Reality Check: The Misrepresentation In Rural America Against Private Interests

 
Screen Shot 2021-04-05 at 5.48.24 PM.png

Written by Allyson Konz, Art Director, and photographed by Crystal Potter

“You need a reality check.” 

I sat stunned and silenced. In a room stuffed with over a hundred people, the air was hot and thick with disbelief. My stomach dropped as a geologist hired by Asphalt Contractors continued to speak to the residents of Spring Prairie, Wisconsin as if they were clueless and naive. 

In June of 2019, Asphalt Contractors proposed a plan to build a gravel pit site directly across the street from my house. My parents—who have lived in Spring Prairie for the past 25 years—were immediately upset. 

When they first moved here, they had an acre of land and an old Buick to their name. They were determined to build their own house, and I grew up hearing the different stories—they called friends to help put electrical in, installed drywall into the early hours of the morning with my grandpa and planted as many trees as they could in their yard. They built a life on that acre of land, nestled between two intersecting highways, and welcomed me into it. 

They (like many other residents) moved to this township because it was peaceful and quiet, a mix between agricultural land and woodlands. Even if left unsaid, there has always been a spirit of community in Spring Prairie. As described by Spring Prairie’s town website, “There are no major retail or manufacturing businesses in the Town, which functions primarily as an agriculture-based, rural residential community” (Spring Prairie Website, 2020). This has been the way Spring Prairie has been for generations.

After the news broke about the gravel pit, many residents united under the slogan “No Pit in the Prairie,” and began building yard signs to display their opposition. Residents were worried that the pit would bring sound pollution, increased traffic and decreased property values to the community. 

Residents have also used platforms such as Change.org and Facebook to share their messages of concern and opposition to the pit. According to a petition on Change.org, over 700 people have signed stating that they are against the gravel pit in Spring Prairie (Change.org, 2020). Over 60 homes are located within a half-mile of the proposed gravel pit. 

I’ve quickly discovered that Spring Prairie is no stranger to backyard politics. The land proposed to be rented out to Asphalt Contractors belongs to the Fredrich Farms. Don Fredrich, owner of Fredrich Farm (and consequently, my neighbor) is also on the Planning and Zoning Committee—the board that would be determining whether or not to approve the gravel pit and sending it to the town board for a final vote. While Fredrich abstained from voting and acknowledged the conflict of interest, his friends—who have been on the committee with him for years—were still voting.

The proposed gravel pit will go on my neighbor’s land, which is disruptive to the 60+ homes within a half-mile of the pit. Asphalt Contractors, the company seeking to rent this land, is proposing that the project runs for 20 years, with the option to renew the contract for another 20 years after. The proposed pit would operate from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 6 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

The contractors representing the company at this town hall, however, dismissed any worries about sound pollution, increased traffic, environmental degradation and decreases in property value, stating that the mine would not adversely affect the community in any way. They even went as far as implying that the residents were foolish and incompetent for having those fears in the first place. 

There is an increased need for gravel pits in Southeastern Wisconsin. This is due to the Foxconn development in Mount Pleasant (Wisconsin Public Radio, 2019). Gravel pits—such as the one proposed to go in Spring Prairie—will be used to meet this increasing demand. 

So, not only will the gravel not be used internally, but no one from the company (or on the council) could give a sufficient answer on how the gravel pit would benefit the community. 

The Planning and Zoning Meeting went as follows: the meeting began at 6:30 p.m. with the introduction and presentation of the rezoning plans for the proposed gravel pit (the land needed to be rezoned so Asphalt Contractors could mine on it). Following the presentation, the floor was open for public comments and concerns. Each resident could only speak for two minutes due to the volume of people; this was also their only opportunity to speak during the meeting. Then, the members of the council would raise any questions they had for Asphalt Contractors to answer. Finally, the council would vote on whether or not the rezoning of the pit would be approved and sent to the Town Board.

The meeting lasted over three hours. 

The geologist continued speaking to the audience about their lack of reality. 

 “I wish they could add another hour to school to teach the four R’s,” he said. A sense of reality—the fourth R—was what the geologist believed the residents of Spring Prairie lacked. That way, he added, there won’t be a room full of people in a Town Hall in the future. 

The men who proposed the gravel pit plan were rude, dismissive and talked down to the people of Spring Prairie. While the owner spoke to the company’s donation efforts and excitement to be a tenant in the Spring Prairie community, it was clear what the contractors on his team actually thought about the residents: naive and incompetent. 

The real reality check, for my family and all the others affected by the proposal, lies not in the counterarguments provided by Asphalt Contractors and its team, but in the fact that private interests are out-crowding the voices of the residents of Spring Prairie. 

While Asphalt Contractors reassured the audience that property value would not be adversely affected due to the gravel pit, I would like to make the case that it doesn’t matter. The reality is, we, as residents of Spring Prairie, believe that there will be damage to our property values. 

Who’s to say, then, when residents begin to sell their houses, that potential buyers won’t feel the same way? Or have the same fears? Asphalt Contractors, or my neighbors seeking to make money from this deal, will not be the ones reassuring potential buyers that everything will be okay. Instead, it will be the residents, the people who strongly oppose this gravel pit.

I don’t believe it’s unreasonable or irrational for the people of Spring Prairie to weigh their personal and collective costs against the personal benefits of my neighbors, his friends and the company seeking to mine in this community. 

It is clear from first glance, besides the select few people who will benefit from this pit, the residents of Spring Prairie are adamantly against this pit. Nevertheless, after three hours of residents waiting, voicing their concerns and essentially being mocked by the men in the front of the room, the council voted 3-2 in favor of the rezoning (Spring Prairie Website, 2020).

The final vote to approve the gravel pit will be on February 10, 2020. Of course, I, among the many people against this pit, will travel to the Spring Prairie Town Hall to demonstrate our opposition to the gravel pit. 

I have never felt so helpless and hurt. Maybe it’s because my neighbors—people I once would have called close friends—are selling our community out to a private business. Maybe it’s because this feels like a microcosm of an overwhelmingly disappointing political atmosphere where big-money interests outweigh the best interests of a community and its shared values. 

However, for now, I can only hope our elected officials vote in favor of the residents’ wishes to keep Spring Prairie as a rural, agricultural and peaceful community.

Sources:

 
Latest, CultureModa MagazineAllyson Konz, Culture