GZA to present review of N.S. quarry testimony August 18

NORTH SMITHFIELD – Those anxious to hear an independent review of the testimony provided by the team of experts who spoke in favor of Material Sand & Stone’s proposal for a change to the town’s zoning ordinance at hearings earlier this year will have to wait just a little bit longer.

GZA GeoEnvironmental will present their findings from a review of hearings held throughout February and March at the Town Council meeting scheduled for Monday, August 18, according to Council President Kim Alves.

“We’re slated for the second meeting in August as of right now,” Alves said this week.

Initially expected to take place in early May, the review was requested by councilors as a way to evaluate several hours of testimony given by a team of geologists, hydrologists and traffic consultants representing the business, which operates a quarry on Pine Hill Road. Material Sand has requested creation of a new overlay district in town that would officially allow mining on the 89-acre property after decades of legal disputes with the town over regulation.

Town Administrator Scott Gibbs said there were multiple reasons for the delay to the independent review, first requested by councilors at a meeting in March. In June, Gibbs said the presentation would take place at the council’s meeting on Monday, July 21.

“It was a lot more difficult to get appropriate people to be interested in doing the peer review,” Gibbs said.

GZA was finally hired in June at a cost of $10,000 – a cost to be picked up by the business as the applicant for the zone change. Since last month, Gibbs said interested parties have laid out the scope of the firm’s work.

“It took us a little longer to get all of this done, but now GZA has to go through all of the public testimony first, and then they’re going to (have) opportunities for meeting with people as well,” Gibbs said.

Town Solicitor David Igliozzi told councilors Monday that the proceedings will need to be re-advertised.

“I wouldn’t want anyone in the public not to get notice with the time and the delay now… several months,” Igliozzi said. “That was unanticipated.”

While the venue for the meeting is not yet known, Alves said the council will seek a larger alternative to the limited Town Council chambers as they did for past meetings with the business, such as North Smithfield Middle School.