Ms. Swackhamer stated that 3 minutes would be given to those speaking in support/opposition.

Maura Hoff, DeFur Voran, appeared to represent the applicant. She stated that Kathy Vannice from Ashton Land Surveyor and Adam Leach City Engineer and MSD Board President were both present to answer any questions. She stated that the request was for approval of a yard waste compost facility on a property under contract to purchase pending the outcome. She stated that the lot was zoned R-3 Residence Zone and that the area was predominately vacant land south of the residential area. She stated that the plan was to collect fall foliage for a 6-8 week period in November and December and occasional storm damage debris throughout the year in order to naturally compost. She stated that this would create a product that was nutrient dense and lessening the reliance on fertilizers and pesticides which was a huge benefit for water quality. She stated that the compost would primarily be used for city parks and public works projects and that there could be an option in 3-5 years to open the facility for 5 days each year for the public to get free compost material.

Adam Leach, City Engineer and MSD Board President appeared. He stated that current practice was to pick up the leaves and take them to ECR where they must pay $53 per ton to dispose of that material which goes directly to landfill which was bad practice. He stated that this facility would divert 700 tons of material from the landfill and turn that material into something usable and would be for the city, parts of Yorktown, and Cowan. He stated that they would distribute on the ground about 1 inch thick which would be disced into the ground to supplement the soil for 3-5 years at which time the compost would be usable.

Ms. Hoff stated that many people have negative thoughts when they hear composting facility, and that there are two important factors. She stated that composting facilities were under further regulations than that of local ordinance and were subject to registration with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and that IDEM gives a registration that was good for 5 years and was only for the applicant and could not be transferred. She stated that this registration came with a series of restrictions set out in Indiana Code which further regulated the design, location, operation, dust, odor, and noise control and had annual reporting requirements which would also be forwarded to the DMMPC. She stated that the second important distinction was that this was a yard waste facility only and would not include food scraps or items that would cause rodent or odor issues. She stated that when turned properly and with the proper amounts of oxygen to microorganisms there should never be an odor with composting. She stated that IDEM required that any active area of a composting facility not be closer than 200’ to a well that supplied potable drinking water and should be designed to prevent ground water contamination. She stated that it was worth noting that this was not just any landscape company developing, it was Muncie Sanitation Department, and that if there were any experts on protecting our water quality it would be them. She stated that they understood no one wanted this in their backyard, but to say there were better locations was untrue. She stated that while the requirement was 200’ from any active area of the facility to a dwelling, that local municipalities can increase that to up to 600’, which MSD has done. She stated that the basin for the composting facility would be 900’ from Wilson Road, and would not be visible from the road and that the 25’ landscape buffer would help control dust, noise, and screening.

Mr. Leach stated that part of their plan included a fence and a 25’ landscape buffer that would include all native Indiana plants that would help with screening and dust control. He stated that the primary windrow was outside of the primarily dusty months that would fall between June to September. He stated that they would be actively working the area November to December which were typically wet months which helps control the dust. He stated that once they would windrow the area and start the process, they would be discing it into the native soil so this would be another farming activity.