Maybe ONE Last Chance for Madison Aquatic Park......

[ScubaLuke]

I was at the Council meeting and yes there was a fair turnout of divers and others in support of keeping the quarry open, but I wouldn't hold my breath. At least 2 of the Council members have already made up their mind in favor of the Water Board. Oh well, I guess I'll be going to Moulton and Pelham a lot more this year than I had original intended and eating a lot less in Madison.

I saw a report on the meeting on Channel 19's news. They interviewed Greg Ogle from SDI and he came across very well.

It's going to be an uphill fight. The people that submit proposals are going to need to address all the economic benefits of opening the place back up for scuba.
Luke

 

[mike_s]

All three local news TV channels were there to cover this story.

Here are the links to two of their stories and/or videos. Hopefully the other channel will have a story up soon and I'll edit this post with it.

http://www.whnt.com/global/video/po...&activePane=info&playerVersion=9&rnd=94731418


http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=4341074

 

[mike_s]

Story in HSV Times about divers trying to save the quarry.


http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/113688815572990.xml&coll=1


Divers want quarry kept available for public
Madison officials mull land swap with Water Board
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
By KEITH CLINES
Times Staff Writer kclines@htimes.com

MADISON - Scuba diving enthusiasts asked the city council Monday night not to rush into a land swap involving the rock quarry that could leave them high and dry.

About 75 people, most of them divers, attended the meeting to support keeping the Madison Aquatic and Recreational Park property for recreational use. The council has discussed a preliminary proposal to swap part of the property on Lime Quarry Road south of Interstate 565 for property the Water and Wastewater Board owns on Balch Road.

The board is interested in the quarry as a source of water to prevent it from having to buy water from Huntsville Utilities when the water supply can't keep up with demand.

There hasn't been a formal proposal to swap 58 acres the board owns on the east side of Balch Road midway between Gillespie and Brownsferry roads.

Councilman Larry Vannoy, a member of the Water and Wastewater Board, said the board is waiting word for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to determine if the quarry can be used as a water source. The board also wants to know if it could be used as a water source if divers and other people use the quarry.

The board paid Huntsville Utilities more than $100,000 one month last fall for water when it couldn't meet customer demand.

Mike Price, a former Madison councilman, was among a few of the supporters who told the council the quarry was a recreation attraction for the city.

Price and others said divers and others who use the quarry spend money in Madison on food, gas, lodging and shopping that generates tax dollars for the city.

"This facility would at least pay for itself," Price said.

But some council members questioned how many people who come to the quarry stayed the night or ate at a city restaurant.

"If this is so great, why did it fail?" asked Councilman Steve Haraway, also a member of the Water and Wastewater Board.

The council accepted a $7,500 settlement in November from Rock Divers Inc., the former quarry lease holder, after the company pulled out. Rock Divers' lease payment was to be a percentage of its revenue, but city officials said they could not determine from examining the company's books how much it owed the city.

"People who worked it in the past didn't do what needed to be done," Price said. "I'm going to leave it at that."

Price asked the council to take a few months to study uses of the quarry before deciding what to do.

Council President Bob Wagner said there was no action for the council to take now.

"This process is just in the beginning," Wagner said, adding that recreation supporters will have other chances to address the council.

Vannoy, Haraway and Mayor Sandy Kirkindall, another member of the Water and Wastewater Board, said they believe the board's property on Balch Road is worth about $2 million. However, there haven't been surveys and appraisals of the Balch Road or quarry properties.

Kirkindall and Haraway said after the meeting about eight acres of the board's 58 acres is wetlands that could not be used. The board bought the property for about $900,000 a few years ago to protect the well head on the adjoining property.

Also after the meeting, Kirkindall said he would like for the remaining 50 acres to be used for recreation, possibly ballfields, if the city gets the property.

The Water and Wastewater Board would be interested in obtaining only about 28 acres of the 105-acre quarry and park property.

In related action, the council voted 3 to 2 to allow Kirkindall to seek proposals from companies that might be interested in leasing and operating the quarry for recreational uses.

Haraway and Councilman Jerry Jennings voted not to seek proposals, saying that it would be a waste of time and energy until the city knows what the Water and Wastewater Board intends to do. Voting to seek proposals were Wagner, Vannoy and Councilman Tim Cowles. Councilwoman Cynthia McCollum and Councilman Tommy Overcash were absent.

 

[mike_s]

from http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1137752386193660.xml&coll=1


Looks like land deal will be a 'done deal'.

unless ADEM denies them to use this was a water source, which
is unlikely since it's 10 times cleaner than HSV's source of the
Tennessee River.





Madison suggests backup water planFriday, January 20, 2006
By KEITH CLINES
Times Staff Writer kclines@htimes.com
Board proposes swapping Balch land for quarry

MADISON - The Madison Water and Wastewater Board voted Thursday night to send the City Council a draft agreement to swap board property on Balch Road for the city-owned rock quarry.

Councilman and board member Larry Vannoy said the board wants the city to review the proposal and act on it first. Vannoy said after the meeting that he does not expect the council to take any action at Monday night's meeting.

The board would give the city 58 acres on Balch Road in return for the quarry and enough room around the quarry to install a fence. The quarry covers about 28 acres of the entire 105-acre quarry and park property on Lime Quarry Road south of Interstate 565.

The board wants the quarry only as an emergency water source, General Manager Whitey Bressette said. He said Huntsville Utilities raised rates that it charges the board for water 125 percent, and there is the possibility Huntsville will not be able to provide water to Madison in emergencies because of growing demand for water in that city.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has not notified the board if the quarry would be an acceptable water source. The board would pump water from the quarry to a nearby treatment plant to be treated then piped out.

Scuba divers have asked the council to not close the quarry to public use.

"The level of participation by the public remains to be seen," Bressette said. The board has also asked ADEM if the quarry could be a water source if it was available for public use. Engineers estimate the quarry contains about 200 million gallons of water. It receives water from rainfall runoff and from a spring in the bottom of the quarry.

Bressette said the board could pump water from the quarry continuously during the high-demand summer and fall months without affecting the water level.