Standing room only during March 2014 Saline County Board Meeting
HARRISBURG, Ill. — The Saline County Board met last night, Thursday March 28, 2014, for a regularly scheduled Board meeting, unaware that the meeting would largely be taken over by the matter of the Rocky Branch Road’s possible closure.
Peabody representatives, as well as residents of Cottage Township, all took their stands, fighting for the rights to Rocky Branch Road. Cottage Township residents highlighted the sustainability of income from agriculture that is made possible by the access to Rocky Branch, their livelihoods, their homes, and their concerns for the county as a whole. Peabody representatives highlighted that the incomes of mining families are pivotal to county as a whole, asking where the county would be without their tax dollars.
Peabody rep John Keller brought with him a map of the roads and proposed mine area in Cottage Township, and explained what would be done with all of the roads in the area.
Board member Joe Jackson took the floor, demanding to know what the corporation planned to do for arterial access to Rocky Branch. Keller never gave a satisfactory answer, saying that the access was above his authority to guarantee, and that the decision would be up to his supervisors and IDOT. Jackson stated that he had personal and moral issues with leaving the residents of Rocky Branch with no arterial access roads for 5 years.
When asked how long the proposed mine would be in activity and providing jobs, Keller never gave a solid answer. The answer varied from “several years” to in excess of 20 years.
The mine at this point is only permitted to be active for one day shy of 5 years by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Department of Mines and Minerals.
The discussion on the mine activity alone exceeded two hours in length, and was halted by vice-chairman Danny Gibbs. Executive Session was required on the matter, and States Attorney Mike Henshaw was attending for Legal Council. Henshaw had limited time, and thus, the discussion was called to an end. The discussion will be continued on April 15th, 2014, at 5:30PM, during a Special Meeting of the Board.
More details will be available in our upcoming edition of Disclosure, on stands April 16th or online on our e-Edition.