SILVER LAKE - The local hot-button item of the times took over the Silver Lake Town Council meeting Tuesday evening, as residents packed the town meeting hall to air concerns about a concentrated animal feeding operation being proposed for a mile north of town.
Before the board had an opportunity to get into its evening agenda, town residents began rising from the assembly to read prepared letters denouncing the CAFO that they say will waft manure odor and halt future growth of Silver Lake.
Cliff Zehr, president of Kerlin Bus Sales, which sits along Ind. 15 north of town – a 1/4 mile from where a proposed CAFO would be built – read a letter to the board citing concerns for air quality that he said would negatively affect his business. He urged the board to collectively denounce the building of a CAFO so close to town.
Rick Elliott, who handles economic and community development for the town, said Silver Lake’s only opportunity for growth lies in the north, and if a CAFO is placed there, it would be cataclysmal to development.
“Having this CFO right in the middle puts the cork in the bottle,” Elliott said.
CFOs and CAFOs are distinguished by the number of cows, pigs or chickens a farm may have on a property. CAFOs have larger amounts and in turn have more restrictions.
There are currently 57 CFOs in Kosciusko County and 18 CAFOs. There are five in the permitting process to either expand or develop.
Board member Linda Baker said she will have town Clerk-Treasurer Angie Glass, who was not in attendance, type a letter stating the town's concerns. It will be sent to the county planning commission, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, and the county commissioners and council, Baker said.
In business actually on the board’s agenda, town superintendent Jasun Blocher said he has bid out a 10-year, $7,200 maintenance project for the town water tower that will see the town maintained annually.
The board also agreed to look at the town firework ordinance, which, with 11 days around the July 4 holiday allowed for firework usage, was deemed excessive by board members and town residents alike. The board tabled discussion, but said it would look at a 3-day period instead.
The next town council meeting will be held Sept. 13 in the Silver Lake meeting hall.
