City planning commission gives its nod to Wolverine
In an 8 to 1 vote on Monday evening, the Rogers City Planning Commission approved the site plan presented in an application submitted by Wolverine Power Cooperative. DUE TO how the proposed coal-fired power plant is laid out, the city was requested to approve only structures that would lie within the city limits, including a dock, an offload fuel storage area, and a conveyor system. The application also cited an access road, which would be located off of Business Route US-23, just north of the bridge and across from Gilpin Field. Wolverine Power environmental services supervisor Brian Warner said the approval from the city planning commission was one important step in the process of obtaining local approval.
?We will need these approvals before we can move forward,? said Warner. He stated the application Wolverine submitted was very consistent with present zoning regulations, and that Wolverine was ?respectfully requesting approval? with the site plan review. Most of the members of the city Planning Commission agreed the land use Wolverine was requesting was similar to how the land has been used in years past.
?IF MY history is correct, we?ve had a dock, a coal pile, conveyor systems, and roads at what is now O-N Minerals for at least 95 years,? said Mayor Beach Hall. ?(The layout) is no different from what you?re proposing, and what has been there for many years ? it is a land use that has been there forever.? Planning Commission member Al Meyer agreed with Hall, and added that he believed coal had been used in Calcite through the 1970s. Del Conley said he believed the extensive permitting process Wolverine would have to submit to would take care of all concerns; however, city councilwoman and planning commission member Deb Greene was not so sure. ?Once we say ok to this, is that it? Will we never see you again?? asked Greene. She expressed she was uneasy about approving the site plan without being given details on the proposed structures. ?We usually get drawings of details with a site plan,? said Greene. ?I don?t know if I have enough information.?
DUE TO the lack of information Greene would have liked to have been given, she offered the only no vote toward the site plan review. She said she was supportive of the proposed project, but felt the plan was very vague. Warner was not able to give numbers on how tall the structures would be, although he believed the hopper system near the storage facility would be no more than 135 feet high. He also was unable to answer whether the conveyor system would be covered.
Greene had further concerns with wording in the application, which stated Wolverine would leave the surrounding area in its ?natural state.? She wondered how this should be translated. She asked if Wolverine would be returning the land to its wooded natural state, or maintain it as the present ?moon-like? appearance. Warner and Wade Trim consulting engineer Craig Seger said Wolverine is planning to maintain the surrounding land as similar to its present appearance as possible. ?It will be consistent with an industrial area,? said Seger. ?Wolverine is very good at housekeeping, and they take care of their
GREENE ALSO voiced concern over whether fly ash would contaminate ground- water. ?It?s very important to us that our groundwater is not contaminated,? said Greene. Warner answered Greene by adding that the contamination is also a concern to Wolverine. ?It?s very important to Wolverine, as well,? said Warner. City manager John Bruning said he received a letter stating the plan submitted thus far will not be a problem regarding air control. He added that the machinery Wolverine has included in the site plan is consistent with equipment that is currently located at the quarry site.
?It is all consistent with industrial machinery, and I don?t see any concerns,? said Bruning. Warner said the proposed power plant would be an important factor in the economy for the community, and he thanked the Planning Commission for their consideration and approval.