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Gravel pit traffic raises complaints

by Lynn BurtonPost Independent Staff

The Garfield County Commissioners will hold a public hearing Aug. 4 to consider whether LaFarge is violating its Mamm Creek gravel pit permit.The commissioners scheduled the hearing Monday, after Dan and Doug Grant complained LaFarge has exceeded the maximum number of trips allowed in and out of the pit.The Grant brothers operate a gravel pit in Garfield County, and protested the Mamm Creek pit’s permit approval earlier this year.LaFarge operations manager Rod Johnson disputed the Grants’ claim that traffic in and out of the Mamm Creek gravel pit has exceeded 200 average daily trips (ADT).”It’s all based on hearsay information,” Johnson told the commissioners.The Grants hired planner Eric McCafferty to make the counts. McCafferty said during a four hour period, the average daily trip number was as high as 800. “If this was a condition of a building permit, it would have been shut down,” McCafferty said.In a letter to the county, David McConaughy, an attorney for LaFarge, said the term “200 ADT needs to be interpreted in the context of the Colorado Highway Access Code.”Scott Clark, an attorney for the Grants, cited Colorado Department of Transportation documents, and said “average daily trips” is based on vehicle length, and one tandem truck entrance into the pit would equal three trips.The gravel pit is located on the north side of Interstate 70 at the Mamm Creek interchange.The Colorado Department of Transportation also alleges LaFarge has not upgraded the I-70 frontage road as it agreed to in its highway access permit. Eric Smith, the area access manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation, told the commissioners LaFarge has until July 18 to respond to the state’s complaints.Johnson said LaFarge is been working “diligently” to uphold its end of the frontage road agreement. Part of the problem Johnson said, is the state asked LaFarge to delay paving the road until the state started another paving project nearby.In other action at Monday’s county commissioner meeting:-The commissioners approved a special use permit to Capital Construction that allows a warehouse, parking and an office at 0566 County Road 113;-The commissioners agreed to close county offices for the county employee appreciation picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 14;-Sheriff Lou Vallario told the commissioners he hopes to have an animal control officer in place in August;-The commissioners approved a contract with BFI to recycle paper at the Garfield County Courthouse, Courthouse Plaza, the Mountain View Building, the detention center, and the road and bridge facility in Rifle. The recycling service is included in a $17,000 waste pickup contract that extends from July 8 until Dec. 31.-The commissioners authorized airport manager Brian Condie to begin negotiations with Olsson Associates to become the county’s principal airport consultant. Armstrong Consultants was the other applicant. A memo from Condie said Olsson received 256 points out of a possible 300 from the county’s selection committee, and Armstrong received 251 points. “The innovation and forward thinking of Olsson set them apart,” Condie’s memo said.Contact Lynn Burton: 945-8515, ext. 534lburton@postindependent.com


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