ES-CA Forum Article – February, 2014
Fisher Sand & Gravel Update
Ed Majka, Political/Legal Chair, ES-CA
On Thursday, February 13, 2014 representatives of ES-CA, Chris Daul, Ed Majka and Orin Safier met with Steve Gudelj, Placitas developer and business owner, and
Dave Olson, Vice President of Fisher Sand & Gravel. Mr. Olson is a resident of Placitas.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss current and future use of the property owned by Fisher, which is adjacent to I-25 northbound; south of Rt. 165. This site has been utilized to produce gravel for sale and, as stated by Mr. Olson, has limited production value. An effort to site a temporary asphalt plant was defeated by efforts of our Community and ES-CA, working with the Sandoval County Commission.
The property was listed “For Sale”, but could not find a Buyer. Fisher Vice President, Dave Olson quoted the following (quoting here, with his permission) “Fisher will not locate an asphalt plant at this site now or in the future”. Efforts are underway to donate a portion of the property to ESCAFCA for the purpose of constructing a detention pond to
help in flood control along the west side of I-25 to minimize flood damage along South Hill Road in Bernalillo.
Fisher has been in conversations with ESCAFCA as well as Town of Bernalillo representatives. Those conversations include the possibility of the Town of Bernalillo annexing the property.
Ultimately, Fisher claims they will not operate as a mining operation, and their intent is to develop the site for light industrial, warehousing and other commercial activities.
ES-CA representatives voiced concern of Fisher not being open to public interest and community impact over the last several years. We also discussed the poor reputation of Fisher, and the number of violations at their operations in New Mexico and Arizona.
ES-CA’s position is to continue to monitor activities on the site, and attend Sandoval County and Town of Bernalillo meetings, as well as Planning and Zoning meetings to maintain a “watchful eye” on any development plans and the impact of those plans on Eastern Sandoval residents
In closing the meeting, contact information was exchanged, and ES-CA representatives requested that Fisher keep lines of communication open to build a more favorable and beneficial relationship.
Note: You can help by becoming an ES-CA watchdog, in which you would attend a public meeting and provide information to make ES-CA aware before something occurs that could/would negatively impact our Community. For further information on how you can help ES-CA in these and other efforts, please contact Ed Majka, at majkanm@msn.com or Scott Stevens, j.scott.stevens@gmail.com.