Town of Colfax asks Town of Howard for intergovernmental agreement on sand mines

By LeAnn R. Ralph

TOWN OF HOWARD  — Representatives for the Town of Colfax Plan Commission have asked the Howard Town Board to enter into an intergovernmental agreement to extend Howard’s mining ordinance to cover the Town of Colfax.

The Town of Colfax also would be willing to cover the Town of Howard with the Town of Colfax’s nonmetallic mining ordinance, said Johnne Smalley, representing the Town of Colfax Plan Commission, at the Howard Town Board’s May 2 meeting.

The Town of Colfax Plan Commission is in the process of updating the comprehensive land use plan and will be holding a public hearing at the end of the month, Smalley said.

The Town of Colfax’s mining ordinance covers the testing of water wells, mapping and notification, she noted.

If the two townships could come to an agreement, then neither township would have change the town’s ordinance, Smalley said.

Dennis Dvoracek, Howard town board supervisor, pointed out that the two ordinances were different and said he was not sure how would one would impact the other.

Dunn County also has a very strong nonmetallic mining ordinance, said Vernon Schindler, Howard town chair.

The Howard Town Board is meeting in closed session with the town’s attorney May 10 about the proposed sand mine, Schindler said.

During the May 10 meeting, the Howard Town Board could also ask the attorney about the possibility of an intergovernmental agreement with the Town of Colfax, he said.

The Town of Colfax ordinance extends two miles for well testing while the Howard ordinance only protects adjacent property owners, said Ron Koshoshek, the Town of Howard’s mining consultant.

One person in the audience wondered if residents in the Town of Colfax could be protected by the Town of Howard’s developer’s agreement.

Although no one mentioned any specifics, presumably the Town of Colfax is asking for protections for Town of Colfax residents because of the proposed 1,300-acre Albertville Valley sand mine in the Town of Howard.

The Howard Town Board does not yet have a developer’s agreement for the Albertville Valley mine.

“Anything we could get them to agree to we would do,” Koshoshek said.

Blasting notifications would be desirable as well, Smalley said.

Koshoshek said he was nervous about what the Town of Colfax requires in the ordinance, such as property value guarantees, and how that would affect the Town of Howard’s ability to enforce its own ordinance and negotiate a developer’s agreement.

The challenge will be to protect citizens within the Howard ordinance without exceeding the intergovernmental agreement, Koshoshek said.

Much will depend upon the attorney’s opinion, he said, adding that it might be possible to protect Town of Colfax residents through negotiations.

One member of the audience wondered if it would be possible for the Red Flint Group to extend the Albertville Valley sand mine into the Town of Colfax.

Several people noted that Red Flint would be subject to Dunn County’s nonmetallic mining ordinance if the mine were to extend across the county line.

Loss of home value would be very difficult to put into an ordinance, but the loss of home value can be negotiated in a developer’s agreement, Koshoshek said.

The loss of property value is 50 percent with a quarter of a mile from a sand mine. Property value is decreased up to three miles out from a sand mine, although the impact is less when the property is farther from the mine, he said.

Schindler said the Howard Town Board would ask about the possibility of an intergovernmental agreement during the May 10 meeting with the attorney.

Because the meeting will be in closed session, residents in the Town of Colfax may not hear anything about the intergovernmental agreement for a while, he said.

Kathy Stahl, Town of Colfax resident, said she appreciated that the Howard Town Board was willing to consider an intergovernmental agreement and also willing to speak with their attorney about it.