The Pierce County Land Management Committee put its stamp of approval on a proposal for a beginner fly fishing school on the Rush River off of 400th Street in the Town of El Paso.

Applicant for a Conditional use Permit for the Nature Based Operation was Mark Walinske and Marcia Miller who intend to buy the property from current owners Sharon Hills and Rebecca Bersch.

Emily Lund, Assistant Zoning Administrator, said the Town of El Paso board approved the granting of the conditional use to move the matter to Land Management.

'The applicants propose a year-round beginner fly fishing school and gathering place to be called 'margo+lola.' They plan to educate students about the beautiful geological area, pristine Rush River valley and create shared activities to support the local community,' Lund wrote in a memo to the committee. 'The flyfishing school focuses on first time fly fishers, inspires women to fly fish and host half or full-day classes with small student to teacher ratio. The gathering place is for small group team meetings to learn fly fishing basics for hosting off-season events.'

The parcel is 40 acres and is zoned General Rural. According to the plan: The school would offer dry land casting instruction and 'wet' river instruction during DNR fishing seasons. There could be off-season activities with guest speakers and events.

The school would anticipate three-six students per class for half or full day instruction up to 12 times a month.

Students would need their own fishing license.

Over the next two years, four buildings are proposed, including three 15×30-foot buildings for gathering space, fishing instructor sleeping accommodations and a common area, kitchen and dining rooms, as well as a 10 by 20-foot yard maintenance building. There also would be a small gift shop.

Walinske told the committee, 'It's a boutique experience for fly fisherwoman,' he said. 'We think there's an opportunity to open this industry up a little bit more.'

A couple neighbors appeared via 'Zoom at the meeting to raise concerns about the proposed operation, and Walinske assured them that the operation would be good neighbors.

'We're interested in building big,' he said. 'We're interested in using as little of the land footprint as possible.'

'We're not having weddings. We're not having rocket launches. We're not having helicopter rides,' he said.

Ron Hendershot who lives nearby said the business would bring traffic and too many more people to the river.

'It's kind of B.S. for the ones of us who live down here,' he said.

'Chasing the valley residents out is what's going on,' one resident said.

One other neighbor emailed a complaint that the business would lead to trespassing.

Current property owner Sharon Hills assured the committee that buildings proposed aren't in an area that flooded this past summer er.

'We're proud of his proposal,' she said. 'We support this proposal with all our heart. When Mark came to us with this proposal, we were delighted. It was intentionally designed to complement the land, complement the natural resources.'

Committee member and County Board Chair Jeff Holst supported the project.

'I appreciate what he's attempting to do here. It's good for him and it will be good for the community,' he said.

The measure was passed unanimously by the Land Management Committee to grant the conditional use permit. Conditions include several items, such as hours of operation for non-fishing activities from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. The permit needs to be approved every two years.

Asphalt plant

A temporary hot mix asphalt plant at a quarry just west of Prescott at W12495 Hwy. 10 in the Town of Oak Grove was approved by the Pierce County Land Management Committee last Wednesday night.

The matter had been forwarded to the committee from the Town of oak Grove for approval with some conditions.

The plant will be used by Monarch Paving for approximately 8-10 weeks this summer and will be the source of asphalt for the Hwy. 29 rebuild. The highway is set for reconstruction this summer.

Under the plan, the plant can only be operational 'for the period of the actual work project on Hwy. 29 from Prescott to River Falls.'

Hours of operation were set at 5:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but Monarch representatives said trucking doesn't occur during the dark.

A local point of contact must be provided to Land Management in case someone on-site needs to be contacted.

A DNR air permit for air emissions needs to be presented to land management.

Black and orange 'trucks hauling' or 'trucks entering' signs with orange flags on top of the signs need to be placed at quarry entrance during hauling and removed at night or during non-haul days.

While the plant is open, it may also provide asphalt to other government bodies or customers.

The site of the plant has been a quarry operation for 45 years and is operated by Milestone Materials, which owns the parent company of Monarch.

The time period of possible operation at the asphalt plant will be from May to October of this year.

No one spoke 'in-person' against the hot mix plant at the Zoom meeting, though there were two letters sent raising concerns.

Concerns had been raised about hours of operation.

'The shorter the hours are, the longer we're there,' said Kaitlyn Filkins of Monarch.

Dee McDaniels, W12532 Hwy. 10, Prescott, opposed the permit and hours.

She brought up issues of pollution.

'My husband grew up in St. Paul Park and we lived near the refinery. In 2009, my husband was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Exposure to benzine is one of the causes of this type of cancer,' she wrote. 'Since moving to Oak Grove Township five years ago, my husband's white cell count has gone down which is almost unheard of. He asked his oncologist about moving away from the refinery and the benzine in the air, although nothing can be proven, the doctor said it appears to have helped. This is the main reason for my objection to the plant being located across the street from me.'

It was pointed out to the committee that the plant is permitted for pollution by the DNR and must meet its standard.

On hours of operation, 'McDaniels wrote, 'As someone living directly across the street from the pit who works from home, I should not have to listen to trucks lining up to get loaded before 7 a.m., and I should not have to listen to them all day on Saturday,' she wrote 'I'm leaning against a change in the hours,' said committee and Pierce County Board Supervisor Neil Gulbranson. 'Let's get the project done and let them move on. That's what I'm thinking.'

'I agree with Neil. Let's get it done and get them out of here,' said committee member and County Board Chair Jeff Holst.

Kaitlynn Filkins of Monarch Paving addressed the Pierce-County Land Management Committee.