked closely with Waste Management for 10 years. He stated that not all garbage can or should be burned and it needs to go somewhere. He stated that Elk River Landfill voluntarily subjected themselves to be regulated by the city. He explained that the city understood the capacity of the current landfill was 30 - 50 years. He noted rh,~e the landfill gas-to-energy project was awarded the 1998 U.S. Environmental Protection :\gency Project of the Year. Mr. Rohlf stated that apre-existing landfill contamination problrn~ wok over a decade to figure out and it was found the contamination «-as moving toward Rice Lake, and that Waste Management has been doing the clean up, even though they were not responsible for the contamination. Mr. Rohlf stated that he did not want to see his garbage going to an inferior landfill. He also did not agree with statements made by the City's EconomicDevelopment Director in her memo dated June 4, 2009. He stated that as a taxpayer, he would not want to see a loss of $.5 million in revenue to the city through surcharge fees. He stated that the city would have to cut services or personnel. Gary Saur, Tiller Corporation -stated he questioned the process used to make the assumptions stated in the HKGi report, and felt they were highly unrealistic. He stated that he is very aware of cnd use planning. He stated that Tiller began mining in the Maple Grove area in 1940 and they began planning the Arbor Lakes area in the 1980's. He stated that development began in the 1990's and that less than one-third of the property has been developed.. He stated that the end: use plannuig was a cooperative effort of the owners, citizens and city officials. Mr. Sauer stated that HhGi's studies are wrong in stating that the gravel mining will be completed in 2030. He stated that if the landfill expansion does not move forward, Tiller will not start mining in dic ctpansion area for 40 years. It would take approximately 20 years to mine out the reserves, so it will be approximately 60 years or more before the property would be reads for development. He stated he felt the city's consultant's projections were fabricated for shock value. Mr. Saurer stated that there a number of vendors that have jobs depending upon the project. He stated that the process in Maple Grove was very open, but that has not been the case here. He stated that it would have been nice to be asked what their plans were. He stated he felt that staff wants to move in a particular direction. Bruce Weaver, 13625 320~h Avenue (Livonia Township) - he supports the project as a supervisor of a small business that depends on Waste Management. He stated that there would be a significant. impact to many small businesses if the expansion is not approved. Shane Steinbrecks - He has operated a small roll-off business for 15 year. He stated that landfill staff helps sort out various materials