"We will fight ... night and day..."

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By Marjorie Lloyd

The Gallatin News
Thursday, July 7, 2011 

"We’re proud of this community; we’re proud of this land. And I want you to take this message back to Mr. Hoover: We will take this fight. We will fight, we will fight ... we will go night and day. We will not give up.  You have stepped onto a hornet’s nest here."

        –Tom Neal     

Tom Neal ended the open meeting at The Bethel Brown Chamber of the County Administration Building last Thursday night with his spur-of-the-moment remarks (above) in response to all that he had heard during the question-and-answer session hosted by representatives from Hoover, Inc.

The company plans to mine a quarry on more than 350 acres of land in the Castalian Springs area, dependent upon approval of a “conditional use permit” by the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals.  That hearing is scheduled for July 14, at 6 p.m., again at the Brown Chamber of the CAB.

There was standing-room only, with people lining the walls and another line extending into the lobby, even a few sitting on the floor. The occasion was the open meeting hosted by Tom White, the attorney for Hoover Inc., “the company behind the company” created in April, Western Farm Products, LLC in order to purchase four parcels of land off Old Highway 25 in Castalian Springs. (See “Quarry buys land in Castalian Springs” in the June 15 edition of The Gallatin Newspaper.)

White stated at the beginning of the meeting that this was a “voluntary” meeting that Hoover, Inc. was hosting and that even though they “disagreed on many things,” at least the company was attempting to keep the residents informed about exactly what they were proposing for the site.

Also in attendance at the meeting were Sumner County residents that do not live in the Castalian Springs area, including Paige Brown Strong and Mike Akins, county commissioners, and John Isbell, the county’s Assessor of Property.

“I’m always interested in anything that affects the value of property,” said Isbell in a later interview.

Observing from their regular commission seats were David Satterfield and Steve Graves, commissioners from District 3, the one that includes Castalian Springs.

Both Satterfield and Graves commented during the meeting, Graves noting that the residents felt “blind-sided” by the quarry’s plans.

“We haven’t had very much time to get organized and try to get he word spread,” said Neal after White’s introduction. “As Tom mentioned, we are on a short cycle. We do appreciate this opportunity to put out our point of view. We thank you for that. We want to be civil.”

Neal explained to those attending that as many as possible would be allowed to stand in line to ask questions and that those who did not have the opportunity to present their concerns could sign a sheet on the podium in the front and they would have the opportunity to speak at the appeals hearing on July 14.

“We have some pretty bright people out there,” said Neal when he opened the floor for the public’s questions.

Clay Haynes, representing the family that sold the 350-acre farm to Western Farm Products, stated that the sellers were unaware this represented a quarry and that no permission for pre-sale core-drilling was requested.

During the brief Power Point presentation about the proposed quarry site, members of the audience let their impatience with the descriptions begin to emerge. At one point, Allyson Simons, who lives on Corum Hill Road directly across from the proposed quarry site, voiced a question about the visibility screens the company representatives stated would be put in place, showing only a white box over parts of photographs of the site.

“What’s that?” she asked.

The Hoover representative stated, “We haven’t set specifically what we would use for screening.” However, he did mention evergreen plants, berms and possible fencing.

During the open forum most people were concerned with noise pollution and air pollution. One resident stated that his profession was sound recording and asked if all his work would have the underlying sound of blasting and truck traffic.

Two mothers spoke eloquently about the health of their children, both with severe respiratory problems and one with cystic fibrosis.

Others questioned the details of when and how many trucks would be driving Highway 25 on a daily basis and how loud the noise of the plants and rock-crushing would be.

“The sound will be reflected up rather than directly out,” said a company  representative, who also promised “improvements” to Highway 25 including turn lanes, but it was unclear whether the company or the Tennessee Department of Transportation would be responsible for the cost.

Other information disclosed was a statement that the hours of operation would be 6:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, and 6:30 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and that the cement and asphalt plants would be leased out.

The representatives also stated that pre-blasting surveys of homes within 1,000 feet of the quarry would be done prior to blasting. One of the questions stated by a member of the audience inquired whether the measurement of 1,000 feet began from the site of the quarry or the boundary of the property.

“Our initial calculation is that it is 14 structures,” said White. As for the historic sites, White stated, “We are committed that those will (have) pre-blast testing as well.”

He mentioned that Summit Hospital in Davidson County has “operated in excess of 15 years” next to a quarry with no problems. He also stated that a quarry on McCrory Lane in Nashville, which has been inactive for several years, has never created issues.

At the conclusion of the public’s forum, Neal returned to the question of the fate of the historic sites in the area.

“No one made any investigation of the historic sites.”

“It’s more than the Bates House, it’s more than just Wynnewood, it’s a whole community of historic places. My question is, did anybody contact the Bledsoe Historical Association? Did anybody contact the state historical association? Did anybody contact Walter Durham, who has written four or five books about the area? Did anybody contact the Castalian Springs Community Club?” 

White answered every question with, “Not to my knowledge.”

“So where did your information come from?” asked Neal.

White insisted that they showed the historic sites recognized by the state.

Despite the fact that Castalains Springs is unincorporated, Neal stated, “We are a community, We fought the Indians ... and won.”

And then followed with his declaration of the fight to come.

One man told the Hoover representatives that his brain was “larger than a pea.” His statement appeared to express the sentiments of everyone in the audience.

To view a video of the entire meeting, visit savecastaliansprings.blogspot.com.

To express your opposition to the quarry and the cement and asphalt plants, contact the following people:

Members of the Board of Zoning Appeals: Mark McKee, Jr. - Chairman - 452-4020, who is a resident of Castalian Springs; Bruce Rainey - Vice-Chairman - 822-0012; Sandy Webster - 452-6131; Don Dickerson - 826-3214; Richard Jones - 230-0506 Ext. 4; Marsh Ragland - 887-6970

The two county commissioners from District 3 are David Satterfield - 452-616 - and Steve Graves - 330-0688.