Mine eyed in town of Scandinavia
By Holly Neumann
A decision to grant a conditional use permit for a proposed nonmetallic mine near Iola has been postponed again.
The Waupaca County Planning and Zoning Committee held a public hearing Dec. 5 on the proposal by Faulks Brothers Construction Inc. of Waupaca for the mine, which would be held on Iola Car Show grounds in the town of Scandinavia.
Attendees were allowed to speak for three minutes on topics other than what was on the agenda.
Many spoke on Act 67 and mining development and were asked to stop, while others called out committee chair Jim Nygaard and wanted statements made by him at a previous meeting corrected.
Helene Pohl spoke about the town of Scandinavia’s comprehensive plan.
“I have worked on this plan in 1978 and again in 2004 and I hope to be working on it again in 2030,” she said. “If the county approves this permit after the township of Scandinavia has emphatically said that it is not in compliance with their town comprehensive plan, this will not only undercut Scandinavia’s power to regulate themselves, but it will also undercut every comprehensive plan in the county and even in the entire state.”
Pohl questioned what township in Waupaca County would ever take the time, effort and money to update its comprehensive plan when they know that the county can just go around them.
“If Waupaca can do it, what is to prevent any other county in the state from seeing this example and doing it themselves?” she asked. “This is a slippery slope that the Planning and Zoning Committee is going down and it could affect every county going forward and not in a good way.
“For what?” she said. “Twenty-one acres of gravel in a town that doesn’t want it. Follow the law, follow your own county ordinances and understand this permit does not pass the legal test of County Ordinance Chapter 34.”
Nygaard said the committee has the guidelines of Act 67.
“We have to weigh what we hear on one side over the other,” he said. “Who has the facts? Who has the information that is not backed up or is it old information that may have changed?”
Committee member Cindy Hardy questioned if there needed to be a vote that day.
“I don’t know if you are looking for a vote today, but I don’t feel comfortable with a vote with one of our board missing,” she said. “This would give us time to look into what was presented by the public.
”
Waupaca County Corporation Counsel Diane Meulemans said public testimony was already concluded at a prior meeting.
“This isn’t sworn testimony,” Nygaard said. “We are only obligated to go by what was done under sworn testimony.”
“Chairman Nygaard was trying to control public comments to keep it away from items on the agenda, which is specifically Faulks and the Iola Car Show CUP,” Meulemans said. “You saw how difficult that was today. You are only supposed to consider what you saw at the on-site inspection and what comes in as evidence and testimony during the public hearing process. We have to respect the deliberative process that we are under. We have to have the evidence and testimony come in, close and then deliberate.”
Meulemans said there were people representing Faulks Brothers at the hearing.
“They did not speak on anything on their terms or application criteria, nor did they rebut anything that was coming forward,” she said.
Committee vice chair DuWayne Federwitz said these situations are never easy.
“We have to try to do what is best,” he said.
Hardy later made a motion to postpone the decision for continued deliberation, which was seconded by Wayne Wilfuer. Federwitz, Wilfuer and Hardy voted in favor of the motion; Nygaard did not vote; and Joe McClone was not present.
“I’d rather have a full board,” Hardy said. “This is a big decision and everyone should be present for the vote.”
Meulemans said due to the holidays, the earliest date the committee would be able to get together is in late January. The committee did not set a date.