Residents Blast Quarry Over Expansion

Ideker, Inc. also owns and operates Mosby Asphalt Plant, pictured above.

In a follow-up from our reporting last Sunday in Cameron Road Residents Rocked by Plans for Quarry Expansion, there was a Public Meeting held at the Mosby City Hall on the evening of Tuesday, January 18th regarding the expansion of the Ideker, Inc.’s Mosby Rock Quarry. During that meeting, approximately thirty nearby residents took turns sharing their frustrations with the quarry owner, Ken Ideker, who was present at the meeting. Also present were representatives from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, who began the tense exchange.

Larry Lehman, Program Director for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Land Reclamation Program, spoke on behalf of the department, beginning the meeting with an explanation of their role in overseeing the project, what permits had been received by the department (providing handouts to attendees) and who the proper contact would be for various problems. He also said that the information received will be mailed to all attendees with the decision.

While going over the map (pictured above) to show the additional 26 acres that the quarry is looking to expand into, there were questions of clarification from the crowd. Lehman explained that only 20 of the 26 acres would be bonded with the state and are shown by the yellow line on the given map. The blue line shows the total property that extends another 6 acres, but those acres would not be bonded with the state for expansion to mine.

Anticipating questions regarding blasting, Lehman explained that the Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety, regulates blasting at industrial quarries. They offered a handout with information on blasting, the regulations, and contact information for those departments. This subject brought concern from the crowd with one citizen asking, “How many inspections are done while blasting is occurring, and are these inspections scheduled?” Quickly Lehman deferred questions regarding blasting to the Division of Fire Safety, explaining that if a concern was filed, it would be inspected.

Questions then centered around the distance between where the quarry could mine, the distance that could be mined from public roads and other property lines. One citizen asked if the quarry would be required to rope off the site so grandkids don’t fall in them. Another wanted them to know that they are left with dust over everything, have water runoff, and can no longer open the window anymore. These concerns didn’t elicit much in the way of answers but when asked what hours they’re allowed to start blasting, it was said that there are no standard hours of blasting.

The next concern from the group was the lack of notification in regard to the expansion and even notice of the Public Meeting. Lehman explained that an ad ran in the Excelsior Springs Standard on December 3, 10, and 25, 2021 and they met their legal obligation to give notice of the meeting.

Ken Ideker, owner of the quarry operation, addressed the crowd’s concerns and said that the company is willing to work with neighbors so their concerns are addressed and solutions can be found. He said that the company would start posting a regular blasting time on their website and Facebook page. When he said they would try not to let that happen more than once a day, he was met with heckles from the crowd. He did point out that they worked less than five weekends a year last year.

Additional concerns were shared about the damage to the roads around the quarry that are due to the heavy trucks with their loads transporting material to and fro. With a quick explanation of how the road was laid, the responsibility, said Ideker, was with the City of Excelsior Springs. One resident pointed out that the City is only responsible for one side of the road and the county the other.

Dillon Orbesen, a citizen with property directly across the street from the quarry, took it upon himself to meet with the Idekers prior to the meeting. During the meeting, he said:

I promise you, our best bet is to work with them to mitigate the damage as much as possible and they are willing to do it. I’m not their ally, I’m impacted by this as much as any of you guys…I sat with them yesterday in my living room and we talked for hours and they’re willing to do more than the minimum. And I don’t claim to represent everyone here. I’m just trying to organize the community. We are putting together a community association that can have a voice to speak with them and to actually maybe make a difference here. And have communication that is open so they can communicate blasting and make some differences in the plan.

Some of the ideas that were discussed by Ideker and Orbesen for the community association included concerns shared by neighbors in order to find solutions. Ideker is willing to plant trees to mitigate dust and noise. Trees will also help to block the quarries mounds from the road. They’re willing to notify the blasting schedule more regularly and put up a sign notifying people they cannot turn left onto the quarry property.

Lehman then explained that the Department of Natural Resources has up to six weeks from the Public Meeting to make a decision and they would send notice to all meeting attendees with the outcome. In the meantime, neighbors will be working on forming a community association so as to have better representation moving forward.