Letter to the Editor: Quandahl Quarry, Wiltgen Construction and Neighbors

Claire & Julie Askleson of Canoe Valley Road have e-mailed this Letter to the Editor:

Please let it be known that not all residents of the Canoe Valley region and neighbors to the Quandahl quarry operated by Wiltgen Construction are naysayers of the operation.  

The owners of 3046 Middle Hesper Road believe many of the stipulations rendered upon Wiltgen Construction in regards to Quandahl Quarry are unreasonable.  It is not that we are unconcerned about the environment nor the Canoe Valley neighborhood but it is some of the reasoning by others voicing concerns that baffles us.  

We have heard that the population in the Canoe Valley area has increased in recent years.  It has indeed; and with every new family that has new construction or purchased an existing residence, at least one if not both adults work in town.  Commuters travelling to town via a gravel road, on a daily basis, increase traffic load and contribute to the dust…not Wiltgen's fault but a personal choice.  

We have heard that children have no choice in the air that they breathe; true, but if parents make the personal choice to move their family to a rural residence then parents are responsible…not Wiltgen.  

We have heard that the agricultural landscape of the Canoe Valley neighborhood has changed, which is also true and has in all likelihood allowed some of the residents to construct new homes in former livestock pastures…Wiltgen isn't responsible for the ag changes.  

We have heard that the noise from the quarry is bothersome, quite possibly the neighbor heard the back-up alarm on the rented skid-loader used in our new construction and various projects (the neighbor's property is farther from the quarry than ours and we haven't heard quarry noise)…might not be Wiltgen's fault but ours.
 
We have heard that increased hours on Saturdays and/or holidays will diminish the quality of life in the Valley but just maybe the increased population with daily trips to town does the same for those of us who have had land in the area longer (20+yrs) than the citizens complaining…don't see that as Wiltgen's fault either. On Saturday, June 14th Wiltgen Construction delivered rock to 3046 Middle Hesper Road, (from another quarry that does not carry the same stipulations and therefore can travel any non-embargoed road at any time) and probably no one noticed…our fault for having a project that needed rock and Saturday was the day we could work on it, not Wiltgen's.  

By no means do we feel our neighbors concerns are frivolous but our concerns are just as important to us. In our opinion, it is not fair to Wiltgen Construction to be limited in their operation of a quarry when 1 mile north is another sand quarry with none of the same restrictions.  The Drackley Sand Quarry provides similar sand to Quandahl Quarry and yet BRP traffic runs Canoe Valley and Middle Hesper Roads with frequency. You cannot blame Wiltgen Construction for the competition's dust, nor the dust kicked up by the UPS  truck, North Winn school busses, farm implements, postal delivery, pick-ups with livestock trailers, 4-wheelers along with typical traffic.

It seems dust from truck traffic is of major concern for citizens voicing complaints about Wiltgen's operation in the Quandahl Quarry.  Our property is at the intersection of Canoe Valley Road and Middle Hesper Road.  We have more gravel road frontage than 3 or 4 of the concerned citizens combined, and we are not complaining about the dust.  Instead, we exercise the option that every one of the concerned residents can choose to do to improve the quality of their lives.  We visit the county engineer's office and request a permit to apply dust control on our gravel road frontage.  The Winneshiek County road department inspects and grades the road, the engineer's office gives notification of approval and then we apply dust control. Dust control helps reduce dust in the air near a residence and contributes to the safety of our neighbors whether in a vehicle, on foot or driving a carriage. Dust control benefits everyone and everyone can choose the option as a personal responsibility for choosing to live on a gravel road.
 
We believe that if you make the personal choice to live in a rural area, on a gravel road, then you bear the responsibility of accepting the conditions of rural life. Dust on a gravel road is created by everyone who uses the road and it just does not seem right to single out one business as the source of all dust on the Canoe Valley and Middle Hesper Roads. It isn't just Wiltgen's fault.

We encourage the Board of Supervisors to approve the recommendation by the Planning and Zoning  Commission.