By Dave Allison
Residents who are members of Joliet’s East Side Council are up in arms over the proposed plan to resume blasting at the nearby rock quarry at Vulcan Construction Materials. There concern is that they are not getting enough information. The city council tabled a vote on parcels to be used by P.T. Ferro Construction Co. to allow aggregate explosive assisting blasting. Vulcan currently uses Hydraulic crushing. The residents fear that renewed blasting will have a negative impact on their quality of life.
“Ever since we found out it was on the City Council agenda last December, they’ve been putting off having a public meeting,” said Betsy Satcher, President of the East Side Neighborhood Council.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen. Every time we go to a city council meeting, they table the issue,” she said. The next time it’s scheduled to be on the agenda is April 18th.
“We don’t know why they’re waiting until after the April 4th election to talk about this,” Boise Walker, another concerned resident said. “It’s as if they’re putting political considerations ahead of the will of the people. “Our residents are very concerned about this plan, and we want to know some answers.”
Immediate concerns are the noise from explosive blasting and the sirens that precede it. “Why haven’t they learned from past experience,” said Megan Cooper, resident.
The community does not want to repeat past problems they have experienced as a result of blasting and damage that can be caused by tremors from the blasts. “Many of the residents of the east side are on wells, and the tremors could change the water table.” Many also fear that the ground disturbance could cause damage to the foundation and structure of their homes and reduce their property values,” said Cooper
“There are a lot of things that the people who live there have to consider that the city just doesn’t seem to care about,” Cooper said.
So far, the residents have not heard anything concrete from either city officials or the construction company about proposals that could be put forth.
“We’d like to start getting some answers immediately and not wait until after the election. That’s what has happened in past projects that have impacted the East Side. By the time they tell us anything, it’s too late to do anything about it.”
The Times Weekly called for response to Joliet City Manager, Vulcan Construction Materials and Councilman Terry Morris but had not received response before press time. This is a developing story.
So far, there has been no response from City Manager Jim Capparelli or Vulcan Construction Materials on this issue.
