Santosh Krinsky

33719 116th Street

Twin Lakes, WI 53181

262 877 9396

santoshk@msn.com

website:  www.gravelisthepits.com

email:  info@gravelisthepits.com

GRAVEL IS THE PITS

 

THELEN SAND AND GRAVEL MINE APPLICATION AFFECTS OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

Dear Neighbor:

Thelen Sand and Gravel has formally requested the Smart Growth Committee of Randall/Twin Lakes to change the Smart Growth draft plan and the final land use maps for the area to include 450 acres of property as a Sand and Gravel Mine in the town of Randall.  They have indicated their intention to request a formal zoning change from A-1 Agricultural to MINING and request a conditional use permit to operate the mine, and have already contacted the Town of Randall Town Board and Kenosha County Planning and Zoning.

 

This property is located in the area of the current Westosha Airport (which would be eliminated) with one boundary on Highway C, another boundary on Highway F and running essentially along County DK between C and F.

 

Sand and Gravel open mining creates dust, noise, air pollution and vibration, all of which can negatively impact both our quality of life, our health and our property values.

 

If you are concerned about the impact this mine, if approved, would have on you, your family and your property, it is essential that you take action to make sure the various governmental bodies understand your concerns and take that into account in reviewing the Thelen application.

 

What You Can Do:

Sign up for Information:  call or write me and let me know you want to be kept informed.  We’ll pass along information as we find out.  If you have an email address, send me an email and I’ll be sure to include you on the email updates we’ll send out regularly.  You can also find information on our website www.gravelisthepits.com

 

Attend Smart Growth meetings and let them know your feelings and concerns:  Smart Growth meetings occur usually the first and third Wednesday of the month and are advertised in the Westosha Report and on the Board in the center of Twin Lakes.  They usually occur at Twin Lakes Town Board building at 7:00 pm.  The next one is Wednesday October 6, 2004.

 

Attend Public Meetings relating to this application:  Thelen is holding an “informational” meeting about their proposal on Wednesday September 29, 2004 between 4:00 and 7:00 pm at the Westosha Airport.  Try to be there at 4:00 if possible but show up anytime you can.

 

Make Your Voice Heard:  At Randall Town Board and Kenosha County Planning meetings about your desire to preserve the rural, low density residential characteristics of the neighborhood and your opposition to the mining proposal.

 

Sign and help circulate the petitions:  There is strength in numbers.  Join your neighbors by signing the petition and showing the elected officials how much you care.

 

Send letters to the Boards to register your concerns personally. 

 

Talk with your neighbors:  To protect our homes and our families, it will take a full-scale community effort.  Make sure that your neighbors are aware of the situation and get involved in speaking up at the right times and places so this does not just “slip through”.

 

Hold Our Elected Representatives accountable:  All our town board members run on platforms that say they support “smart growth”.  Smart growth implies that conflicting uses will be avoided and that zoning will retain the value of open space, and the peaceful, quiet and healthy nature of our community that we all value.  Planting an enormous sand and gravel mine in an area surrounded by more than 100 homes, with all its negative impacts, is NOT Smart Growth.  When the Smart Growth committee sent out a survey last year, an overwhelming percentage of the responses indicated the desire of the community to maintain the quiet, rural, low-density, peaceful nature of our community.  Do not let them get away with destroying our community and bringing this totally non-conforming activity into our midst against our will.  Let them know that we expect them to live up to the mandate they have received from all of us to PRESERVE our community and its living values.

 

Get More Information:  Send us an email or call or write to let us know the best way to provide you more information.  You can visit our website at www.gravelisthepits.com  (Gravel is the Pits)  You may also want to contact ARC (Advocates for Rural Character), P O Box 385, Twin Lakes, WI 53181 262 877 8920  email:  ruralcharacter@charter.net  and sign up for their newsletter or get involved with their process to ensure that residents and their concerns are being heard.  And of course, contact the Town of Randall Town Board and the Kenosha County Planning and Zoning Department to request information and register your concern.

 

The Fine Print:  I am writing this to you solely as a concerned resident and neighbor.  I have no vested interest in any development activities in the community, nor am I connected with any organization of group.  In particular it should be noted that a group calling itself “Concerned Citizens for Smart Growth” appears to be mostly setting forth a pro-dvelopment agenda, and I am NOT a member of that group which appears to be more concerned with making money for developers rather than preserving the characteristics of our community.