Rutland Herald

Danby group fights quarry

August 7, 2000
By SANDI SWITZER Herald Correspondent

DANBY - A vocal group of citizens urged the Select Board on Thursday to oppose a proposed quarry operation for the Danby Four Corners region.

A standing-room-only crowd of more than 40 people packed the town clerk's office to meet with officials at the board's monthly meeting.

Some questioned why the town had not taken a stance on OMYA Inc.'s proposal to begin mining operations at the Jobe Phillips property. Others urged the town to become more proactive like the neighboring communities of Tinmouth and Wallingford.

"Why are we waiting to oppose this? All the facts prove it will not benefit the town, it will ruin roads, won't supply many jobs if any at all, won't create a good tax base, and it will divide the town by pitting neighbor against neighbor," Wayne Keefe said in a prepared statement.

Selectman Kenneth Bushee agreed the quarry project could divide the community, but added that Danby historically has been a mining town.

"I understand how you feel but I also understand how others feel as far as jobs are concerned and as far as the tax base is concerned," he said.

Months ago, town officials appointed a research committee in order to come up with a list of firms and associated costs of exploring the project's impacts on the town.

The committee recently reported that nearly 50 businesses were contacted and only one responded with a cost estimate.

A group spokesman said Thursday the committee contacted several of the businesses again, and additional estimates are expected.

Also at Thursday's meeting, Donna Herrick submitted a petition signed by over 100 town voters and taxpayers demanding that "the Danby Select Board oppose OMYA's proposed open pit calcium mine on Dutch Hill in Danby Four Corners."

Several people suggested the proposed OMYA operation was different from other mining activities in town.

"This is a completely different animal in all respects. It's a strip mine, an open pit mine," Robert Easton said.

Karl Droge added that his Colvin Hill Road home was on the market, and every prospect the realtor brought to the property mentioned the OMYA proposal.

Others said people were purchasing homes in the area without being informed of the project which, they said, would affect the grand list and reduce property values.

"The town leaders should get the picture that a lot of people will be hurt by this," Droge said.

However, lister Bradley Bender disputed those claims in an interview on Friday.

Bender said 38 parcels were sold in Danby from last August through early May, and every property sold for more than the listed value.

Parcels included one inn, two commercial properties, one timberland, 13 open parcels, and the rest were year-round residences, he said.

Bender also argued that project opponents were wrong to refer to OMYA's proposal as a strip mine operation.

"It is not a strip mine, it's a quarry that's going in and down," he said. "The marble deposit that they're after is a three-fold layer. It's not going up to the Tinmouth line, and it's not going to go down toward Danby Four Corners. It's one opening and then it goes down from that point."

The Select Board has set up a special meeting with OMYA officials to provide townspeople with more information on the project. The meeting has been scheduled for Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Danby Four Corners Town Hall.

As for the citizens' petition, Select Board Chairwoman Margo Stone said the town would not take an official position on the issue until they had heard from residents through a townwide vote. That would likely coincide with the General Election in November.

"The Select Board has always done what the people have asked us to do," she said.