Petitioners granted 60-day extension in quarry rezone

Originally discussed in August, a proposed rezone of about 200 acres in Warren Township now be considered in November.

During a special meeting Tuesday, the Putnam County Commissioners granted a 60-day extension in the matter to Eric Hayman of Hayman Holdings in the request to rezone the land from agricultural conservation (A1) to natural resources (NR).

The Commissioners will next consider the matter at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 20. The meeting is tentatively set to take place in the Commissioners Room on the first floor of the Putnam County Courthouse. However, considering that room was filled to capacity on Tuesday morning, alternate locations are being considered.

Hayman, along with proposed quarry operators Greg Gould and Dana Boyd, said little during the 10-minute meeting, other than saying they were requesting the extension.

Attorney Eddie Felling, who is representing the neighbors opposed to the new quarry, offered a bit more.

“All of these folks have taken time out of their day, so these three businessmen are trying to dictate the lives of all these people,” Felling said.

Looking around the room, about three dozen citizens were in attendance, all of them apparently in opposition.

Felling acknowledged that he made the original request for extension, but failed to understand why an extension was being requested by the people who were ready for a decision to be made a month ago.

The attorney also expressed his displeasure with not knowing about the requested extension until word got around after it was brought up at the regular Commissioners meeting on Monday.

“We asked for an extension at your last meeting, and that was graciously approved by the Commissioners,” Felling said. “Obviously, we had the courtesy of reaching out with plenty of notice to these three businessmen and let them know that we’d be making that request.

“I think what’s disappointing is I just found out about this request yesterday,” he continued. “All these folks in here work, have families, have jobs — it’s 9 o’clock in the morning on a Tuesday. They’re still here. I know there’s a few of them we were able to get the word out to so that they could go to work today.”

Commissioner President David Berry also acknowledged that he did not know about the request until Monday morning when fellow Commissioner Rick Woodall shared that he had received a call from one of the petitioners on Friday.

Acknowledging that an extension was almost certain, Felling asked that it not take place in the middle of the work day.

“I would ask that as a courtesy to these folks, we consider doing this in the evening. We’re going to have some extra people here as well,” Felling said. “We don’t want to inconvenience the commissioners, but I do know we might need some extra space, so I’d ask that we do it in the evening so we might facilitate that.”

Berry acknowledged this as a “valid point,” and said he had thought the same thing about meeting time.

“In all fairness, we’ve granted one side an extension, I feel like we should do it for the other side,” Berry said. “I don’t like the late notice, as you’ve addressed. But like I said, our job is to be fair. We granted it to one side, I think we should do it for the other.

“I do want to add that you’re absolutely right — the next time we do this, I want to do it of an evening. I was going to bring that up anyhow.”

Berry made the motion to grant the extension and set the meeting time and date, which was agreed to by Woodall and Commissioner Tom Helmer.

Even with the change in venue, some in the crowd were unhappy with the result, asking what the petitioners had done with the last 30 days and what might happen over the next 60.

At issue is whether the land situated at the corner of County Road 700 South and 75 East should be rezoned to make way for a new limestone quarry.

Area residents are adamantly in opposition to the request, noting that existing quarries in the area have already had adverse effects on their homes, their land and even their health.

While quarries already operating in the area seem to set a precedent, area residents are asking how much is too much when it comes to their quality of life.

Woodall, who is one of the three members of the Plan Commission who was opposed to offering no recommendation, has also expressed concerns about the safety and the long-term sustainability of county roads in the area if thousands of dump trucks and semis begin traveling down the roads. All other quarries in the area are on or very close to state and U.S. highways.

At this point, such questions will wait until November. The Banner Graphic will share notification of any venue changes.