Charles City welcomes mine operation with open arms

Charles City government officials are eagerly embracing plans by Luck Stone Corporation to begin mining sand and gravel on just over 1,200 acres in the Sandy Point area of the county.

Board of Supervisors members voted 3-0 following a joint public hearing with the Planning Commission during their Aug. 24 meeting to issue a special use permit paving the way for the operation.

But in lavishing praise on the family-run, Goochland County-based firm’s record of philanthropy, they dropped strong hints about keeping Charles City in mind when the generosity chord is struck in the future.

Luck Stone, however, must secure state and federal permits before the mining operation cranks up. The proposed site, owned by permit applicants Oldfields LLC and Bachelor Point LLC, is southwest of the Route 5/Route 613 (Sandy Point Road) intersection near Jerusalem Baptist Church.

Company spokesman Ben Thompson told county officials that 85 percent of the aggregate mined at the site will be shipped by barge to the Hampton Roads area. The remaining 15 percent is to be transported out by truck, requiring about 48 trips per day on nearby roads.

The company, he said, plans to improve the 3,000 feet of Route 613 lying between the mining site entrance and Route 5 if required by VDOT, and pave 300 feet of the entrance road leading into the site.

Studies have been done identifying several historic and archeological sites near the site as well as a plant on the endangered species list. Areas where the historic sites and plant are located will be avoided, Thompson said.

Natural buffers, he said, are to be preserved around the operation and sound kept to no more than 65 decibels. Wells will be drilled around the site to monitor water quality, he added. The company also expects to hire 15-20 workers.

“We view this project as a benefit to Charles City County as it will generate open space, jobs, and tax revenue,” Thompson said.

One only county resident, Judy Ledbetter, spoke during the public hearing on the permit application.

“In the past, I’ve voiced concerns about mining operations in Charles City, but I’m in favor of this application,” she said.

Past boards, she claimed, approved mining without studies being conducted on possible historical sites. The latest application and process “represents a vast departure from the past,” she said.

Ledbetter also noted Luck Stone’s past philanthropic gestures, adding company officials can expect overtures from the campaign for building the county’s public library.

In making a motion to approve the permit, Supervisor Gilbert Smith said the company’s presentation is “the most thorough I’ve heard since I’ve been on Planning Commission, and that means a lot to the public.” He also noted that Luck Stone made “a generous contribution” to Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rice Center, which is located on the banks of the James River in Charles City.

In other business at the Aug. 24 meeting, supervisors passed a resolution asking the governor’s office to declare Charles City a drought disaster area. Doing so will make local farmers eligible for assistance due to crop losses.

Also, it was announced that the county fire department is now providing Advance Life Support (ALS). County officials, meanwhile, are urging residents without insurance to renew the $50 subscriber fee that covers ambulance service and transport.